Julia Roberts’ brother Eric apologizes for saying he made her famous: ‘I want to do well’

Eric Roberts would like to clarify the situation.

The 68-year-old actor is apologising to his sister Julia Roberts (56) after saying she was responsible for his successful career.

Eric publicly apologized in his new memoir, “Runaway Train: Or, The Story of My Life So Far.”

The “Dancing with the Stars” participant was already a successful actor when his younger sister moved to New York to pursue her acting career in 1985. He was also addicted to cocaine at the time.

Eric, who is also the father of actress Emma Roberts, has on more than one occasion taken credit for his younger sister and daughter’s stardom.

He told Vanity Fair in 2018, “If it weren’t for me, there would be no Julia Roberts and no Emma Roberts as celebrities or as actresses,” adding, “And I’m very proud of that.”

But now Eric is changing his tune.

“I hope Julia accepts this public apology,” he wrote on “Runaway Train,” according to People. “It was a stupid thing to say.”

He further added that he believed his drug addiction damaged his relationship with Julia and his other sister, Lisa, when they were younger.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they suffered from PTSD from being around me when it was dangerous,” he admitted. “Lisa and Julia needed love and protection – instead they got fear and uncertainty.”

However, the “Dark Knight” actor said his addiction damaged his relationship with his daughter more than anyone else.

“Of course, the biggest consequence of my drug use was losing Emma,” he said, referring to the custody battle he fought with Emma’s mother, Kelly Cunningham. Eric and Cunningham separated when Emma was a baby.

The custody dispute was also the beginning of his rift with Julia, as she sided with the Cunninghams in the proceedings. Although Eric did not elaborate on that moment, he wrote that his ex-wife getting custody of Emma was the right decision.

“I think I’ll be Julia’s brother and Emma Roberts’ father for the rest of my life,” he said. “I want to be okay with that, and step aside proudly and gracefully. That’s one of the reasons I wrote the book.”

It’s unclear how close Eric is to Emma and Julia these days, though the “Runaway Train” actor has spoken about how proud he is of his daughter’s work, while also admitting that both his sister and Emma don’t like it when Eric mentions them in interviews.

“I love my daughter’s work so much these days,” Eric said on the “Still Here Hollywood” podcast in July. “I can’t believe how great she’s become. I’m so proud of her I can’t look straight.”

“I’m so proud of her I can’t even see properly,” he added. “From her performance in ‘Maybe I Do’ to now, she just overwhelms me with pride and just, ‘Oh my God, there she is again.’ And I’m so happy to be her dad, because she’s doing such a great job. And I’m so proud.”

When asked how Julia was doing, he refused to say anything.

“You’d have to ask her,” Roberts responded. “I love my sister, but I can’t talk about her. She [doesn’t] I want to talk about it.”

“Even my daughter told me not to talk about them, but I stagger and I do,” he said of the “American Horror Story” actor. “I shouldn’t talk about them. But I do.”

When asked at the time if he was responsible for Emma’s success, he replied, “Not at all. Except that I gave her the name.”