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'God, what if I was 15?': Julia Roberts responds to being shamed in photo with niece Emma Roberts

It opened her eyes to the toxicity of social media.

via U.S. Department of State/Wikimedia Commons and Dominick D/Wikimedia Commons

Julia Roberts and Emma Roberts

Actress Julia Roberts was late to the game when it came to joining social media, so she was blown away when she finally saw first-hand how toxic it could be. She started an Instagram account in June of 2018 and, shortly after, was the target of trolls mocking her appearance in a post by her niece.

Roberts was upset about the negative comments people made about her looks and then was gutted when she considered social media's effect on young women. In a 2018 interview with Oprah Winfrey for Harper’s Bazaar, Julia recounted the story:

“Although something did happen recently on my niece Emma’s Instagram that I think taught me a lot about what it’s like being a young person in today’s society. One weekend morning Emma slept over, and we got up and were having tea and playing cards and having this beautiful morning, and then a couple of days later, she posted a picture of us,” Roberts recalled.

“And the number of people who felt absolutely required to talk about how terrible I looked in the picture—that I’m not aging well, that I look like a man, why would she even post a picture like this when I look that terrible!” she continued. “And I was amazed at how that made me feel. I’m a 50-year-old woman and I know who I am, and still my feelings got hurt. I was sad that people couldn’t see the point of it, the sweetness of it, the absolute shining joy of that photo. I thought, ‘What if I was 15?’”


body shaming, instagram, social media, body, dysmorphiaA young woman looks uncomfortable in the mirror. Image via Canva.

Beauty influencer Samantha Marika combined the audio of Julia telling the story, added it to the candid photo of her and Emma, and posted it to Instagram, and it went viral. The post has since been deleted, but in February 2024, actress and author Ali Wentworth posted a similar video of the photo of Roberts with her niece along with other photos from throughout the actress' life. Her words to Oprah play over the video and Wentworth applauds Roberts for being "spot on about the corrosive nature of social media and its effect on younger generations" in the caption.

In short, Julia’s concerns about teenage mental health aren’t unfounded.

A 2022 report by Pew Research shows that online bullying is pervasive among teenagers and looks are a common target. “Nearly half of U.S. teens have been bullied or harassed online, with physical appearance being seen as a relatively common reason why,” the report said. “Older teen girls are especially likely to report being targeted by online abuse overall and because of their appearance.” The Cyberbullying Research Center confirms these findings, noting in 2023 that "adolescent girls are morel likely to have experienced cyberbullying in their lifetimes (59.2% vs. 49.5% for adolescent boys).

bullies, cyberbullying, teen girls, adolescent girls, social mediaGirls experience cyberbullying more than their peers. Image via Canva.

Even though online bullying is common, those who watched Wentworth's video were disturbed by what happened to Roberts and her niece.

“I thought they were going to say how much like twins they look like & just a sweet beautiful moment they let us in on, when they didn't have to,” one viewer wrote.

"The anonymous aspect of social media adds to the cruelty. This picture is lovely and your statement is so true," said another.

Even though Roberts was disturbed by the comments she saw on Instagram, she’s glad that it helped her grasp what’s happening to young people online.

“I was so happy that happened because I had this whole new glimpse into a way of living that I didn’t get at all,” she told Winfrey. “You have to go through things to understand them, and this was just a little paper cut of what can really go on with social media.”

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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Michelle Obama sat down with Oprah for an important chat about criticism.

The first lady shares a bit of advice for young girls everywhere.

It's not every day that two of the world's most powerful women sit down for a heart-to-heart chat about life.

But that's exactly what happened in a recent interview between Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey (numbers 13 and 21, respectively, on the Forbes list of powerful women, in case you were wondering).

The wide-ranging interview tackled everything from the first lady's thoughts on the importance of ensuring a peaceful transition of power to her thoughts on what her husband's lasting legacy might be.

GIFs from OWN/YouTube.

In perhaps the most important portion of the interview, she discussed what it's like being on the receiving end of sometimes unfair criticism.

