Rob Lowe admitted he was “the only person happy” when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards, joking that the shocking moment might finally overshadow his own infamous Oscars mishap from the 1980s.
“When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, I was the only person happy,” Lowe said during an appearance on SiriusXM’s “Andy Cohen Live” Thursday. “Because I was like, ‘Oh, good. So now that’s the worst moment in Oscar history.’”
But the actor said his relief was short-lived.
“Turns out not really,” he added. “Turns out I still am dragged, dragged every year.”
“I was like, ‘Oh, good. So now that’s the worst moment in Oscar history,’” Lowe confessed during an appearance on SiriusXM’s “Andy Cohen Live.”
The actor joked that his infamous Academy Awards moment still follows him decades later.
“This year even, I guess some people didn’t love some of the Emmys and they were like, ‘At least it wasn’t Rob,’” Lowe continued. “It’s like, guys, there should be a statute of limitations.”
The 62-year-old was referring to his widely panned performance at the 61st Academy Awards in 1989, which he described Thursday as “the worst opening ever.”
During the unusual opening number, a young Lowe took the stage alongside actress Eileen Bowman, who appeared as Snow White, for an extended musical routine.
The pair performed rewritten versions of several well-known songs, including “Proud Mary,” changing its lyrics to lines such as, “rollin’, rollin’, keep the cameras rollin’.”
Lowe (pictured at the Oscars that year) has since admitted the performance was “the worst opening ever,” and it sparked fierce backlash from both viewers and Hollywood insiders.
The bizarre musical number was widely criticized and went on to become one of the most notorious moments in Oscars history.
Dozens of prominent industry figures, including former Academy President Gregory Peck, signed a letter condemning the performance, while Disney took legal action over the unauthorized use of its Snow White character.
The fallout also dealt a devastating blow to producer Allan Carr, who oversaw that year’s ceremony and saw his Hollywood career effectively derailed in the aftermath.
The Oscars would not see another moment quite as controversial until 2022, when Will Smith stormed the stage and slapped Chris Rock during the live ceremony.
Smith lashed out after Rock made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who had shaved her head amid her battle with alopecia.
While presenting the award for Best Documentary, Rock looked toward Pinkett Smith and quipped, “‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it.”
The remark prompted Pinkett Smith to roll her eyes before Smith walked onto the stage and struck the comedian.
Smith then marched onto the stage and slapped a visibly stunned Rock across the face before returning to his seat and shouting, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f–king mouth.”
In the aftermath of the altercation, the “Men in Black” star was banned from attending the Academy Awards and all other Academy events for 10 years.
The following day, Smith apologized directly to Rock on social media, admitting, “I was out of line and I was wrong.”
