In his new memoir released this past week, Eric Roberts issued a public apology to sister Julia Roberts for his “asinine” comments where he took credit for her Oscar-winning career.
“Now one of the things I’d like to apologize 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,’ he wrote in Runaway Train: or, The Story of My Life So Far, released Sept. 17, per People.
The actor, who was Academy Award-nominated for his role in Runaway Train opposite Jon Voight and is currently on Season 33 of Dancing With the Stars, is referencing an infamous Vanity Fair interview in 2018 where he said, “If it wasn’t for me, there would be no Julia Roberts and no Emma Roberts [who is his daughter] as celebrities, as actresses, and I’m very proud of that.”
At the time, he also said he helped the Pretty Woman star to secure her first agent, saying, “When Julia first came to New York, I went into William Morris and I said, ‘Which one of you is going to sign my sister Julia?’ 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, so I’m proud of that.”
He continued in the book, “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.”
Roberts further described the beloved actress as a “very driven woman,” adding that someone would have “plucked her out of the crowd” for a career in Hollywood without his influence or aid. Though, he said, perhaps it was his paving of a path for Julia that changed the trajectory of her life.
“On the other hand, I was born to do this. I moved to New York City when I wasn’t even old enough to drink a beer in public. If Julie had stayed in Atlanta, she’d probably have married a wealthy dude and lived a very different life. So I will take credit, once I had broken away from my father (or thought I had) and 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.”
Elsewhere in the book, Roberts also reflected on not being able to “handle” being a parent to Emma, in addition to speaking candidly about his addiction to cocaine. Earlier this summer, the actor told Still Here Hollywood podcast that he is “not supposed to talk about” either Emma or Julia, but that he “stumbled” and does.
