Sylvester Stallone has defended the casting of his daughter in the TV series Tulsa King , while admitting that the hire was a case of “nepotism”.

The Rocky star, 80, plays the lead in the Taylor Sheridan -created crime drama on Paramount+, and serves as one of the show’s executive producers.

Scarlet Rose Stallone, one of three daughters from Stallone’s third marriage (to model Jennifer Flavin), appears in a recurring role in the series as Spencer, who is hired as a bartender by Stallone’s character, Dwight.

While the prevalence of so-called “nepo babies” – a term often used to refer to children of celebrities who themselves enter show business – remains a somewhat criticised trend in modern Hollywood, Stallone was defiant as he explained his reasoning for the hire.

Sylvester Stallone, Scarlet Rose Stallone, Sophia Rose Stallone and Sistine Rose Stallone attend the 2017 Golden Globes afterparty (Getty Images for InStyle)

“First they go, ‘Nepotism is terrible,’” said Stallone in a recent interview with…