Julia Roberts got her big break in 1988 when she starred in the drama-comedy film Satisfaction alongside Liam Neeson and Justine Bateman. Since then, she’s become the queen of rom-coms, appearing in movies like Pretty Woman and My Best Friend’s Wedding, and an Academy Award thanks to her titular portrayal in the biopic Erin Brockovich.
While she’s appeared in almost 70 movies and TV shows over the course of her career, there are some projects Julia Roberts refuses to be a part of. For instance, the Pretty Woman actress keeps turning down Saturday Night Live despite having been asked to host the show for several years now.
Most recently, Julia revealed that she won’t ever appear in American Horror Story alongside her niece, Emma Roberts. And the reason why makes a lot of sense.
Julia Roberts Told Ryan Murphy She Won’t Ever Appear in American Horror Story
Julia Roberts is good friends with American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy. Despite their long-lasting relationship and the fact that her nice Emma Roberts has had an important role in several series of the show, the Pretty Woman actress refuses to appear on AHS. As it turns out, the reason for this is that she’s easily scared.
“You know everybody divides the world into two groups? My two groups are people that like to be scared and people who don’t like to be scared,” Roberts further explained that she falls into the second group. “The first season of American Horror Story came out and the way that I took my kids to school then, there was a traffic light that I always hit red and there was a poster for American Horror Story right at that traffic light. I called Ryan and I said, ‘I’m just going to tell you right now—I don’t think I can watch your show. I can’t support you. I don’t think I can do it.”
Although many celebrities have appeared on American Horror Story, Julia Roberts won’t ever join them, no matter how much Ryan Murphy of Emma Roberts beg her to. She’d rather stay away from this kind of projects. This actually explains why Roberts has never starred in any horror movies!
Emma Roberts Can't Get Julia Roberts To Watch American Horror Story
Julia Roberts has openly told Ryan Murphy and Emma Roberts that she won’t ever watch American Horror Story. “Emma’s on it, and I say, ‘Emma, sweetheart, I don’t think I can watch this show that you’re in.’ And she goes, ‘Auntie, I was in this toy box at the end of this bed and they pulled my arm off.’ I go, ‘OK. You just have to stop talking. I can’t handle it.’ So that is off the table for me. I don’t watch things like that,” she told Entertainment Weekly.
Luckily, neither Murphy nor her niece give her a hard time for this choice. In fact, in an interview for Entertainment Tonigth, Emma revealed she’s tried to get her aunt to watch AHS without much success. “She’s too scared! She explained, “When you’re shooting it, it’s not scary and then…they add in all the effects and cut it together. I mean, I sometimes watch it with my eyes closed. I don’t blame her.”
Even though she’s appeared in multiple seasons of American Horror Story, Emma Roberts knows that the show can be too much for some people, her aunt included. “I mean, it just gets crazier and crazier,” she revealed. “We were getting the scripts and we were all like, ‘Really?!’”
Julia Roberts Is Not the Only Person In Her Family Who’s Scared To Watch American Horror Story
Although she’s appeared in many movies and TV shows over the years, Emma Roberts is probably better known for her role in the horror genre. The young actress made a name for herself, doing something completely different to what her aunt (Julia Roberts) had done, simply by starring in Wes Craven’s Scream 4 (2011) and, subsequently, on Ryan Murphy’s hit horror shows, American Horror Story and Scream Queens.
Despite being one of Hollywood’s reigning scream queens, Emma reveals she’s a lot like Julia Roberts when it comes to watching scary movies. “I’m scared of everything!” Roberts told Los Angeles magazine “Everything! Really! I’ve always been the person screaming. I’m always freaked out: ‘Someone’s under the bed!’ ‘What is that noise outside?’ I’ve always had anxiety. Always.”
But she’s managed to face her fears. “So, now I’m adult, and all my worst fears basically play out at work every day,” she admitted.
“I always wish someone could see behind the scenes: We’re running through a forest at night, the rain’s pelting, someone has a knife at our throats. Then they say, ‘Cut!’ and we’re all, like, ‘What do you want to eat for lunch? So what are you guys doing this weekend?’"
As scary as watching (and sometimes filming) the show can be, Emma Roberts won’t say no to appearing on American Horror Story once again. In fact, the actress is now starring on the show’s latest season alongside none other than Kim Kardashian!
