Julia Roberts' brother Eric Roberts issues public apology to her after controversial comments

Julia Roberts' brother Eric Roberts has issued a public apology to his sister after previously claiming he is the reason behind her successful Hollywood career.

The Dark Knight actor, 68, has penned a new memoir, Runaway Train: Or, the Story of My Life So Far, in which he discusses the reasons behind their previously fractured relationship.

Eric – who will appear in this year's Dancing with the Stars – took credit for Julia's career in a 2018 interview with Vanity Fair, which he admitted was just one of the reasons they were estranged for a decade.

"One of the things I'd like to apologize for in this book is for publicly saying on more than one occasion, 'If it wasn't for me, there would be no Julia Roberts,'" he wrote.

"That's not only unfortunate, but it's also untrue," he added. "And I hope Julie will accept this more public apology. It was an asinine thing to have said."

Eric also explained that his decision to claim their mother, Betty Lou Bredemus, was dead during the early years of his career was the "great undoing" of his relationship with not only Julia, but his sister Lisa too.

© Getty Images

"I'm only now beginning to realize the impact it must have had to Julie and Lisa, who were 11 and 13 years old, who were living with our mom but hearing their big brother... saying in public that their mom is dead," he wrote.

"It was the great undoing of my relationship with my sisters. That I was unconcerned about them and focused only on my mom reading that I'd killed her off was such a selfish thing to have done."

© Getty Images

Eric had a complicated relationship with their mother and admitted he was "still angry" at her after she filed for divorce from their father, Walter Grady Roberts in 1971.

While Eric admitted that he and Julia "don't agree about a lot of things", he insisted that they still have a close relationship.

© Getty Images

"I love knowing my sister," he said. "She's a cool chick, my sister. I just stay out of her hair with the press. That's all. Simple. And she stays out of mine."

Eric's apology comes after he told Vanity Fair: "If it wasn't for me, there would be no Julia Roberts and no [his daughter] Emma Roberts as celebrities, as actresses, and I’m very proud of that.

"When Julia first came to New York, I went into William Morris and I said, 'Which one of you is going to sign my sister Julia?'"

© Getty Images

He added: "And I am so proud that everybody knows I was first, because I was first by a long shot. I was first to get Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, so I'm proud of that."

During the same interview, Eric admitted that it was his past drug addiction that led to a rift in their relationship.

© Instagram

"I wouldn't characterize it as a falling-out," he said. "I was crazy about my sisters. Loved them, adored them. They were precious to me, and we had times of great closeness.

"We all felt very protective of each other, but the hardest person to protect yourself from is yourself."

© Getty Images

He added: "I was exhausting to be around: complainy, blamey, unable to enjoy enjoyment. Everyone in my world needed a break sometimes, and that must have included Julia."

Eric and Julia reunited and began to rebuild their relationship in 2004 when Julia welcomed her twins, Hazel and Phinnaeus, with her husband Danny Moder.