Penn Jillette of legendary magical duo Penn and Teller has shared his pride in his teenager following in his footsteps and frustration at the ongoing nepo baby debate.
Eighteen-year-old Moxie CrimeFighter Jillette is set to perform at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival as one half of Young and Moxie with magic partner Cameron Young.
Penn, 68, told the Standard that Moxie has “a kind of access that a lot of young magicians don’t have”.
He added: “They’ve found a way to use the term ‘nepo baby’ which is another way for people on the internet to be resentful. That term didn’t exist when you had Michael Douglas and not even Frank Sinatra Jr and as Frank Sinatra Jr. is a clear testament to, nepotism can get you in the door, it can’t keep you in the door very long.
“When Moxie says they call me a nepo baby I say, well that’s because you are. It’s a shame another term of resentment and pulling people apart has popped up, but so it has.”
Penn also shared that despite their famous parent, it’s actually their godfather Teller who Moxie generally turns to for advice about the magic world.
As for Penn and Teller, it’s hard to believe that they are fast approaching their fifth decade of working together.
It all began when Teller, who was then a high school Latin teacher in New Jersey and part-time magician, met Penn, a clown college graduate, in the mid 70s.
Fast forward to now and Las Vegas’ most celebrated headliners are gearing up for six consecutive dates at the London Hammersmith Apollo as part of their The First Final UK Tour, which arrives in the capital from June 13.
The shows will feature the duo’s classic magic tricks performed live amid their unique brand of humour and audience participation, plus, never before seen tricks in the UK.
Teller, who is infamously silent on stage, harked back to his scholarly days, declaring it: “A good act – mixture of the familiar and the strange, as Aristotle said.”
The 75-year-old underwent open heart surgery last October and was forced to take some time out from performing which he describes as “a brief setback”.
“I’m fine, I’m happy,” he assured, adding: “It took about three months to recover from, but I’ve been back since Christmas and doing the shows is my favourite exercise.”
Penn is delighted to be back in the UK, declaring Hammersmith Apollo their “favourite theatre” despite having a venue in Sin City named after them.
“I prefer the Hammersmith Apollo. There’s no theatre we play that sounds better,” he winked.
“I like that there are vegan fish and chips everywhere now. I like being in London, I like the weather, that might be only because I’m from Vegas and it’s quite a change-up.”
Teller, meanwhile, is more taken with the West End’s theatre scene and says he enjoys the novelty of “being able to walk everywhere”.
