Emma Roberts believes there are “two sides of the coin” to the ongoing “nepo baby” debate.
Roberts, who is the daughter of Eric Roberts and niece of Julia Roberts, has dealt with criticism ever since making her acting debut in “Blow” at the age of 9.
However, the “American Horror Story” star told “Table for Two” podcast listeners Wednesday that with famous family comes added pressure — but typically only for women.
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“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,” the actress added. “Like, I don’t really see people calling out sons of famous actors.”
Gender aside, Emma said she doesn’t think “anyone should be called out for wanting to follow their dream.”
Emma explained that the public “loves an overnight success story,” which drew an easy target on her back from a young age.
“And so if you’re kind of not the girl from the middle of nowhere that broke into Hollywood, there’s kind of an eye roll of like, ‘Well, your dad was this,’” she said.
On top of that, Emma explained that people who criticize the children of the rich and famous often don’t see the full picture.
“People 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.
The “Scream Queens” star argued that having Hollywood connections can harm you just as easily as they can help you — like in any other industry.
“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,” she explained. “Also, if people don’t have good experiences with other people in your family, then you’ll never get a chance.”
While Emma admitted to having help breaking into the industry, she said that watching her aunt deal with the spotlight as a kid deterred her from wanting to become a “massive movie star.”
“I saw very up close what that really looks like,” the “Aquamarine” actress said. “It’s obviously fun and it’s great, but there is a part of it that’s really scary.”
Rather than following directly in the “Pretty Woman” star’s footprints, Emma knew she wanted to “carve [her] own path.”
“Fame has never been the goal, because fame at a certain level is kind of scary,” she explained, noting that she never wanted her “fame to outweigh [her] 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,” she said.
Although Emma said her career hasn’t been “linear” or “easy,” she has been booked and busy for the last two decades — much to her father’s delight.
“The King of the Gypsies” star told Page Six earlier this year that he is proud of his “precious” daughter “every day.”
