As I said in the earlier THR Actress Roundtable post, I was surprised that Julia Roberts hasn’t been a bigger tool in interviews. Don’t get me wrong, she had some subtle shade for Amy Adams during the roundtable and Julia was annoying in general, but I was surprised that she didn’t completely dominate the conversation and make it into The Julia Show: Julia Talks About JULIA Because No One Else Matters. Fortunately for us, it’s a long awards season and there are many interviews to choose from. Julia sat down with MTV’s Josh Horowitz to promote August: Osage County and Josh asked her about “the newest member” of the America’s Sweetheart Club, Jennifer Lawrence. Julia’s reaction is… amazing.
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Vanity Fair declares: “Seriously, this 67-second video should be nominated for its own Oscar for best Live-Action Short. American Studies majors will no doubt be studying it for decades to come.” SERIOUSLY. I come from a place of “Julia Roberts will always try to out-alpha-dog everyone” so my interpretation is that Julia was shading Jennifer Lawrence. But it’s not like Julia was going out of her way to take someone down – this is almost a lazy shade, like, Julia is just tossing out the idea that Jennifer Lawrence wouldn’t belong in the America’s Sweetheart Club because J-Law is too “edgy” and “cool” to be in the club. My read is “Julia is patronizing the very idea of a 23-year-old Oscar winner who is generally adored by the public.” Because it’s all about JULIA. But… I’m open to other interpretations. Have at it.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.
I thought Julia was being quite cheeky here. I liked it.
Me, too! How can you read ‘shade’ in what she said? It was funny.
She was poking fun at herself too.
To say she was shading JLaw is reaching. Is Julia Roberts self involved? Very. But in this clip she was funny.
Agree. She seems full of herself at times, but she was being nice here, imo. And she was being self deprecating, which is also nice. 🙂
Me too. And in what world is JLaw edgy? Cool? Yes. Edgy? No.
yeah I think she was too. I don’t like Julia but this seemed more like a shade against the rom com queens. She seems to be shading herself, Meg Ryan etc. I don’t think she was bashing J Law.
I took it as a joke. No big deal.
Agree. I didn’t get any meanness out of what she said.
Cheeky is the perfect way to describe this lol.
I think what she meant by edgy is the fact that American Sweethearts generally are starring in RomComs. Pretty Woman, Sleepless in Seattle, Harry met Sally- all RomComs. No flaming arrows, as she referenced.
I love my Julia with a biting tongue.
So a prostitute is a better choice to be America’s Sweetheart? Haha!
Burn!
Hey now. That was a good movie with a role she played once. She also played the sweetheart in a movie called America’s Sweethearts so the title can never be aken away from her.
Side note. The first picture is unfotunate. That dress makes her look thicker than she is.
Re: your sidenote- The photo also captures the shrew she is.
I love Pretty Woman! All I’m saying is that her argument is stupid 😉
I’m not feeling shade at Lawrence. I think she’s shading the idea of “America’s Sweetheart”.
Me too. Not a fan of Julia’s but see no shade here.
I agree. “Sweetheart” reads perky, bland, romantic interest–Lawrence IS cooler than that. (“shooting flaming arrows”). I thought it was cute the way she said her own card had “expired.”
I CANT WATCH THIS IN CANADA!!! IS IT ONLINE ANYWHERE ELSE?!
I can’t watch it here in the UK either.
Not yet – same problem here 🙁
I think it was more awkward than anything. There’s always tomorrow though.
Before the stans come I will say go Julia!!! Not everyone is drinking the Kool-aid and not everyone thinks Jennifer is the second coming!
I am with you! JenLaw is boring. Her latest interview with David Letterman was annoying and was ridiculous with her constant body functional jokes and her being smothered in that stupid blanket.
She is over doing the whole “wholesome” routine.
You don’t have to drink the koolaid to realize that JRob just has a tendency to be a huge bitch. She’s the quintessential mean-girl, who has yet to come off her Julia Mountain. She’s in no way more talented or successful than JLaw. And I say this as a fan of both JRob and JLaw. Also, can we make JRob happen?
@Kennedy: I completely agree!!. ,I don’t sense shade so much as, this intsrview is about ME!…ME!…ME!!!!!!. Roberts might have bristled a little because she now has to acknowledge the 23 year old actress who has more talent and acclaim than Roberts ever did, ever will. Having said that, I still don’t see shade.
