Emma Roberts' Father Addresses Assumptions About Their Relationship - And Gives HONEST Opinion On Her Acting Skills!

Eric Roberts is opening up about his relationship with daughter Emma Roberts!

Fans may remember that the actor admitted during an episode of the Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum podcast in October 2024 that the hardest time in his life was “probably the loss of relationship with my daughter,” adding:

“There’s not a pain, there’s a sadness for the, most likely, misunderstanding we’ll have forever because we’re human.”

Eric, the brother of Julia Roberts, lost custody of Emma to her mom, Kelly Cunningham, in the early ’90s due to his battle with addiction. He recalled in his memoir Runaway Train: Or, The Story of My Life So Far:

“I loved my little daughter with the strength of Hercules, despite my own weaknesses. However, I couldn’t handle the realities of an infant coming into my life, and I couldn’t handle being a parent! I’m still not a father figure. Emma, on the other hand, certainly knows what that role is — now grown up and a mom herself. She’s that person to her first child, Rhodes. I never saw myself as someone who deserved to have physical custody of Emma, not in a million years. We both knew better than that. Kelly never claimed I was trying to get physical custody of Emma. There really was no custody fight. I’m very happy to be straightening this out right now.”

But where do they stand now? The Dark Knight star shared some rare insight into their relationship while on the Really Famous With Kara Mayer Robinson podcast on Sunday! When asked whether Eric and Emma have a “complicated” relationship, he replied:

“Not really. It’s only complicated through outside eyes because they don’t get any of it, so they have their own take, whatever that is.”

People have assumptions about his bond with the American Horror Story actress. However, Eric noted that “they’re not really involved,” so they’ll never really know what’s going on between them. He admitted that “it’s not a straight line” with family, though.

And despite what people may think, Eric insisted he is “so proud of my daughter” at the end of the day. He added:

“I’m so proud of my kid. She didn’t start off as a great actor, but she became a great actor. She’s fabulous.”

Not him throwing a bit of shade at her early acting skills! Ouch!

While opening up about their relationship, Eric looked back on the moment Emma was born in 1991, saying:

“Emotionally, I was a wash rag.”

According to Eric, he wasn’t in the right headspace at the time due to his struggles with depression:

“I was not to be depended on emotionally whatsoever because I was a car wreck. I was a car wreck because of many things, but I take full responsibility for it.”

At least he can own up to it! Watch Eric get candid about his relationship with Emma (below):