Rob Lowe accepts the Brat Pack label after revealing the nickname was ‘designed to disparage’ the popular group

Rob Lowe embraced the popular Brat Pack label after previously criticizing the nickname, saying it was “designed to denigrate us.”

David Blum of New York Magazine first coined the term Brat Pack in 1985, when he compared a group of rising stars in the 20s, including Lowe, to the famous Rat Pack. Although the group did not like the label, it became popular with fans, and its members are still known by the nickname almost forty years later.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Tuesday, Lowe, now 60, explained that he now looks at the label in a more positive way.

“We should all consider ourselves lucky to have been given a name as an actor and that the fans still care about us after 40 years,” said Lowe.

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The Brat Pack, who grew up in the 1980s with films like “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “The Breakfast Club,” “About the Last Night…,” “Sixteen Candles” and “Good for Pink,” defined the angst of a generation’s youth and became a pop culture touchstone.

Along with Lowe, Brat Pack members include Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Demi MooreAndrew McCarthy, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Estevez and Jon Cryer, among others. However, which actors belong to this group was not always clear.

In Blum’s New York Magazine article, titled “Hollywood’s Brat Pack,” the reporter singled out Lowe, Estevez and Nelson as members of the Brat Pack, although he named other stars including Tom Cruise, Sean Penn and Nicolas Cage as possible by members.

“This is the Hollywood ‘Brat Pack’,” Blum wrote. “It was to the 1980s what the Rat Pack was to the 1960s—a roving group of superstars out for parties, women, and a good time.”

’80s stars branded as the Brat Pack often express distaste for the moniker. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

During an August interview with People magazine, Lowe expressed disapproval of Blum’s story and the label.

He said: “This article was horrible. “It was a good episode, no doubt about it. They were meant to undermine us, make us look small, with that journalistic trick of plausible deniability.”

In a 1987 Los Angeles Times article, Blum defended himself against the backlash he received from actors he considered the Brat Pack in his New York Magazine story.

Blum wrote that the article appeared as a profile on Estevez during the filming of “St. Elmo’s Fire.” He revealed that he came up with the Brat Pack moniker after spending the night with Estevez, Lowe and Nelson.

“I wouldn’t call it inspiring. I thought it was very clever,” Blum wrote. “It also turned out to be a great way to introduce characters I’ve been getting to know a little bit through my reporting.”

He continued, “They made them like – well, I’d just say – brakes, which is to say that I wouldn’t have done the same if I was 23 years old, famous and rich. I might have done it. I might be worse but these guys fit the bill.”

The name Brat Pack was coined by journalist David Blum. (Frank Edwards/Photos International/Getty Images)

Lowe told People magazine that hearing the results of Blum’s article “wasn’t pleasant.” However, he mentioned that the author’s portrayal of him in the story is not as bad as that of other characters.

“Actually, I came out of it well,” he said. “It was the one night I went home early. How rare it was. So someone was looking out for me.”

In an article for New York Magazine, Blum pointed to the trepidation surrounding actors who were considered part of the Brat Pack.

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“Everyone in Hollywood has a different opinion on who belongs to the Brat Pack,” he wrote. “That’s because they base their decision on trivial matters like whose hit movie is, whose star rises and falls, whose face is on the cover of Rolling Stone and who isn’t. And sometimes, some poor, misguided fool bases their judgment on who has more talent than them. all.”

“We should all feel lucky that we’ve been given a name by acting as actors and that the fans still care about you after 40 years.”

– Rob Lowe

Blum went on to say that, unlike the Rat Pack’s Marlon Brando, James Dean, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, none of the Brat Pack members have accumulated years of education as acting. He also noted that the Brat Pack characters are not college graduates.

In the WSJ article, Lowe recalled how he fell in love with acting as a child after watching the musical “Oliver!”

When Lowe was 12, his family moved to Malibu, California, where he began making films using a Super 8 camera with Sean Penn’s late brother Chris Penn and other children, some of whom would go on to star.

