Why Rob Lowe deleted tweet about his 'honest, hardworking sons' amid college admissions scandal

Just after news of the college admissions scandal broke, Rob Lowe retweeted a message from his son John, a recent Stanford graduate, who had posted about being “really sad for those who were never allowed the opportunity,” because of the alleged cheaters. The West Wing alum wrote that he’s “very proud of my honest, hardworking sons,” referring to John and his older brother Matthew, a graduate of Duke University.

And then, the tweet, which was taken as his way of speaking out on the scandal, was deleted.

“My wife [Sheryl] made me take it down,” Lowe explains to Yahoo Entertainment. “That’s one of the keys to being married for 28 years. Sometimes when your wife asks you to do something and you don’t really have a dog in the fight, it’s just better to do what the wife wants. I didn’t really care. I was happy to keep it up, but she was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know. I think maybe you should take it down,’ and so I did.”

Lowe remains disgusted about Operation Varsity Blues, in which dozens of parents, including actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, have been charged with bribing college officials in order to get their kids into elite colleges.

“The notion that you could bribe your way into college and falsify your athletic achievements, put your face on a rower’s body on a Google image that you got and then have a proctor complete your answers on your test, it’s so disgusting and it’s so gross that it’s unimaginable,” Lowe says. “And, you know, look. We come from a family [where] we have both parents in the house, both parents present, we have money… I think about the kids who are coming from families maybe without a dad or without a mom, no money, you know, and that they would lose a slot to somebody gaming the system is just disgusting.”

The fact that Lowe, the guy from St. Elmo’s Fire and The Outsiders, is even old enough to be the father of two college graduates, two adult sons, is mind-blowing. More than 30 years after those movies, Lowe doesn’t look much different, although he just celebrated his 55th birthday this month.

“I kinda have two things to thank,” Lowe says, “and I think one of them is good genetics from my father, who is 80 years old and still looks amazing. The other is that after a lot of years of making some really healthy choices, it’s beginning to pay off.”

Lowe says he’s eaten the Atkins way, keeping carbs and sugars in his diet low, for about 15 years. The company has since recruited him as a spokesman.

“Now I do eat carbs and I do eat sugar, but I really, really, really am vigilant about trying to moderate that,” Lowe said.

Sometimes it’s tough for him — few of us can be Chris Traeger, the irrepressible health enthusiast character Lowe played on Parks and Recreation — but he says it’s worth it.

His latest role is host on Fox’s primetime game show Mental Samurai, which tests contestants’ mental agility.

“Mental Samurai is meant to test every part of your knowledge and if you have a weakness, the course will discover it. I already know what my weakness is. I already know what my strengths are,” Lowe says. “I’m great on trivia. I’m great on history. I’m great on memory, but I’m terrible on puzzles. And I’m terrible at sequencing riddles. But if you’re gonna hit me with trivia or history or general knowledge, I am good to go.”

Of course, Lowe doesn’t have to worry about answering the questions correctly. His goal as host is to keep it entertaining.

“The best hosts are the hosts that really relate to the players and the interface with them and bring out the best in them and just have a good time with them,” Lowe says. “I love people, and I love people’s stories, and I love seeing people try to achieve something great, which is what the show is about. So it felt very, very natural, and I didn’t know that it would, but it did.”

Lowe also continues to perform his one-man show, Stories I Only Tell My Friends, and stars in an upcoming series for Britain’s ITV, Wild Bill, which he expects will be streaming in the United States in the fall.

Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:

• John Lennon believed in flying saucers. Here’s how you can buy his drawing of a UFO.

• Kris Humphries says short-lived marriage to Kim Kardashian was ‘100 percent real’

• College admissions scandal: Candace Cameron Bure slammed for supporting Lori Loughlin

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