I don’t like J Law either, and I am sorry she didn’t deserve that Oscar. Neither did Jessica, but Jennifer had Harvey behind her not talent. Don’t get me wrong she is talented, but she really isn’t all that.
you sound contradictory here *rolls eyes*
you say she got the oscar because of Harvey not because of her talent and then, in another sentence you say she is talented but not all that
so which is it? lol
and people seem to forget that she got her first oscar nomination at 20 yrs old by doing a little indie movie called winter’s bones . this movie was made for 2 million only and not backed by a major studio or Harvery Weinstein and she got raves for her performance so yeah, the she is untalented and only got the oscar because of Harvey when she already had critical acclaim before Harvey is just pure disillusionment , many actresses like Julia Roberts, Merryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Kate Winslet work with Weinstein Company in the past and even got tons of Oscar nominations and wins but I never heard any accusations of them sleeping their way through or their talent being discredited just because they work with Harvey Weinstein, i find this really hypocritical of certain people
It is known as a worldwide fact that Harvey Weinstein knows how to mount an oscar campaign for his movies, he can’t do it if nobody follows through, if the critics,actors, producers etc did not in fact think Jennifer Lawrence is talented jmo
@Angie, no one has time to read that essay you wrote. I stopped after your first sentence. But you can be talented and still not deserving an Oscar win for a performance. I thought that was common sense, but I guess not.
@Nik: Since you were too busy spitting on Angie to mount a substantive reply, I’ll merely put forward that your description perfectly describes Julia Roberts and “Erin Brockovich”.
Except without the “talented” part so much.
I’m not a huge Jennifer Lawrence fan. She’s a talented actress, but I don’t think she was the best woman nominated for an Academy Award in 2012 and I get tired of her being promoted as being everyone’s designated BFF.
But Julia Roberts is famous for being catty and aggressive, and this is typical Julia behavior.
Ehhh, I wasn’t feeling the shade here. I agree that she was being cheeky more than anything else. She’s always said she thinks the idea of ‘America’s Sweetheart’ is stupid and she doesn’t even know what that means.
But didn’t she say that after they stopped calling her America’s Sweetheart and the title went to Sandra Bullock.
That being said I don’t think she was throwing shade. She wasn’t the one who mentioned JLaw; it was the interviewer and she gave a light hearted response.
I think she’s actually fairly tolerable in this clip…
I don’t even like Jennifer Lawrence, but shut up, Julia.
Oh I am feeling the shade, starting with ‘how many of us are there?’ I bet if she was given the full list (SandyB, 90s Meg Ryan, …who else?) she’d find something ‘complementary’ yet disqualifying to say about all the ladies. She is almost visibly bristling at the idea of sharing the title with some newbie – who also beat her to the Best Actress Oscar by what, more than a decade?!
You, my darling, are much better at shade than Julia. I nominate you for everything.
That wasnt shade, that was just a thorough analysis of evidence 🙂
I lack subtlety for proper shade. But thank you anyway. You do whatever you wish with me!
“Oh I am feeling the shade, starting with ‘how many of us are there?”
Aha, good catch Anna, I missed that remark. I might have to retract my comment upthread.
My shade detector didn’t go off. I think Julia is just being her bitter, old, sarcastic self. I feel bad for the staff who works for her on her ‘organic’ farm. I bet she abuses them all!
Not to change the subject but WHT to Emma Stone. Two years ago she was going to be the new It girl and now she disappeared. JLaw stole her thunder more than she stole Kristen Stewart’s.
Compared to Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts they all seem boring for some reason – Julia and Meg were more exciting and entertaining in their heyday and even now too.
She lost what made her “it”. She used to be everyone’s bff because she was also fresh, different, dorky, and of course relatable. Then she went skinny blond fashion girl.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I feel the shade pouring out from Julia in WAVES. I personally like J Law and find her to be genuine but I also know that not everyone shares this opinion (ahem, Julia Roberts). I think Julia believes that J Law doesn’t belong in the Americas Sweetheart Club because J Law doesn’t care that much about it anyway.
Me too. But I think it’s just because Julia is bitchy in general. It’s impossible for her NOT to throw shade at someone.
There’s no shade…Christ almighty (LOL!)…Roberts was poking fun at the whole America’s Sweetheart thing which always seemed to make her roll her eyes. Her response was, “I think she’s fabulous, but too cool to be America’s sweetheart”. That’s not shade, that’s poking fun at the whole idea of being an American sweetheart. I don’t see what’s so “amazing” about Robert’s response.
