Sylvester Stallone is not dodging accusations of nepotism after his daughter, Scarlet Rose, landed an expanded role alongside him on Tulsa King. Instead, the Rocky star is openly [1] embracing his decision to help her secure an opportunity.
Scarlet Rose plays a stablehand on the Paramount+ series, which stars Stallone as Dwight “The General” Manfredi. Her part has grown during the show’s fourth season, putting the father and daughter together on screen.
Stallone told USA Today that criticism of parents helping their children does not trouble him. In his view, using his position to open a professional door for his daughter is part of being a parent.
“First they go, ‘Nepotism is terrible,’” he told 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 made his position even clearer while addressing the obvious advantages available to children of famous and successful parents. Stallone argued that parents naturally want to provide their children with the strongest possible opportunities.
“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.”
Sylvester Stallone fires back at the media
Parents don’t owe the internet equal outcomes. They owe their kids an edge.
Stallone just said what half of Hollywood won’t: “Of course it’s nepotism, you idiot. That’s why we’re parents.”
Same playbook as the Coppolas, the Fondas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Douglas, Dakota Johnson, Zoë Kravitz, and Maya Hawke. Opening the door is easy. Keeping the part in front of millions still isn’t. The outrage pretends those are the same thing.
— Ravious101 (@Ravious101) October 20, 2026 [2]
While Stallone readily acknowledges that Scarlet Rose received help getting through the door, he does not believe parental influence can guarantee a lasting career. Once an opportunity has been provided, he said, the child must demonstrate the ability to succeed.
“Can they maintain that level of excellence? That’s out of our hands,” he said. “But if you can open the door, we’ll see if they have the ability to go through it.”
The First Blood actor also said his daughter’s talent will determine how long she remains in the spotlight. Although family connections may make an initial job easier to obtain, he believes continued exposure before a large audience creates a separate test.
“People will say, ‘She got that job, it’s too easy.’ You’re right. Perhaps it could be,” he said. “But to maintain that, to be in front of millions of people, you either got it or you don’t.”
Tulsa King follows Stallone’s Dwight “The General” Manfredi as he runs a criminal empire in Tulsa, Okla. The series is currently in its fourth season, with Scarlet Rose’s stablehand receiving a larger presence in the story.
Stallone also spoke with Entertainment Weekly about what continues to draw him back to Tulsa King. He pointed to the lead character’s relatability and the fact that Dwight is not relentlessly cruel at every moment.
“I don’t know if it sounds trite, but relatability,” he said. “I relate to it, and luckily the audience relates to the fact that he’s not sensationally cruel, 24/7. There’s some characters that really do well with that, but I don’t know how long you could watch the guys from Casino. Like, all right, enough already, I can’t watch this for 10 episodes!”
That approach does not mean Stallone wants the show to hold back when violence arrives. He compared Dwight’s capacity for violence to Rambo and said those moments should deliver more than a quick confrontation.
“Like in Rambo, there is the penchant for violence. When it goes down, it can’t be just a simple bang and the bad guy’s gone. I really want it to be a festival of horrors. I want people to go, ‘Oh, wow, that guy really got what he deserved.’ The studio goes, ‘Aren’t you overdoing it?’ I go, ‘Absolutely.’ But it’s almost medieval.”
Between Scarlet Rose’s expanded part and Dwight’s continuing criminal exploits, Stallone remains firmly embedded in the world of Tulsa King. New episodes from season 4 premiere Fridays on Paramount+.