Sylvester Stallone defends casting daughter Scarlet, 24, in Tulsa King: 'Of course it's nepotism you idiot'

Sylvester Stallone recently responded to accusations of nepotism after casting his daughter Scarlet Stallone in his hit show Tulsa King.

The 80-year-old actor defended enlisting Scarlet, 24, to portray the character Spencer in the Paramount+ crime drama.

Earlier this month, he acknowledged in a USA Today interview: 'Of course it’s nepotism, you idiot.'

'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,"' the proud dad said.

He elaborated, 'That’s why we’re parents. We want the best for our children. So obviously, we let them have every advantage.'

In addition to Scarlet, Stallone shares daughters Sophia, 30, and Sistine, 28, with wife Jennifer Flavin. He is also father to sons Seargeoh, 47, and Sage, who died in 2012 at age 36, whom he shares with ex-wife Sasha Czack.

Stallone also told USA Today that parents are limited in just how much they can help their kids.

He posed the question, 'Can they maintain that level of excellence?' before noting, 'That’s out of our hands. But if you can open the door, we’ll see if they have the ability to go through it.'

The Rocky sensation went on to say: '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.'

In April 2024, he was hit by allegations that he and director Craig Zisk made cruel remarks about background actors on Tulsa King, allegedly branding them 'ugly and fat.' 

At the time, Zisk denied the claims while Stallone's representatives did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.

The claims against Stallone emerged in a now-deleted X post by TV writer Julie Benson.

She wrote: 'Got this disturbing news from my Atlanta friend who’s background on Tulsa King this wk.

'Casting agent quit because she was so disgusted. My friend is feeling anxious about working now.@TheSlyStallone what do you have to say for yourself, sir? Beyond disappointed, I’m livid.'

Rose Locke, a casting director on Tulsa King, subsequently quit the series.

In Tulsa King, Stallone's character Manfredi gets out of prison after serving a 25-year stretch. 

He is exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he builds a new criminal empire with a group of unlikely characters. 

Zisk, the Director and Executive Producer of the series, denied the claims to TMZ and said Locke, who was not on set during the day of the alleged encounter, improperly cast the extras.

He said the extras were supposed to be in a 'hip, young bar,' and the plan was to get actors in the 25 to 35-year-old range. He added that the actors who were cast were considerably older.

Zisk said he ended up using the actors for the scene and added: 'They were polite and did their jobs.'

He claimed he told Locke she needed to submit headshots of the extras to ensure they met with the premise of the show and said she responded: 'I don't work that way.'

He responded, 'That's the way I work and everyone I know works that way in extras casting,' and claimed she responded, 'OK,' but quit an hour later.