On Election Day, the New York Times Styles section tweeted "How [Michelle Obama] shed an angry black woman caricature and evolved into a political powerhouse." In 2012, the New York Post ran a headline reading, "Mad as Hell Michelle" on the front page. That line of criticism is bizarre not only because it's harsh, but also because it appears completely divorced from the reality of who Michelle Obama has shown herself to be as a public figure.

Asked about what it felt like to so frequently have the "angry black woman" stereotype projected onto her by her critics, Obama opened up about coping with that negativity and using it to fuel her work moving forward.

"That was one of those things where you think, 'Dang, you don’t even know me,'" she said. "You just sort of feel like, 'Wow, where did that come from?' And that’s the first blowback."

That criticism sparked something within her. She wasn't going to let someone else define her. Instead, she was going to live out loud.

Obama rattled off a list of things she's proud of and shared why it's important to speak up.

"We as women, we as minorities," she told Oprah, "We underestimate ourselves. ... I want young girls out there to understand that what’s in your brain is really useful. Do not hide it, don’t dumb it down, don’t apologize for it. Just put it on the table and let people deal with it."

The whole interview makes so many great points, but most of all, it's a reminder that Michelle Obama, just like you or me, is a human being with feelings, ambition, and dreams.

People talk a lot about whether spouses and relatives of politicians are "fair game" for criticism, but perhaps we need to look at that question with a bit more nuance. The issue shouldn't be whether Michelle Obama or Melania Trump or Laura Bush or any of their children should be exempt from any and all criticism — no one is. The issue should be one of whether such criticism is accurate, justified, and humane.

Flinging baseless insults and dehumanizing someone, even if they're a political opponent, doesn't add anything to discourse. Instead, it creates hate and resentment, and ultimately serves as a distraction from who we want to be as people and as a country.

As first lady, Michelle Obama was dealt a lot of low blows. But as she says, "When they go low, we go high."

That's her approach to offering help and advice to Melania Trump. It's something that can be incorporated into our own lives, as well.

You can watch a clip from the interview below and on the OWN YouTube channel.

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Obama's hilarious Samantha Bee interview touched on voting, white hair, and sexism.

On Halloween, President Obama went on "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee" to get to the bottom of some serious business — like what costume the president was trying to pull off.

GIF via "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee."

GIF via "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee."

They also found some time to talk about voting. Bee put on her best millennial impression to see if Obama could persuade her to cast her ballot on Nov. 8.

“Young people have a bigger stake in this election than anybody," the president told her. "I would hope that you’d be willing to take about the same amount of time that you spend just looking through cat videos on your phone to make sure that democracy’s working."

Bee ... wasn't making it easy for him.

GIF via "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee."

GIF via "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee."

They also talked about what Obama wants his legacy to be after he leaves the White House next year.

"If we can look back 20 years from now and say to ourselves, ‘There were a whole bunch of people who were inspired by what we did and are doing it even better,’ then we’ll feel pretty good," the president said of he and Michelle's impact in the White House.

Bee made him aware of the other monumental milestone his presidency offered America.

GIF via "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee."

GIF via "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee."

The two also touched on the hardships Hillary Clinton will face as a glass-ceiling-shattering figure, should she become president — something Obama knows a thing or two about.

Being the first black president, Obama faced unique challenges no president before him had to endure, such as the racist, ludicrous notion that he's not really an American.

“If and when Hillary is president," Bee asked, "what do you think will be the female equivalent of 'You weren’t born in this country'?”

Obama responded (emphasis added):

“I think the equivalent will be, 'She’s tired, she’s moody, she’s being emotional.' When men are ambitious, it’s just taken for granted — ‘Well, of course they should be ambitious.' But when women are ambitious, ‘Why?’ That theme, I think, will continue throughout her presidency, and it’s contributed to this notion that somehow she is hiding something.”

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.

Obama's answer is one many women are familiar with. Because even if you detest everything about Clinton, you can still respect the fact that she will face blowback from an electorate grappling with change.

Clinton's gender has played a role in the public's perception and attitudes toward her for decades, highlighting the double standards we often see between men and women in the workplace.

