Celebrity
Emma Roberts Points Out The Drawbacks Of Being A Nepo Baby
“They don’t see all the rejection along the way.”
Emma Roberts is owning her “nepo baby” label, while making it clear that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. On the June 25 episode of the Table for Two podcast, the actor (whose aunt is Julia Roberts) sounded off on the nepotism discourse, arguing that there are “two sides of the coin” to having famous family members.
“People like to say, you have a leg up because you have family in the industry,” she said. “But then the other side to that is, you have to prove yourself more. Also, if people don’t have good experiences with other people in your family, then you’ll never get a chance.”
She went on to voice her opinion that women are labeled nepo babies more frequently than men, citing one of Hollywood’s most famous actors as an example.
“I always joke, ‘Why is no one calling out George Clooney for being a nepo baby? [His aunt] Rosemary Clooney was an icon,’” she said. “I feel like young girls get it harder with the nepo baby thing. I don’t really see people calling out sons of famous actors, not that they should be called out.”
Roberts concluded her argument by pointing out that the nepotism conversations around actors ramp up when they promote a movie or TV show, so people aren’t thinking about those actors’ losses. “They don’t see all the rejection along the way,” she stated. “That’s why I’m always very open about things I’ve auditioned for and haven’t gotten the part for.”
Emma’s Thoughts On Fame
Roberts briefly addressed nepotism allegations in 2011, laughing off the notion that she got her career from her aunt and father, fellow actor Eric Roberts. “I've auditioned for so many things and never gotten the part,” she told PopEater at the time. “Also it's like, maybe someone can get you one part, but they can't really get you ten parts.”
As she explained on the podcast, Roberts also saw the dark side of fame “very up close” as she watched her family navigate the acting world, which is why fame had “never been [her] goal” as she made her way in the industry.
“Fame at a certain level is kind of scary,” she said. “Even in my later teens, I was like, I never want my fame to outweigh my work. Because there’s nothing scarier to me than being so famous that you’re never left alone, but also you’re not getting good jobs. And that was kind of happening to a lot of people when I was in my teens and early 20s. I never wanted that to happen to me.”
