Julia Roberts Promotes New TV Show, ‘Homecoming,’ Torches Family Separation

Julia Roberts, the star of global hits such as Pretty Woman and My Best Friend’s Wedding, worked hard on Friday to make her transition from movie star to TV star a success by promoting her first TV show, Homecoming from Amazon Studios, at the Toronto International Film Festival.

According to Reuters, while walking the red carpet at the event, the 50-year-old icon took the opportunity to discuss the hoopla surrounding the move, saying for the most part that it wasn’t such as big deal.

“It’s all the same. It’s all heart, it’s all challenging and it’s all fulfilling,” Roberts told the reporters at the event.

Julia Roberts has never been shy about her views on politics, either, and she used the attention that the Toronto International Film Festival garnered to torch the issue of family separation at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Oscar-winning starlet told Variety at the event that [family separation] is “something that I’m just sick over.”

The Eat, Pray, Love actress also told Variety that she’s committed to bringing attention to the human rights issue.

“There are so many terrible things that happen every day, so much that this atrocity shockingly could become a second page story when it should be the first page every day. So, every little bit to keep it in the forefront I’m all for,” Roberts said.

Two weeks ago, Julia Roberts shared a pic of herself on social media wearing a T-shirt with the words “We Are Family” printed on it. The shirt is from the Be Love Apparel collection. Proceeds from sales of the shirts go toward the organization Together Rising and supports their mission to reunite immigrant families separated at the border.

Julia Roberts is choosing to follow in the footsteps of other silver screen stars such as Meryl Streep, John Travolta, and Reese Witherspoon, who have signed on to streaming services such as those that Netflix and Amazon have. What’s more is that these services are also drawing attention away from cable television and a changing movie industry that is witnessing dwindling ticket sales.

Homecoming is a psychological thriller that is based on a podcast of the same name, and Julia Roberts plays the main character, Heidi Bergman. Bergman is a former caseworker that worked in a program known as Homecoming that was carried out in a secret government facility. The Homecoming program was designed to aid veterans transition into civilian life again.

While Julia Roberts was at the premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, she was joined by Homecoming’s creator, Sam Esmail, and other members of the cast. Cast members Sissy Spacek, Stephan James, Jeremy Allen White, and her costar from My Best Friend’s Wedding, Dermot Mulroney, joined her in celebrating the premiere of Homecoming.