Emma Roberts sees one major double standard when it comes to “nepo babies.”
The 33-year-old actress made an appearance on the Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi podcast on Tuesday, where she pointed out that the criticism against Hollywood nepotism unfairly affects young women compared to men.
The American Horror Story actress cited Legally Blonde as one of her favorite movies at the nine-minute mark of the episode. Roberts said she looked up to Reese Witherspoon’s character Elle Woods as someone who had to defy people’s expectations and preconceived notions, much like Roberts feels she has had to do in her own career.
“I think as a young woman and growing up, I've felt that way before, where it's like people think you're one thing and won't give you a chance to be something else,” said Roberts, who made her acting debut at age 10 in Johnny Depp’s 2001 film, Blow.
Host Bruce Bozzi then asked Emma—whose aunt is 56-year-old Oscar winner Julia Roberts and father is 68-year-old Oscar nominee Eric Roberts—about navigating the entertainment industry with the added challenge of being from a well-known family.
“People definitely have preconceived notions of you. I think there's two sides of the coin,” Roberts said. “People like to say, ‘Oh, 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. Also, if people don't have a good experience being with other people in your family, then you'll never get a chance.”
She continued, “I think there's something to be said where everybody loves the kind of overnight success story. And so if you're kind of not the girl from the middle of nowhere that broke into Hollywood, there's kind of an eyeroll of like, ‘Oh, your dad was this.' And I always joke, ‘Why is no one calling out George Clooney for being a nepo baby?’ Rosemary Clooney was an icon.”
As noted by TMZ, Rosemary Clooney, a singer and actress who appeared with Bing Crosby in the 1954 film White Christmas, was George’s aunt. The family members even appeared together during an episode of ER.
“I feel like [young girls] get it harder with the nepo baby thing," Emma Roberts added. "I don't really see people calling out sons of famous actors. Not that they should be called out. I don't think anyone should be called out for wanting to follow their dreams."
“I've been like, ‘Oh, put in a good word for me on this’ and haven't booked things,” Roberts confessed. “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. That's why I'm always very open about things I've auditioned for and haven't gotten the part for. I think it's important to talk about because otherwise people just think, ‘Oh, you know, everything's been so great and linear and easy’ and it's like, no, not at all. But of course, it looks like that to the outside perspective or to the naked eye.”
Per IMDb, projects on the horizon for Roberts include Space Cadet, Hot Mess, Second Wife, and Saurus City. Earlier this year she appeared in Madame Web as Mary Parker.