Actors who are labeled as part of the Brat Pack have said that it is hurting their careers. (Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

“The group that participated included Chris’s brother Sean Penn and Charlie Sheen and his brother, Emilio Estevez. I ended up getting to know them, and I did some movies with Charlie,” recalled “The Floor” host.

He continued, “In classes at Santa Monica High School, I always sat in the front and raised my hand in response. I was that boy. But I wasn’t in school plays. By then, I had an agent and we were going to auditions.”

Lowe explained that his early career success led him to postpone college and reflect on how he learned his craft.

“At 15, I was cast in my first network TV sitcom—ABC’s ‘A New Kind of Family.’ In my senior year, I starred in Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘The Outsiders.’ I had to choose between going to film school at UCLA or USC or making a movie,” Lowe recalled.

“I thought film school could wait,” he added. “Then there were two films a year and I didn’t go to college. I learned acting by watching experienced actors on sets and doing work. Later, I started working with an acting coach.”

In an interview with People magazine, Lowe said being known as members of the Brat Pack “probably didn’t help our credibility … in the industry.”

Ally Sheedy said the label “ruined” the band’s friendship. (Collection of Ron Galella via Getty Images)

During an appearance on “Good Morning America” ​​in June, McCarthy, who directed the Hulu documentary “Brats,” said the entire cast of the group “hated” the Brat Pack nickname at the time.

“Who wants to be called a brat when you’re a kid? Especially when you’re young and you think you’re a brat, so you don’t want to be called that, and you don’t want to be a kid. a member of the pack and all that, and we felt it affect our lives, you know?” he said.

In an interview he had with People magazine that same month, McCarthy said that although this nickname is loved by fans, it hinders the industry’s view of players.

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“It paid off,” explained the “St. Elmo’s Fire” star. “The community has accepted us, but the businesses are reacting in the wrong way.”

In his New York Magazine article, Blum said members of the Brat Pack made disparaging remarks about each other.

He wrote, “For an ensemble cast, the members of the Brat Pack outdid themselves. ‘Sean goes crazy with all his preparations for the role, becoming the character in every way,'” another said. And by Andrew McCarthy, one. of New York-based actors in ‘St. Elmo’s Fire,’ one actor says, ‘He plays every role with the same energy.'”

“The Brat Packers keep the honor to themselves,” Blum added.

David Blum appeared in the documentary “Brats”. (Gary Gershoff/WireImage)

In Susannah Gora’s 2011 book, “You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation,” Blum said Lowe, Estevez and Nelson felt betrayed by their portrayal and the title. he led them to separate from each other.

Sheedy told Gora that Blum’s title “just killed” the camaraderie in the group.

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“I felt like I was a part of something, and this guy just blew it to pieces,” she said.

McCarthy’s documentary “Brats,” released in June, examines the impact the Brat Pack label has on the actors’ lives and performances.

While most of the cast appeared in the documentary, Nelson, Ringwald and Hall decided not to participate in the film. However, Blum agreed to participate and was interviewed by McCarthy.

In a June Vulture article, titled “I Called Them Brats, And I Stand By It,” Blum wrote “McCarthy’s cleverly staged film, even if it intended to portray the Brat Pack as a phrase, manages to gloss over the fact that there is no longer any real animus among the Brat cast.” Pack with me.”

He continued, “At the end of our interview, McCarthy and I even hugged it out sitcom style. Brats. first, Demi Moore introduced herself to me, and she took my hands in hers like she was greeting an old friend.”

The film “Brats” premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)

In his August interview with People, Lowe revealed that even though the Brat Pack nickname was frowned upon in Hollywood, fans embraced the moniker.

“The public — at the end of the day, that’s what matters — never got that memo. They’re like, ‘That sounds cool,'” the “Austin Powers” star noted.

“I think I’ve seen that faster than others [group of actors]that it was a good thing,” he said in favor of the moniker.

Lowe also praised the “Brats” documentary, saying, “The Brat Pack is having a moment.”

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“Andrew McCarthy’s documentary has a lot to do with it, and I couldn’t be happier,” he continued.

“It was a turning point for me to break free from the environment I was in as an actor, for lack of a better time, and to start riding a real rocket-ship.”