Rob Lowe Disses Himself to Criticize New ‘Popular Film’ Oscars Category

Say what you will about Rob Lowe, but the “Parks & Recreation” star knows how to be self-effacing.

On Wednesday, he weighed in on the Film Academy’s announcement of a new Oscars category, “outstanding achievement in popular film.” Lowe told his followers on Twitter that he thinks it ranks among the worst-ever Academy decisions — and he would know:

Seriously, this “best pop movie” category is the worst idea the Academy has had since they asked me to sing with Snow White.

— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) August 9, 2018

Also Read: Oscars: What Does It Take to Become a Member of the Motion Picture Academy Anyway?

Lowe is referring to the infamous opening of the 1989 Academy Awards, in which Snow White (played by actress Eileen Bowman) led a changing roster of actors through a medley of songs. Five minutes in, Lowe appeared as Snow White’s “blind date.” It was cheesy.

Watch below and see for yourself:

Also Read: Oscars Diversity Push: Academy on Target to Double Non-White Members - But Not Women

Not only was that debacle an instant laughing stock, producer Allan Carr also failed to actually ask permission to use Disney’s version of Snow White in the performance. Oops. Disney sued the Academy over the copyright infringement.

Some think the new category will prevent blockbusters that arguably deserve Best Picture nominations from being properly recognized.

For its part, the Academy hopes that by featuring huge box office earners during the ceremony, the recent ratings-decline can be reversed. It remains to be seen if that will be the case — or if the negative reaction will lead to a reversal of course. Until whatever will happen happens, we have a lot of questions of our own — read more about that here.