Emma Roberts Says Young Girls Face Harder Nepo Baby Criticism
Emma Roberts is weighing in on the ânepo babiesâ debate.
During an interview on the Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi podcast by iHeartMedia, Roberts reflected on how there are âtwo sides of the coinâ when it comes to the nepo babies discourse and many are bound to âhave preconceived notions of you.â Roberts is the niece of actress Julia Roberts and daughter of actor Eric Roberts.
âPeople like to say, âOh, you know, you have a leg up because youâre a family in the industry.â But then the other side to that is, you know, you have to prove yourself more. Also, if people donât have good experience being to be with other people in your family, then youâll never get a chance,â she said.
Roberts explains that because âeverybody loves the kind of overnight success storyâ if âyouâre not the girl from the middle of nowhere that broke into Hollywoodâ thereâs âan eye roll of like, âWell, your dad was this.’â
âI always joke Iâm like, âWhy is no one calling out George Clooney for being a nepo baby?â [His aunt] Rosemary Clooney was an icon. Young girls, I feel like, get it harder with the nepo baby thing. I donât really see people calling out you know, sons of famous actors. Not that they should be called that. I donât think anyone should be called out wanting to follow their dreams,â she added.
âPeople kind of only see your wins because they only see when youâre on the poster of a movie. They donât see all the rejection along the way,â Roberts explained, adding that she has always thought it was important to be candid about the things sheâs auditioned for and didnât get the part for. âI think itâs important to talk about because otherwise people just think, âOh, you know, everythingâs been so great and linear and easy, and itâs like, no⊠not at all. But of course it looks like that to the outside perspective or to the naked eye.â
Other Hollywood stars have also spoken out about being labeled as nepo babies including Maya Hawke, Lily Allen, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Maude Apatow.
The âNepo babyâ discourse grew after the topic was explored in a 2022 New York Magazine story which examined the invisible network of family ties that can give the children of celebrities an advantage in the industry.Â
Following the viral article, stars like OâShea Jackson Jr., the son of rapper, actor and filmmaker Ice Cube, spoke out about the piece writing in a thread of tweets that people who are a part of generational wealth and talent should âEmbrace that shit. Because itâs something thatâs been happening for centuries.âÂ
Meanwhile, Jamie Lee Curtis, the daughter of actors Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, also weighed in on the article with a post on Instagram, noting that sheâs an âOG Nepo Babyâ given she has been acting since age 19.
âIâve never understood, nor will I, what qualities got me hired that day, but since my first two lines on Quincy as a contract player at Universal Studios to this last spectacular creative year some 44 years later, thereâs not a day in my professional life that goes by without my being reminded that I am the daughter of movie stars,â she wrote. âThe current conversation about nepo babies is just designed to try to diminish and denigrate and hurt.â
âFor the record I have navigated 44 years with the advantages my associated and reflected fame brought me, I donât pretend there arenât any, that try to tell me that I have no value on my own,â she wrote. âItâs curious how we immediately make assumptions and snide remarks that someone related to someone else who is famous in their field for their art, would somehow have no talent whatsoever. I have come to learn that is simply not true. I have suited up and shown up for all different kinds of work with thousands of thousands of people and every day Iâve tried to bring integrity and professionalism and love and community and art to my work. I am not alone. There are many of us. Dedicated to our craft. Proud of our lineage. Strong in our belief in our right to exist.â