The shady side of Julia Roberts

For a generous portion of her career, actress Julia Roberts was considered America's sweetheart. She shot to fame in the early '90s as the street-walking star of Pretty Woman. Her infectious, toothy grin and girl-next-door Southern charm won Hollywood's heart, but there is also a shady and less polished side to Roberts that isn't often discussed in the media. The actress herself has admitted to making mistakes in the past, telling Harper's Bazaar in 2017 that "I was my priority, a selfish little brat running around making films." And with that, here are some controversial moments that have tarnished Robert's silver screen crown.



Julia Roberts reportedly hooked up with her ex's friend

In 1991, Julia Roberts was set to marry Kiefer Sutherland, who was quite the stud in his pre-Jack Bauer years. She called off the engagement just three days before the nuptials. According to the New York Daily News, Roberts allegedly thought her fiancé was cheating on her with a stripper. What's so wrong about a bride-to-be shutting down a wedding due to fidelity concerns? Nothing.

It was what Julia Roberts did immediately after she ended the relationship that makes you go hmm. According to People, she fled to Ireland and sought comfort from actor Jason Patric, a friend of Sutherland. On the eve of what would have been her wedding day, she went to a photo shoot reportedly wearing a "Notre Dame baseball cap suspiciously identical to the one worn around town by Patric." Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Julia Roberts broke Lyle Lovett's heart

Julia Roberts married oddly coifed country singer Lyle Lovett in 1993. They swapped vows after a three-week courtship, and she even went barefoot at their wedding. The odd couple seemed to share a sweet romance, or so it seemed on the surface. Imagine everyone's surprise when, just 21 months later, the pair issued a brief statement to announce its separation: "We remain close and in great support of each other."

The timing was terrible, and it seemed like Lovett got the short end of the stick. Roberts was in London shooting Mary Reilly, while Lovett was in Houston recovering from a motorcycle accident. (That doesn't sound like "great support" on Roberts' part.) Though the statement was a joint affair, fans felt like a doting Lovett had been put out to pasture as his wife's fame soared. Not long before the breakup, he'd talked happily about trying to start a family when Roberts finished filming — an idea that seemed unrealistic considering he also told People they had never spent seven straight days together.


Did Roberts wear a shady T-shirt to target her man's ex-wife?

That infamous baseball cap isn't the only time Julia Roberts has been accused of throwing shade with her fashion choices. She reportedly started dating now-husband Danny Moder in 2000, while Moder was still married to his first wife, makeup artist Vera Steimberg. In 2001, Roberts was spotted traipsing around in full view of paparazzi wearing a T-shirt that read "A Low Vera." That photo reportedly didn't sit well with Moder's family. A source told People that Moder's father was perturbed by Roberts' seemingly petty sartorial selection, especially since Steimberg was close with Moder's family.

Roberts never expressed remorse for that notorious outfit. She later told Oprah Winfrey, "I stand by my shirt," pointing the finger at the tabloid press who "dramatize these things until there's a state of frenzy. People see frenzy and they go, 'What?' Then they clamor toward the frenzy. We all do it. It's a primal, natural response." Was that an intellectual moment or just another sick burn — perhaps one requiring some soothing A Low Vera? (Sorry, we couldn't resist.)


Julia Roberts allegedly spun her breakup with Benjamin Bratt to hurt him

Life & Style reported that not only did Julia Roberts pursue married Danny Moder "in a big way," but she supposedly dropped her four-year relationship with actor Benjamin Bratt to go after the cameraman. She allegedly took the shade up a notch by spinning the press in her favor.

The Bratt breakup was "a lot nastier than anyone ever knew," an insider told the National Enquirer. "They accused each other of cheating, and Ben finally said he'd had enough. Julia has always said she walked out on him, but it was the other way around. And Julia claimed she ended the relationship because he couldn't commit. That had Ben seeing red. He was the one who wanted to settle down and start a family, but Julia refused." Ouch.


Did she play publicity games to improve her 'homewrecker' image?

Rumor has it that Julia Roberts allegedly didn't take much issue with pursuing Danny Moder while he was married to then-wife Vera Steimberg, but the A-list actress supposedly did worry about her reputation taking a hit because of it. Take all this with a huge helping of salt, but according to Radar Online, Roberts may have offered Steimberg $100,000 to divorce Moder. The tabloid also claimed that Moder's sister kept a diary while in rehab that accused Roberts of destroying her brother's marriage and fracturing the family.

Needless to say, an insider told Life & Style that Roberts was mortified by the "homewrecker" label with which she'd been slapped, calling it "an absolute PR disaster." Some sources claimed Roberts' focus on family life and charity work was born of a desire to combat her portrayal in the press as some sort of villainous minx. "Being as down-to-earth and unHollywood as possible has made Hollywood embrace her again," one insider said.

Julia Roberts was nicknamed 'Tinkerhell'

When Steven Spielberg directed Hook, he cast Julia Roberts as the magical fairy Tinkerbell in the Peter Pan adaptation. By the time the credits rolled, she'd been nicknamed "Tinkerhell." The handle spread like wildfire, and this was back in 1991, before social media and all things viral! During an interview on 60 Minutes, Spielberg was asked about Roberts' professionalism. He replied, "It was an unfortunate time for us to work together."

Roberts never grew out of that reputation, despite playing nice in nearly every interview about it. "Hand to God: not a thing I read about that was truthful, and it really hurt my feelings," she told Vanity Fair. Regarding Spielberg's comments, she said, "I couldn't believe that this person that I knew and trusted was actually hesitating to come to my defense. It was a hard lesson to learn. It was the first time that I felt I had a turncoat in my midst." As they say, heavy is the head that wears the crown.

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