Actor Rob Lowe Shared the Emotional Reason Behind His 'West Wing' Exit
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In 1999, NBC dipped into the world of politics to showcase a different form of what it was like to work in government. With the introduction of The West Wing, viewers watched the fictional Josiah "Jed" Bartlet (Martin Sheen) serve as the President of the United States. There, he oversaw all different scenarios, from military operations to overcoming a potential scandal involving him withholding his multiple sclerosis diagnosis. And along the way, he had a plethora of trusted senior staff members to help him make decisions that would affect the nation.
As for who worked alongside President Bartlet? Well, that would be chief of staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford), press secretary C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney), White House communications director Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff) and deputy communications director Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe). And they were only the first line of defense, as President Bartlet had his right hand man Charlie Young (Dulé Hill) and Josh's assistant Donna Moss (Janel Maloney) there to help along the way.
The cast is still close — and some of them will even reunite at the 2024 Emmy Awards on September 15, as Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Dulé Hill and Janel Maloney are all expected to present Sunday night.
Fans of the show will alsoremember how Sam — and consequently, Rob — left in the middle of season 4 to run for Congress in his home district (the California 47th) in Orange County, California. But as people continue to stream the show on Max, some may be wondering why Rob Lowe left The West Wing. Well, the actor himself has spoken about this over the years, and the answer may surprise you.
Why did Rob Lowe leave The West Wing?
When appearing on the Podcrushed podcast back in August 2023, Rob delved into some of the reasons behind his exit from The West Wing. According to him, he felt "undervalued" for the work he put into the show. There were also rumors of salary disputes occurring behind the scenes.
"Whenever I talk to actors who complain about, you know, their relationships on their shows, it happens — it happens in any workplace," he said at the time, per Variety. "You could be in an environment where people sandbag you, want to see you fail, don’t appreciate you, whatever it is."
The 9-1-1: Lone Star actor also divulged some of his feelings about the trajectory of his character, stating he wasn't thrilled about how Sam was being folded into the storylines. While he eventually reprised his role for two episodes in the final season and appeared in the HBO reunion special in 2020, he compared the experience to a toxic relationship running its course and needing to walk away from it.
"My kids were getting to a certain age where I could see them having first girlfriends and being in a relationship that was abusive and taking it," he added. "'She's the popular girl, everybody likes her, she's beautiful, it must be great' — all the things that people would say about making The West Wing to me. 'It's so popular, it's so amazing, it must be amazing.' But I know what it's like, and if I couldn't walk away from it, then how could I empower my kids to walk away from it?"
"I walked away from the most popular girl at school, but I also knew that it was a super-unhealthy relationship," he added. "It was the best thing I ever did."
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