Eric Roberts slams Julia Roberts in 'Steel Magnolias,' says he's not 'jealous'

Eric Roberts is making headlines again for his relationship with sister Julia Roberts' after slamming her performance in the 1989 film "Steel Magnolias."

The comments were made in his new book, "Runaway Train: Or, The Story of My Life So Far," which was released earlier this month and discusses his rumored Hollywood sibling feud.

"​​Julia was good in 'Mystic Pizza,' great in 'Pretty Woman,' but not so much in 'Steel Magnolias,' in my opinion, even though it brought Julia her first Academy Award nomination," he wrote, per Entertainment Weekly and The Independent. "I don't want to sound like an actor talking, or a jealous sibling, but I don't think her performance held up in that movie."

Sally Field says 'Steel Magnolias' director was 'very hard' on Julia Roberts: 'It was awful'

He wrote he knew she was "almost a good actor" in the film — and threw shade at his younger sister's star-studded cast of co-stars.

"When I saw her in 'Steel Magnolias,' I thought, 'Okay. Good. She's almost a good actor, and one day she’s gonna be one,'" he added. But Roberts wrote that "all those brilliant women" — including Sally Field, Dolly Parton, the late Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine and Daryl Hannah — "overacted" in Steel Magnolias.

He continued, saying "nobody's great in that movie:" telling readers "they all chewed a lot of scenery, and we know that if an actor cries on film, they go to the top of the class. They get the Oscar nod because crying gets a lot of credit. It’s the big joke in all acting classes."

A rep for Roberts told Fox News Digital that "Eric painfully regrets saying any of what he said about the performances in 'Steel Magnolias.' In fact, in the audio book, things on this subject are stated quite differently, and more closely to how he felt. That movie isn't necessarily the type of movie that Eric favors or gravitates towards, since he's primarily a political thriller fan.

"He may have felt there was a bit of melodrama there. But he is very much alone in noting any drawbacks about the fantastic 'Steel Magnolias.' Upon viewing the film again, he honestly didn't know what he was thinking. If anything, it was a thoughtless, baseless comment," the statement continued. "It's possible that the sheer sadness of certain aspects of the storyline may have been too much for him to handle at the time the movie came out. So many of our reactions are subconscious, both to people and to the art they create."

USA TODAY has reached out to reps for Eric and Julia Roberts for comment.

Eric Roberts makes 'public apology' to sister Julia Roberts in new memoir: Report

Eric Roberts previous issued 'public apology' to Julia Roberts, said he's not allowed to talk about her or daughter Emma Roberts

According to People, "The Dark Knight" actor also issued what he calls a "public apology" in "Runaway Train," which shares a title with the 1985 film that earned him Golden Globe and Oscar nods of his own.

Elsewhere, he details how his use of drugs, a 1981 car accident and the resulting dayslong coma had an impact on his memory. It was also at this time that Julia Roberts began her acting career and later eclipsed his fame, which elicited comments at the time from Eric Roberts like, "If it wasn't for me, there would be no Julia Roberts."

"I hope Julia will accept this public apology," Eric Roberts, 68, now writes, according to People. "It was an asinine thing to have said."

Emma Roberts on the joy of reading with her son and why she packs 'a book or three' for vacation

Roberts, who is the dad of popular "Scream Queens" actress Emma Roberts, kept mum on his famous family during an appearance of "Still Here Hollywood" podcast in April. After host and entertainment journalist Steve Kmetko asked how his sister was doing on the show's April 1 episode the "Dark Knight" actor replied, "You'll have to ask her."

"I love my sister, but I can't talk about her. She don't want to talk about it," Roberts, 68, said. "And also, my daughter told me not to talk about her, but I stumble and do. I'm not supposed to talk about either of them, but I do."

Eric Roberts currently stars on Season 33 cast of 'Dancing with the Stars'

Roberts is currently headlining the Season 33 cast of "Dancing with the Stars," where he is partnered with pro dancer Britt Stewart. The duo survived Tuesday night's elimination, which sent home fashionista Anna Delvey and "Beverly Hills: 90210" star Tori Spelling, despite the couple having the combined lowest scores after two episodes of performances.

Anna Delvey's 'DWTS' run ends after elimination: She never stood a chance against critics.

Roberts and Stewart even paid a visit to The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles to seek inspiration for their cinematic performance.

Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, KiMi Robinson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eric Roberts slams sister Julia's role in 'Steel Magnolias'