Emma Roberts Says Those Who Criticize Nepo Babies 'Don't See All the Rejection Along the Way'

Emma Roberts is weighing in on how the public perceives "nepo babies."

During Roberts' appearance on the Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi podcast by iHeartMedia to promote her new movie Space Cadet on Tuesday, June 25, the actress pointed out that even successful actors with family members who also work in entertainment don't always have an easy path toward stardom.

“That's the thing that I always talk about — 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," Emma, whose aunt is Julia Roberts and father is Eric Roberts, told podcast host Bruce Bozzi.

"That's why I'm always very open about things I’ve auditioned for and haven't gotten the part for," she added. "I think it's important to talk about - otherwise people just think everything's been so great and linear and easy, and no, it's not at all. But of course it looks like that to the outside perspective or to the naked eye."

Emma got her start acting in 2001 and first made a name for herself on the Nickelodeon sitcom Unfabulous and in movies like 2006's Aquamarine and 2007's Nancy Drew. More recently, she has starred in several seasons of American Horror Story.

"I think there's two sides of the coin. People like to say, you know, you have a leg up because you have family in the industry," she said elsewhere during the podcast while discussing her own experience navigating the entertainment industry. "But then the other side to that is you have to prove yourself more. Also, if people don't have good experiences with other people in your family, then you'll never get a chance."

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“I think there's something to be said where everybody loves the kind of overnight success story," Roberts continued. "And so if you're kind of not the girl from the middle of nowhere that broke into Hollywood, there's kind of an eye roll of like ‘Well, your dad was this.' "

Roberts joked that she likes to point out actors like George Clooney could be considered "nepo babies," noting Clooney's relation to his aunt Rosemary Clooney, an actress and singer who died in 2002 at 74.

"I'm just kidding, but I feel like young girls get it harder with the nepo baby thing," she said. "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 dream."