Ugh that red dress. AWFUL
I’m thinkin’ she agrees, judging by The Face.
I know I’m suppose to hate Julia, but I love her. And I love this interview. I hate when smarmy young interviewers try to shoehorn screen legends into being all “Oh yah, sure, I’m that thing you’re saying” and flip it back at them with awkward gusto. Which Julia does here with gusto. Not only does she cash out on being a “sweetheart” herself but she indicates that JLaw is a hell of a lot more than that. Team Julia on this one.
@OLYB: Yes!, this exactly. The whole America’s sweetheart thing is a media construct. Roberts seemed to be indicating that the title is silly and that it does not apply to either Jennifer Lawrence or herself. I think as well, that Roberts was implying that Jennifer Lawrence is so much more than that.
BTW, I think “August: Osage County” is the worst title ever!
It if from a play and I believe it is supposed to read like stage directions. i.e.
Setting: August: Osage County.
Evening, etc.
It’s an adaptation of a Pulitzer prize and Tony winning play of the same name.
I so feel the subtle shade…and for her to give a supposed “playful” reason why she CANNOT be, is the shade.
Julia is a piece of work, smdh.
The idea of “America’s Sweetheart” is such a 80s/90s ideal. It doesn’t exist now because Rom-Coms are in hospice. They are making very few because women do NOT go see them. What few they do end up making aren’t successful.
No one is going to be the next “America’s Sweetheart” because it came from the stock protagonist female in rom-coms. Now, the role of leading female is one who can do indies and blockbusters (aka character films and action films).
@Tiffany:) : +1,000,000. Also, love the “romcoms are in hospice”…LOL!.
Thanks! 🙂
jennifer got to cut HER hair.
julia couldnt .
I really care about what Julia Roberts has to say…
This is ridiculous. It was a stupid question and her response was obviously tongue in cheek. She thinks the America’s Sweetheart title is bullsh*t and she’s saying that Jennifer Lawrence is too cool for that label.
Jennifer Lawrence IS too cool to be America’s Sweetheart, because we know this is who she is. If America had known the reality of other Sweethearts maybe the title would just stay vacant. We know now that Julia and Reese were too bitchy to be AS and Bullock just too awesome.
I think julia was cool and god i love her laugh, none of the socalled sweethearts has such a great laugh like her. Shes still julia, the one. I forgive her if shes sometimes a bitch. We are all sometimes no holy angels 😉
I seriously hate that Jennifer Lopez, once upon a time, renamed herself JLo. Now, instead of typing a person’s full name, we have JLaw, ScarJo, KStew, LiLo, etc., etc., and now evidently JRob. Just no.
SheBe’s correct!
god, is english even your native language? how can someone misunderstand “she’s fabulous but she’s too cool to be an american sweetheart” be thought of as shade.
Agree, people are just reaching for the star about this ‘shade’.
Interesting that she says her card expired and she wasn’t issued a new one. I can’t find it but I definitely remember Meg Ryan saying something similar about how she was no longer America’s Sweetheart now that – and now I can’t remember who she said replaced her…Sandra Bullock perhaps?
Haven’t been a fan of Julia’s since the whole A Low Vera thing, but I don’t think she’s snarking on Jennifer Lawrence here. I agree with the other commenters who interpret it as more a swat at the whole concept of America’s Sweetheart and the romcom genre – of which, Jennifer Lawrence has never been a member. So, Julia’s right!
Nah, she wasn’t shading JLaw–she was shading the whole “America’s Sweetheart” genre, with just a little bit of “I’m kind of a has-been in that regard” thrown in. I don’t like her, but fair is fair–she wasn’t shading here.
I don’t think Julia is shading Jennifer at all…If VF is trying to pull something with that snippet of a video, they are just desperate for hits….That said I sometimes forget how much charisma Julia has…She just has a gigantic presence. It’s interesting to think in this day of social media and celebrity blogs and when a celebrity’s persona matters more, that Julia probably would have had some sort of damage to her career with her past shenanigans…..Back then, it seemed like it was more about the performance and the quality of the film than the “star”….Anyway, there are very few stars that have that “it” factor. Also, I find the America’s Sweetheart thing to be kind of weird…We don’t pigeon-hole men into that box.
somebody should be fired for that red dress. No one could look good in that.