Eric Roberts has advised Newsweek who’s supporting him within the viewers as he competes on Dancing With the Stars after a household feud noticed his relationship with sister Julia Roberts break down.
Eric—recognized for movies equivalent to Star 80 and Runaway Practice—has lastly made his long-awaited Dancing With the Stars debut after first being requested to hitch the present 19 years in the past. Sadly on the time, a scheduling battle got here up, and he needed to decline.
This 12 months, celebrities competing for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy embody Eric, alongside Household Issues actor Reginald VelJohnson competing with professional Emma Slater; Actual Housewives of Atlanta star Phaedra Parks partnered with Val Chmerkovskiy; Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher competing with Alan Bersten; and lots of extra.
Eric has shared that his spouse—casting director and actress Eliza Roberts—shall be supporting him each night time, however he didn’t point out his well-known sister nor his actor daughter, Emma Roberts.
Newsweek emailed spokespeople for Julia and Emma Roberts for touch upon Tuesday.
Eric Roberts attends the seventh Annual HAPA Awards at Alex Theatre on October 7, 2023 in Glendale, California. He has advised Newsweek who’s supporting him on his “Dancing With the Stars” journey.
Olivia Wong/Getty Pictures
“My spouse is right here daily, however I came upon final night time my lawyer is in love along with his present. He was there in the home, ‘Oh, I received on the present; I am unable to wait to come back,’ after which I discover out he has plenty of shoppers on the present, so he is an everyday within the viewers at Dancing With the Stars,” the Hollywood actor stated.
“So, my lawyer, his girlfriend, my spouse, my stepdaughter, my grandchildren; yeah, they’re all there,” Roberts added.
“All of them love the present, however they’re all being very quiet about it as a result of they do not know the way to strategy me about it actually. They have not requested me if I am comfortable. They simply … ‘So how’s it going? Oh yeah, hmm-mm.’ However they have not requested if I am comfortable. However I’m comfortable. It is a blast.”
Stress in Eric Roberts and sister Julia’s relationship began within the Nineteen Nineties, which Eric has stated was largely as a consequence of his dependancy and different household points. The feud deepened when Julia supported Emma’s mom, Kelly Cunningham, in a bitter custody battle.
In recent times, Eric has sought to fix his relationship with Julia. In his 2024 memoir, Runaway Practice: Or the Story of My Life So Far, he expressed guilt for the hurt his dependancy brought on and apologized to Julia.
Whether or not Julia or Emma will present their assist for Eric on Dancing With the Stars is but to be seen. When Eric was requested how he thought he was going to do within the dancing competitors, he stated he did not assume he was going to carry out very properly.
“I do not need to jinx it, however I do not anticipate to do properly. I anticipate to have enjoyable. And if doing properly, you realize, falls out of getting enjoyable, I am gonna do nice,” he added.
Eric Roberts and Britt Stewart pose in a promo picture for ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” Stewart advised Newsweek that she loves the actor’s mentality relating to the present.
Andrew Eccle/Disney
The actor is dancing alongside Britt Stewart, who first joined the present as a troupe member in Season 23 and remained in that position till Season 27. In Season 29, she made historical past as the primary Black feminine skilled dancer on the present. She advised Newsweek that she loves Roberts’ mentality relating to the competitors.
“Generally with Dancing With the Stars, you truly, you actually by no means know [how well you will do],” Stewart stated.
“Generally, you’ll be able to have somebody like Eric with no dance expertise, however folks fall in love with who he’s, with how he’s approaching this expertise, and we may go approach additional than we may ever [have] anticipated … I do imagine that he’s rising and he is progressing, and that is one thing that is additionally essential on this course of.
“So I really like the mentality that we’re going into with this season is we’re simply, we’ll be current week to week, day-to-day, and if we occur to go additional than we anticipated, will probably be a stunning shock,” Stewart added.
Eric added: “I definitely am the underdog.”
Stewart stated that being the primary Black feminine professional on the present means she at all times feels the stress however in a optimistic approach.
“My first season as a professional, I put a whole lot of stress on myself, a whole lot of stress of feeling like I’m the one one, I’m the primary, I’m this consultant, and now I’ve turned that into gasoline in every season and I simply, I need to proceed being that illustration, however I additionally need my breaking limitations to proceed to open doorways,” Stewart stated.
Stewart additionally serves as president of the nonprofit Share the Motion. It goals to extend range within the skilled dance group by offering monetary, instructional, and inspirational assist to promising younger BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, (and) People of Color] dancers.
On the primary episode of Dancing With the Stars Season 33, one of many motion’s scholarship recipients was within the viewers with their mother.
“I truly met them, and it was her dream to be the primary Black feminine professional at Dancing With the Stars after which her mother stated, ‘Honey, I feel you may need to be the second as a result of there’s already one,'” Stewart continued.
“And, you realize, to see her within the viewers and for me to be that reflection of how she sees herself at some point is one thing that it is arduous to place in phrases for me.”
Eric added: “You are going to make me cry that it is so cool.”