She's been accused of being too emotional, but also not emotional enough. She's been too soft, apparently — but somehow also too ruthless? Her "likability liability," which dogs many women in positions of power, is just as relevant in this election as it ever was before. And you already know what happens when she's caught — gasp! — not smiling on the campaign trail.

When photo blog Humans of New York profiled Clinton in September, a telling thing happened in the comment section on Facebook: women of all political stripes empathized with her story of handling sexism as a college student.

"While we’re waiting for the exam to start, a group of men began to yell things like: 'You don’t need to be here,'" Clinton recalled. "It was intense. It got very personal."

“I was taking a law school admissions test in a big classroom at Harvard. My friend and I were some of the only women...

Posted by Humans of New York on Thursday, September 8, 2016

Clinton's HONY story of having to deal with sexist classroom bullies transcended political boundaries for many women.

And you didn't need to like her to understand the struggle.

Sadly, history will probably prove the 44th president correct, should Clinton become our 45th.

Her gender will likely play a role in how she is seen and judged as a leader.

GIF via "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee."

But if enough nasty women (and the men who support them) stand up to the injustice, maybe we can make a difference — especially for the future madam presidents headed our way.

Watch President Obama on "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee" below:

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Kristen Bell opens up about living with depression and anxiety in this touching interview.

Seeking help shouldn't be shameful, and Kristen Bell shows why.

You probably know Kristen Bell from one of her many upbeat, bubbly characters in TV shows and movies.

And if you're a parent, you may most recently remember her as the voice of Anna in "Frozen."

GIF from "Frozen"/Walt Disney Animation Studios.

But in a recent interview, Bell opened up about something she hadn't really made much mention of before: depression and anxiety.

On an episode of "Off Camera with Sam Jones," Bell was asked how she differed from the characters she plays. Her answer was both honest and unexpected. She, like millions of others across the U.S., struggles with depression and anxiety.

GIFs from "Off Camera with Sam Jones."

It's thanks to some important advice from her mom that Bell learned there's nothing to feel ashamed of when it comes to depression.

Bell's mother, being a nurse, knew that there was some risk that her daughter would develop depression or an anxiety disorder, given that both she and Bell's grandmother had experienced it.

And with her mother's help, Bell found a prescription that helped ease the symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Hearing her open up about this was powerful in that many people living with anxiety and depressive disorders — myself included — are made to feel weak and alone for seeking medical intervention. Thanks to Bell's mom, she learned at an early age that those who shame others for seeking help simply don't understand.

And as her mom told her, "The world wants to shame you for [seeking medical intervention]."

A survey from the National Mental Health Association once found that 54% of people "think of depression as a sign of personal or emotional weakness." A more recent survey discovered 17% of people "see taking medications (for problems with emotions, nerves, or mental health) as a sign of weakness. In 2004, a study found that 15% of respondents "see therapy as a sign of character weakness." And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just 25% of adults with mental health symptoms feel that people are caring and sympathetic to people with mental illness.

That is what stigma looks like.

Toward the end of the interview, Bell opens up about the double standard the world seems to have in how mental health is treated in relation to physical health.

And it's a point others have made time and again: You wouldn't deny someone with diabetes access to insulin, so why would you deny someone with depression prescriptions that would greatly improve their own lives?

In reality, you can't have full physical health without taking into account mental health.

When it comes to talking about mental illness and mental health, Bell isn't the only celebrity helping break down stigma.

In an interview last year with Upworthy, Sarah Silverman opened up about living with depression and anxiety. Lena Dunham has been outspoken about living with obsessive compulsive disorder, Demi Lovato isn't ashamed to talk about what it's like living with bipolar disorder, and Jon Hamm has discussed how his depression affects his personal life and career.

Each of these celebrities help chip away at the stigma surrounding mental health. They help bust stereotypes, and they give hope to those facing the same struggles. Their voices are important, Kristen Bell's voice is important, and your voice is important, too.

You can check out Bell's heartfelt interview with Sam Jones below.


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