Have you ever considered what it’s like to stand at the crossroads of familial legacy & personal ambition? For Emma Roberts, this seems to be a daily reality. As the daughter of actor Eric Roberts (King of the Gypsies), and, more notably, the niece of cinematic darling Julia Roberts (Mystic Pizza), Roberts has endured the choppy waters of Tinseltown with a surname that resonates with stardom.
However, she’s no stranger to the sting of criticism regarding her family connections. In a recent candid revelation, Roberts confronts the double-edged sword of being a so-called ‘nepo baby’ in the industry. With an audacious spirit, she dismantles the notion that her path is solely determined by her lineage.
So, here she is, resilient, sharing a common struggle with peers like Gwyneth Paltrow and Dakota Johnson, while also shining a light on the gendered skew in this discourse.
Emma Roberts Speaks Out: Gender Disparities in Nepotism Backlash
Emma Roberts is fed up with the double standards in Hollywood when it comes to nepotism. She recently spoke out on the Table for Two podcast (via Vanity Fair), pointing out the hypocrisy in targeting female celebs with the label “nepo baby” while males seem to escape the scrutiny:
I saw very up close what that really looks like. It’s obviously fun and it’s great, but there is a part of it that’s really scary. So I’ve wanted to kind of carve my own path. … Fame has never been the goal, because fame at a certain level is kind of scary.
The actress, who comes from a family of actors, shared her letdown with the critique she faces for her connections in the industry. She emphasized that while having family in the industry may open doors, it also means having to work even harder to prove oneself. Continuing, Roberts, 33, recalled:
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.
Roberts also drew attention to how male actors, such as George Clooney, who hails from an acting family himself, are not subject to the same degree of flak regarding nepotism.
The American Horror Story actress questioned why it is mainly female actors who are targeted with the label of “nepo-baby” and not their male counterparts. In her words:
I always joke, ‘Why is no one calling out George Clooney for being a nepo baby? [His aunt] Rosemary Clooney was an icon.’ I feel like young girls get it harder with the nepo-baby thing. Like, I don’t really see people calling out sons of famous actors, not that they should be called out.
She made a valid point by mentioning other male actors who come from celebrated families, such as Kiefer Sutherland, Nicolas Cage, and Chris Pine, who may not have hosted the same level of backlash for their connections.
Unpacking Nepotism: Emma Roberts’ Struggle with Accusations
Hollywood has long been distressed by the nepotism problem. Although it is inescapable to be born into a famous family, a number of actors, directors, and writers have failed to realize their true potential and have entered the industry through their family name.
In the same Table for Two podcast interview, Emma Roberts echoed the sentiments of fellow actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Dakota Johnson, who have also spoken out against nepotism. Roberts said:
There’s two sides of the coin. People like to say, you know, you have a leg up because you have family in the industry. But then the other side to that is, you have to prove yourself more.
Paltrow called the term “nepo baby” an “ugly moniker” in an interview with Bustle. Johnson, meanwhile, attacked the word and called it “annoying and boring” (via Variety).
In a world where nepotism is playing second fiddle, it’s important to consider the impact of unfairly targeting female actors with labels like ‘nepo baby’. That being said, Roberts urged people to look beyond fame & acknowledge the hard work and dedication that go into building a successful career.
