Julia Roberts is Just Like Me
By Glinda
Who knew?
Due to copyright reasons, I can’t put up a video clip of Julia’s interview with Oprah, but here’s a link if you are so inclined.
Basically, Oprah asks her about a typical day with her family, and Julia rattles off a synopsis of getting everyone up, fed, off to school, then home for a snack, “…just like every other family on the street.”
Oh yes, Julia. The similarities between you and 99.9% of the rest of the population are so very obvious.
Because all of us wear vintage Valentino gowns as we accept our Oscar, all of us get paid millions of dollars for a few months of work, and all of us hang out with George Clooney in Italy. Why, we were just there a month or so ago, and George sends you his best.
For once, I would like to hear some millionaire mom admit that she has an easier time than the rest of us, if only for the fact that unlike a certain someone who writes this blog, she never has to worry that the money to pay the babysitter is almost as expensive as the event that warrants the babysitting. Which of course, usually means that events like that don’t happen all that often.
So Julia, hang on to your delusion that you are just like me.
Until I see you dropping your kids off to school in your unwashed car, hair in a messy bun and still in your pajamas, I’m not buying it.
May 25th, 2010 at 8:39 am
Amen to that!
May 25th, 2010 at 9:07 am
I am not a big Sarah Jessica Parker fan, but I have read several interviews with her where she is adamant about stating that she has a privileged life and a fabulous metabolism. That makes me like her a lot more than Demi Moore, who said something years ago in Vanity Fair about having it all – children, career, husband – and I thought, “Sure. If you also have a maid, a cook, a nanny and a secretary.”
May 25th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
I see your point but I think it’s a little unfair to judge her so harshly. I watched the whole interview and the line about being just like every other family was in reference to her average, everyday schedule while home with her kids. And in that aspect, she is a lot like most people. I find it refreshing for celebrities, like SJP, to own up to their privileges but at the same time, I think most of them are just trying to be regular people, so I’m more inclined to cut them a little slack when they talk about things like their kids and their family life being ‘normal’ rather than always dwelling on the fact that they have money and privilege.
I guess I just feel like celebrities are people too and it’s a little silly of us to expect them to always point out that they’ve got more money/influence/privilege than us?
May 25th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
I agree with Casablanca–There are some challenges that every single parent has to work through, rich or poor.
She most definitely has many privileges though… I remember those privileges every time I see a gDiaper (and think about how I would like some so I can travel with them instead of cloth) and recall her interview about how one of her kids in in gDiapers.
May 25th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Cynthia – blame this on my currently-childless state but what on earth is a gdiaper?
May 25th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
I think y’all are just a bit less cynical than I am, and that’s OK!
I can’t help but roll my eyes whenever a celebrity does the aww-shucks, I’m a normal person routine.
Of course, they are human, they have ups and downs, and kids are certainly unaware that mom or dad is a gajillionaire.
But to sit there and act like all the opportunities that their wealth affords them and their children, whether it be educational, nutritional, travel, or a bunch of other things, doesn’t exist, seems disingenuous to me.
And Casablanca, I’ll answer for Cynthia that gDiapers are expensive biodegradable disposable diapers.
May 25th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
I totally get your cynicism, Glinda, in fact it’s something I greatly appreciate in your writing. I just don’t think this particular case is a case where a celebrity is pretending like her privilege doesn’t exist…just because she doesn’t acknowledge it every single question of every single interview doesn’t mean she ignores it or plays dumb.
Also re:gDiapers. I looked them up…people really pay $149.99 for a kit that only includes 160 diapers? I feel like a newborn must go through that many diapers in a matter of days! That shit is CRAZY.
May 26th, 2010 at 1:36 am
Casablanca, I hear what you are saying.
Can we agree to disagree? 🙂
May 26th, 2010 at 10:07 am
I have that sort of cynicism too… I mean, she obviously faces “normal” parenting challenges, but she does get to traipse around India for a year, with her kids, while filming a movie that she got paid like $10 million for… So, I don’t feel bad for her, or anything.
Yes, gDiapers are that expensive. It’s ridiculous. By the way, with her money and and her appearance of caring about the environment… Shouldn’t she be using FuzziBuns or something? I’m sure she could get at least one of her lackies to take care of those dirty nappies.
May 27th, 2010 at 12:19 am
Celebrities are a lot like regular people in that they, too, have pretensions; instead of hiding out watching tv while pretending to be “up at the cabin” on weekends, they pretend to have lives which are no different from those of the middle class.
That’s not cynical; in a way, it’s sad. Sure, identifying with middle-class lifestyles and values helps their popularity, but if we were in their position we’d be nostalgic for the way we were raised, I’m sure.
I’m sure they long to be “normal” sometimes, but they’re quite keenly aware that they can’t be. Sure, Hugh Jackman takes his kid to the playground looking like a binner, but Hugh Jackman is a big guy, and he isn’t the type to be physically intimidated by a fan. Julia Roberts, generally speaking, cannot, and she knows it.
May 28th, 2010 at 1:32 am
Here’s a picture of Julia picking up the twins from school in messy ponytail and no make-up:
http://celebritybabyscoop.com/2010/02/02/julia-roberts-henry-pick-up-the-twins
Plenty more where that came from. I dunno. Julia seems about as “normal” a mom as you can be as an A-list actress. Others might deserve your ire. Julia, not so much!
May 28th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
Well, I’ve never been fond of Ms. Roberts. Maybe that has something to do with it.
May 30th, 2010 at 10:30 am
Glinda, you mean Homewrecker Roberts, who should live next door to Homewrecker Jolie?
May 30th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
If you pick your kids up with messy hair, do your fans come to your defense on the internet?
May 30th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
@raincoaster- Apparently the answer is yes.
@the gold digger- Well yes, but it doesn’t really have anything to do with the homewrecking part. I just think she is a horrible actress, and I tend to avoid movies with her in them.
May 31st, 2010 at 6:47 am
Glinda, your hair is always perfect.
May 31st, 2010 at 10:14 am
Glinda, I don’t boycott movies based on the actors’ marital history because Hollywood is a different world altogether in that respect. (But if you have slept with and married your paramour’s daughter? Yeah. I’m not paying to watch your films and they’re crap anyhow. Same thing if you ever propagandized for the North Vietnamese. Or raped a 7th grader.)
But bad acting is an excellent reason not to watch. Demi Moore makes my list for that.