Jerry O'connell Draws Backlash After Saying 16-Year-Old Twins Vape
jerry o'connell drew criticism after saying on the Hate to Break It to Ya podcast that his 16-year-old twins vape all the time. He added that he does not take a strict parenting approach, putting his own household into the center of an online debate about underage vaping.
O’Connell said Charlie and Dolly are “nepo babies in Los Angeles,” and told host Jamie Kennedy, “No, we don't let anyone vape.” He also said, “I have like a ‘call me anytime’ [rule], but I said to my daughter the other night, I was like, 'If you can do this without getting into the drugs, it really, it's how my friend Jamie and I are still here somehow.'”
Charlie, Dolly, and 18
The actor said his daughters are 16-year-old twins and that they are not yet 18. He framed their behavior as part of a high school setting, saying, “They're nepo babies in Los Angeles. They're gonna party. They're not quite 18 yet, but they're in high school.”
That line is what made the conversation more than a loose parenting anecdote. O’Connell was not speaking in generalities; he was talking about his own daughters, by name, in a public forum, and tying their age to a permissive household rule.
Jamie Kennedy's podcast exchange
Jamie Kennedy hosted the podcast conversation, and O’Connell kept returning to the same point: “It's happening. These kids are crazy these days.” He also said, “It's addicting,” while discussing vaping.
Those remarks drew criticism online after the comments circulated, because the discussion was about underage vaping and a celebrity parent describing a hands-off approach. O’Connell, 52, has been married to Rebecca Romijn, 53, since 2007, and they share Charlie and Dolly.
What the remarks leave
The practical takeaway is blunt: O’Connell has made his family’s stance public, and the backlash is now attached to his parenting philosophy as much as to the vaping itself. For anyone following the conversation, the next step is to watch whether he walks those comments back or lets the criticism run its course.
