‘Why Is No One Calling Out George Clooney?’: Emma Roberts on Sexism in ‘Nepo Baby’ Discourse

For the most part, celebrities named in the growing “nepo baby” discourse on social media have accepted the mantle humbly, but actress Emma Roberts just pointed out a disturbing trend in this line of thinking. During an interview on the podcast Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi, Roberts noted that the “nepo baby” moniker applies most derisively to young women and girls. She suggested that there’s be sexism and misogyny behind the discourse – subconsciously or otherwise.

“Young girls, I feel like, get it harder with the nepo baby thing,” said Roberts, who is the daughter of actor Eric Roberts and the niece of actress Julia Roberts. “I don’t really see people calling out, you know, sons of famous actors. Not that they should be called that. I don’t think anyone should be called out wanting to follow their dreams. I’m like, ‘why is no one calling out George Clooney for being a nepo baby?’ Rosemary Clooney was an icon!”

Roberts is referring to George Clooney’s aunt, a singer and actress who had a decades-long career in entertainment. She was one of the stars of the beloved 1954 film White Christmas with Bing Crosby and even starred in her own variety show in 1956 called The Rosemary Clooney Show. In 1995, Rosemary took a guest starring role on ER where she appeared on screen with her nephew.

It’s unclear how much Rosemary’s success may have helped George Clooney become a household name, but to Roberts’ point, it’s often hard to pin down the exact mechanics of nepotism in Hollywood, where employment is always brief and contractual. Roberts said that she believes those connections give one “a leg up” to get started, “but then the other side to that is, you know, 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.”

Roberts made her acting debut in 2001 at the age of 10 with three movie appearances in one year – a short film called BigLove, an uncredited role in the movie America’s Sweethearts and a role as young Kristine Jung in Blow. Three years later, she was the lead in her own Nickelodeon sitcom Unfabulous, with a backdoor pilot on Drake & Josh. However, she said that critics can’t treat IMDb credits like a scorecard, as it leaves out all of the lost opportunities along the way.

“People kind of only see your wins because they only see when you’re on the poster of a movie,” she said. “They don’t see all the rejection along the way. 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.”