Emma Roberts Has Entered The Nepo Baby Chat

Welcome back to another episode of Nepotism: Pop Culture’s Greatest Discourse. (No, that’s not an actual show; however, it’s certainly a topic that’ll never lose people’s interest.) In the last two years, nepo babies across multiple industries — especially in music and acting — have weighed in on the title. The latest star to join the conversation is Emma Roberts, who isn’t a fan of the term.

On June 25, Roberts shared that she feels the downsides to the nepotism experience aren’t spoken about. “I think there’s two sides of the coin. People like to say: ‘You have a leg up because you have family in the industry.’ But the other side to that is, ‘You have to prove yourself more,’” she said on the Table for Two With Bruce Bozzi podcast. “Also, if people don’t have good experiences with other people in your family, then you’ll never get a chance.”

The Scream Queen actor continued, saying people tend to discredit those who are “not from the middle of nowhere” that happened to become successful in Hollywood. It’s a reception Roberts has had to deal with, considering her aunt is Julia Roberts and father is Eric Roberts. She began her acting career in 2001, but she didn’t start making waves until her 2004 leading role in Nickelodeon’s Unfabulous.

“People kind of only see your wins because they only see when you’re on the poster of a movie. They don’t see all the rejection along the way,” she said, adding that’s why she’s “always very open” about roles she’s auditioned for and lost in her career. “I think it’s important to talk about [that], otherwise people just think everything’s been so linear and easy. It’s not at all, but it looks like that to the outside perspective or to the naked eye.”

Roberts’ words interestingly echo that of other nepo babies, such as Kate Hudson and Maude Apatow, who aren’t fond of the pressures that come with the term. The American Horror Story star also said the label isn’t as often tied to male actors, joking that George Clooney’s relation to his late aunt, singer and actor Rosemary Clooney, is rarely brought up in conversation.

“I’m just kidding, but 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 said. “I don’t think anyone should be called out for wanting to follow their dream.”