Lionel Richie wishes daughter Sofia 'lots of failure' in her aspiring acting career: 'It’s how you recover'
There's no love worthy of being compared to a parent's love and when it comes to Lionel Richie, it looks like his brand of love language is some much needed tough love towards daughter Sofia Richie.
When the 21-year-old model Sofia expressed some interest in acting, her 70-year-old musical legend for a father decided to get real with her and bless her with "lots of failures." Worry not, it's meant to be the good kind that one gets to learn from. “I told her, ‘I wish you lots of failure, young,'” the older Richie shared with reporters at an 'American Idol' event, reported People. “We’re in a business where it’s how you recover and ‘yes, yes, yes’ does not feel terrible, so you have to get smacked in the face." Noting the image she might have already garnered purely because of her famous last name, he also added: "I said, ‘You’re going to have a little bit more of a different time because you’re coming from a family where they expect a little bit more.'"
Sofia, who is now dating the 38-year-old Scott Disick, has already made quite the name as a model with her Instagram page, a solid proof of her many skills.
"When Nicole was about 4 years old, she went on a talent show," Richie added about the pressure to perform. "She’s about to go on to do her little act and they said, ‘And now we have Lionel Richie’s daughter’ and she froze. She said, ‘Dad I don’t want to be here.'”
According to the 'All Night Long' singer, that memory was a "terrifying moment." But Richie is filled with words of wisdom for his daughters Sofia and Nicole, 38, and son Miles, 25, as he keeps telling them: “Do your best, give them attitude and kill it." When it comes to Sofia, he also noted: "She’s got the attitude. She sings too. I’m so excited about her.” According to him, all of them "have great attitudes" about working in the entertainment industry. "They’re all taking chances and I want them to do it now,” he added. “Sofia’s doing fabulous right now.”
Richie's words of advice don't extend to his children's personal lives though, as there, silence is the key, he remarked. "You can’t step in there," he said of offering Sofia advice on her personal life, which has been in the limelight for her much older boyfriend, who also happens to be reality star and entrepreneur Kourtney Kardashian's long time ex, and the father of her three kids. "It just doesn’t work. If you’re a parent, you’ll understand.”