Sylvester Stallone makes no apologies when it comes to his family.
The father of five supports all his kids and their endeavors, whether they stray into another field or enter the family business.
But no matter how cutthroat, no one gets to talk about Stallone’s kids without consequences.
The 80-year-old actor shares two sons, Sage and Seargeoh Stallone, with his first wife, Sasha Czack. The oldest, Sage, died at age 36 from heart disease, while Seargeoh, who was diagnosed with autism at age 3, has largely stayed out of the spotlight.
Stallone has three younger daughters with his third and current wife, Jennifer Flavin. Sophia, 30, is a producer and co-hosts a podcast with her sister Sistine, 28, who also works as a model.
Their youngest sister, Scarlet, 24, has appeared alongside her father in the series “Tulsa King.”
But not all viewers have celebrated her cameo, claiming she got the job because of nepotism.
After criticism of season four, which launched on Oct. 16, Sylvester fired back at critics trolling his daughter and how she got the role.
He said, “First they go, ‘Nepotism is terrible.’ 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.’”
Further defending his decision to help Scarlet land a role, Stallone 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.”
In “Tulsa King,” Sylvester plays Dwight “The General” Manfredi, a New York mob boss who is exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, after serving 25 years in prison.
While there, he establishes a new criminal operation. Since season one in 2022, Scarlet has portrayed Spencer, a local barista whom Manfredi hires as a stablehand.
Still, longtime viewers say Scarlet’s last name can only take her so far, and her dad has nothing to do with a much bigger problem.
In a two-year-old Reddit post, one person titled the post “Stallone nepobaby can’t act.” Underneath, they wrote, “It’s really bad. Love the show but she’s as wooden as a tree trunk. It’s painful.”
A second person who agreed said, “She has no acting chops at all. She’s weak and she’s very insecure in her acting. If she wasn’t related to Stallone, she’d probably be doing pornography.”
Despite justifying the choice to have Scarlet in the show, Sylvester wasn’t remiss to mention one major responsibility she now has.
“Can they maintain that level of excellence? That’s out of our hands,” Sylvester says.
He added, “People will say, ‘She got that job, it’s too easy.’ You’re right. Perhaps it could be. But to maintain that, to be in front of millions of people, you either got it or you don’t.”
The “Rocky” actor received mixed responses from fans after defending Scarlet.
One person on PEOPLE said, “So what’s the problem? I’d do it for my kid too, in a heartbeat!”
A Daily Mail reader wrote, “I don’t have a problem with nepotism as long as the nepo is talented. Scarlet Stallone is not a natural. She reads the scripts as though she’s reading a book. She needs to appear more animated in her actions.”
Scarlet has not addressed the criticism herself.
However, she did open up about how starring on “Tulsa King” has transformed her relationship with her dad.
“Before, he was working constantly, so getting to work together for once is just an amazing opportunity,” she explained to PEOPLE earlier this month.
She appreciates how much they’ve “grown as friends,” before adding, “We really got to know one another and really respect each other throughout this whole process, through the ups and downs.”
Scarlett’s character has evolved since season one and will continue as she becomes part of Manfredi’s criminal operation.
“This season she really goes from barista to something wholly other,” Stallone told Extra. He said fans will be impressed with what they have planned for season five.
“Wait till you see where that goes. Oh my God,” he said. “I want to tell you because it’s amazing, but I have to wait, unfortunately.”
Sylvester Stallone is defending his daughter Scarlet Rose Stallone’s expanded role in “Tulsa King” after critics called her casting nepotism. "First they go, ‘Nepotism is terrible.’ 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. 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."
— Complex (@Complex) October 25, 2026
