Eric Roberts is publicly apologizing to his sister, Julia Roberts, over the claim that he made her famous.
The actor, 68, took responsibility for the “asinine” comments he’s made over the years in his new memoir, Runaway Train: Or the Story of My Life So Far.
“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,’” read an excerpt from the book via Entertainment Weekly. “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 shared how his family calls the Oscar winner Julie.)
Eric, whose daughter is actress Emma Roberts, added that Julia, 56, is “very driven” and destined for greatness. “Someone would have plucked her out of the crowd in a place like New York without my help,” he said.
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Though he recanted his previous comments, the Academy Award nominee appeared to take credit for getting Julia and their two other sisters up to New York, where he claimed Julia caught the acting bug.
“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,” he claimed.
In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2018, Eric infamously took credit for the success of Julia and his daughter Emma, 33.
“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,” he told the outlet. “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?’”
He added at the time, “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.”
Eric noted in his memoir how he lost custody of Emma due to his drug use. He shares the American Horror Story star with ex Kelly Cuningham.
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As for his relationship with Julia, the siblings were estranged for years; however, Eric told Vanity Fair in 2018 that the pair are “email buddies” and claimed they have spent a couple of Thanksgivings together.
Despite mending broken fences, Eric revealed during an appearance on the “Still Here Hollywood” podcast in July that he’s not supposed to talk about his sister or daughter in a public setting.
“You’ll have to ask her,” Eric said when asked how Julia was. “I love my sister, but I can’t talk about her. She [doesn’t] want to talk about it.”
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He added, “My daughter told me not to talk about her, but I stumble and do. I’m not supposed to talk about either of them. But I do.”
Julia made her big screen debut in 1988’s Satisfaction, which she followed up with Mystic Pizza that same year. She was nominated for her first Oscar in 1990 for her role in Steel Magnolias, and a decade later, Julia won the 2001 Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Erin Brockovich.
As for his career, Eric received an Oscar nom for Best Supporting Actor in 1985’s Runaway Train, and has over 800 acting credits to date, including a starring role on the TV series Less Than Perfect. He also appeared in The Expendables as James Munroe.
