Sylvester Stallone, 80, has confirmed what critics suspected about his daughter Scarlet Rose Stallone’s expanding role in “Tulsa King,” telling USA Today in comments published this month that he has no problem admitting he used his influence to help her career.
Scarlet, 24, has played Spencer on the Paramount+ crime drama since season one, starting as a barista at a coffee shop frequented by her father’s character, Dwight “The General” Manfredi, a New York mobster rebuilding a criminal empire in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her role has grown with each season, and according to People, she has now been promoted to series regular for season four, which began streaming on October 16. The expanded part, which has her caring for Manfredi’s horse and working at his bar, drew renewed accusations online that she only got the job because of her father.
Stallone did not dispute it. “First, they go, ‘Nepotism is terrible,’” he said, according to USA Today. “I said, ‘Oh please, you’re not a good parent if you haven’t performed a little nepotism. Then obviously you don’t care about your kids, because they come first.’” He went further, laughing as he added: “Of course it’s nepotism, you idiot. That’s why we’re parents. We want the best for our children. So obviously we let them have every advantage.”
The “Rocky” star did draw a line between getting an opportunity and keeping it, saying the burden still falls on his daughter to perform. “Can they maintain that level of excellence? That’s out of our hands,” he said.
Scarlet has said the experience of working alongside her father has changed their relationship for the better. Speaking at PaleyFest NY on October 10, she described their dynamic undergoing a “complete 180” and said they had “become friends,” while admitting the bigger role left her both excited and nervous. Stallone shares three daughters, Sophia, Sistine and Scarlet, with his wife Jennifer Flavin. Season four of “Tulsa King” is currently streaming on Paramount+
