Here’s hoping Pretty Woman isn’t a petty woman.
Eric Roberts is publicly apologising for a bold claim he previously made about his sister and fellow actor Julia, as noted by multiple media reports this week.
Years ago, the Runaway Train star had taken credit for the successful Hollywood careers of not only his sibling, but also his daughter, Emma Roberts.
“If it wasn’t for me, there would be no Julia Roberts and no Emma Roberts as celebrities, as actresses, and I’m very proud of that,” Eric Roberts said in a 2018 story in Vanity Fair.
“When Julia first came to New York, I went into [talent agency] William Morris and I said, ‘Which one of you is going to sign my sister Julia?’”
He added: “And I am so proud that everybody knows I was first, because I was first by a long shot. I was first to get Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.”
It seems the character actor has since had a change of heart, as he decided to say sorry to his Oscar-winner sister — whom he calls “Julie” — in his new memoir, Runaway Train: Or, The Story Of My Life So Far.
“Now one of the things I’d like to apologise for in this book is for publicly saying on more than one occasion, ‘If it wasn’t for me, there would be no Julia Roberts,’” Eric wrote. “That’s not only unfortunate, but it’s also untrue. And I hope Julie will accept this more public apology.
“It was an asinine thing to have said. I was proud of her, but it was pride turned on its head, to my own advantage.”
He also called her a “very driven woman,” and said that “someone would have plucked her out of the crowd in a place like New York without my help”.
But the Dancing With The Stars contestant still took some credit for his sister’s career, suggesting that she decided to pursue show business after he had already become a successful actor.
“If Julie had stayed in Atlanta, she’d probably have married a wealthy dude and lived a very different life,” Eric wrote, referencing her Georgia roots.
“So I will take credit, once I had … moved to New York City, for telling my sisters, ‘Come on up, girls; the water’s fine.’ That’s when, it seems to me, she saw my life as a young actor in New York, and saw what I was doing for my livelihood, and she wanted to try it.”
As for his daughter Emma, Eric recently gushed about the American Horror Story actor during an interview with the Still Here Hollywood podcast earlier this year.
“I am in love with my daughter’s work these days,” Eric said. “I can’t believe how great she’s become. I’m so proud of her I can’t see straight.
“Since her performance in [the 2023 film] Maybe I Do until right now, she overwhelms me with pride and just ‘Oh, my God, here she goes again.’ And I’m just so happy to be her dad because she’s kicking ass.”