The nepotism discussion is quite exhausting and simply not as fun as the nepo dog talk, but somehow, we always hear from the nepo babies about how they don’t want to be called nepo babies. It’s that time again.
This time, it’s Emma Roberts, daughter of Oscar-nominated actor Eric Roberts and niece of Oscar winner/America’s sweetheart Julia Roberts, who insists that her family did not help her get a job in Hollywood.
In a new interview, Roberts references the New York‘s Nepo Baby guide from 2022, which she was conveniently left off. “Should I be offended?” she joked to FLAUNT magazine.
Roberts wasn’t necessarily upset, but she believes that the whole conversation is not worth her time. “It was a cheap shot to put all the celebrity kids on the cover of a magazine on babies’ bodies. It’s like maybe the ‘Nepo Baby’ conversation would’ve been a more interesting article written intelligently in Vanity Fair with nuance, but instead, it was kind of this viral hating-on-people thing,” she said. Honestly, she makes some points! But then she claims that her family name has not helped her.
“I’ve lost more jobs than I’ve gained from being in the business,” Roberts said. “People have opinions and sometimes maybe they’re not good opinions of people in your family. I’ve never gotten a job because of it, I know I definitely have lost a couple of jobs because of it.” American Horror Story is not one of those jobs, though maybe it should have been.
Roberts seems to be missing the point: nepo babies don’t just get handed roles, but they do have a huge advantage by being born into a family that has already been in the industry. Sure, she might think she lost a role due to her name, but there are actors out there who aren’t even given auditions. But it might be hard for Roberts to grasp that when she just played a woman who lies on her resume in order to become an astronaut.