Emma Roberts Talks Space Cadet and How Online Hate Caused Madame Web to Fail

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Ah, celebrities. Oftentimes, we wish they would shut their traps before spewing godawful opinions and simply do their jobs being adult pretenders, as Gary (Nerdrotic) has very appropriately deemed them. In this case, in an exclusive interview with Variety, Emma Roberts, who is starring in the upcoming film Space Cadet for Amazon Prime Video, has much to say on the matter of “online discourse.” The actress feels this new film will be an “easy target” for critics and cynics, particularly because it’s an “earnest film” and, therefore, easy fodder. 

The thing about the internet that many fail to understand is that it’s FULL of opinions. So many people partake in conversations, some civil, some not, but this is not uncommon even outside of online forums or social media. Humans have opinions, and that does not mean any of it is fact—another aspect that flies over most people’s heads. Celebrities live in such narcissistic bubbles with their assistants and agents telling them “yes” so often that if ever there’s an utterance of the word “no,” they’ll have a meltdown. Maybe that sounds too harsh, but most of these famous people do not deserve any benefit of the doubt with how they treat others, especially their fans. So this “hate culture” towards celebrities, as Roberts puts it, is not only disdain from the average hard-working American but one they’ve cultivated over the past decade with the SJWs, who may have appeared to be “on their side” when it’s arguable that neither of these sides are on the same side. The ideology is so flawed and overrun with so many rules that it’s a miracle any of them can keep up with it, so it’s not a shock when they begin to turn on each other. 

“We’ve just cultivated now this hate culture towards celebrities and towards movies and television online. Where it used to be like five people reviewed a movie, and now it’s like you have people that won’t even say what their real name is saying how much they hate something. I’m like, ‘At least everyone should have to put their driver’s license number into their Instagram account, so you’d probably think twice before you said something rude if we had your driver’s license info.’”

The comment about putting one’s driver’s license number online is equivalent to forcing people to display their social security numbers online. People have a right to keep private information hidden and should not be made to publicize anything that could jeopardize their safety. As with anything, there are creeps everywhere who care not who they hurt in the sense of causing personal privacy to be upended. It’s also hypocritical because so many celebrities say nasty things on social media, but we all know they would never put their driver’s license numbers online, let alone their addresses. Maybe Emma Roberts should think before she speaks on some matters, particularly when it comes to “hateful conduct,” when there was a report of her being arrested in 2013 for assaulting her boyfriend, Evan Peters, an actor on American Horror Story.

She was also asked about the recent documentary Quiet on Set, about how Nickelodeon allowed child predators to work on children’s shows due to her being cast in the show Unfabulous (2004-2007). Roberts stated she, fortunately, did not have the nightmare experience that was revealed in the documentary, in part due to her mother being highly involved and going with her daughter to the dressing rooms to ensure she was not left in a vulnerable state should someone walk in. 

When asked about the recent flop Madame Web, a film that even the star, Dakota Johnson, stated she would “never do again,” Roberts praised it and said that she “really enjoyed the film,” but the reason for its failure was not the poor writing and acting but “internet culture and everything being made into a joke.” The film was a “joke” because it was simply bad. Take the loss and move on.

“That’s why when people are so quick to see a movie or a show and they’re like, “Oh, I hate that,” I’m like, ‘That was months and years and blood, sweat, tears.’ Producing stuff has made me realize you can’t really hate anything because it means that people have really, really, really tried and succeeded. If you’re watching something then that’s a success.”

Unfortunately, in Hollywood today, there are far more activists than true talent, so to complain about the masses not enjoying a film nowadays is unwarranted. Regardless of how many people worked on a project, passion is absent from what is put on the screen. Budgets are through the roof, which makes one wonder just where all the money goes. It doesn’t matter how much “blood, sweat, and tears” were put into something; that shouldn’t be the sole reason to like something because if there’s no soul behind it, people see that. Any criticism is allowed, and that goes for good films as well. If artists do not receive decent feedback, particularly constructive, then no one will improve their craft. This culture of participation trophies has stopped so many creatives from striving to do better through pure tenacity and motivation.

In conclusion, any celebrity nowadays complaining about films flopping due to “online hate” should look in the mirror.