Emma Roberts reveals why she once hung up on Britney Spears

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Emma Roberts has admitted she once refused Britney Spears’ sweet gesture because she thought it was a joke.

In tandem with April Fool’s Day, the 33-year-old actress reflected on a moment from her childhood when she thought she was being pranked. Roberts told Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos that she once hung up on Spears during the 1 April taping of their eponymous talk show.

The American Horror Story star described herself to be “on guard year-round” because she’s always “nervous” about getting pranked and being misled.

“I’m on guard year-round, especially with my family and friends, but I’ve gotten it wrong before. Very wrong,” she said.

Roberts was referring to an incident from her eighth or ninth birthday when her aunt, Julia Roberts, surprised her with a call from the “Toxic” singer.

She continued: “It was my birthday and I think I was eight or nine, and this was back in the day of landlines. My mom and my aunt handed me the landline and said: ‘Someone’s on the phone for you.’ And I was like: ‘Who?’”

The response she got back was from none other than Spears herself. Roberts recalled that Spears said: “Happy birthday, Emma. It’s Britney Spears.”

Believing the call to be a prank from her mom and aunt, Roberts hung up. “And I looked at them and hung up and was like: ‘Mm-hmm, nice.’ And they were like: ‘No, that was her,’” she admitted.

Upon realising her mistake, Roberts froze. She begged to get the “Criminal” creator back on the phone.

“I was — still am — the biggest Britney Spears fan. And I literally started crumbling and I was like: ‘Can we get her back on the phone?’ They got her back on the phone,” the Holidate actress continued.

However, Roberts confessed she was embarrassed over how quickly she decided to end the first call, as she really believed that her mom and aunt had tried to fool her.

She added: “I was like click right. I’m so sorry, Britney. I was so mortified and nervous and I was eight, so I just was like: ‘Thank you so much.’ I’m shaking thinking about it.”

Before her appearance on Live with Mark and Kelly, Roberts spent time with her three-year-old son, Rhodes, on Easter Sunday, sharing a poignant photo of them two on Instagram. The Hollywood star shares Rhodes with her ex-husband, Garrett Hedlund.