Rob Lowe turned down his Comedy Central roast four times.
When he finally agreed, the Parks and Recreation actor said he was paid $1 million in exchange for his public humiliation. Lowe shared his story on Simon Sinek’s A Bit of Optimism podcast, saying the roast was “brutal.”
The West Wing star was unconvinced about the special, but had a change of heart after seeing the Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber.
“He is a huge star,” Lowe said. “I was like, ‘You know what? If Justin Bieber can do it, I can do it.'”
Lowe said that his wife Sheryl Berkoff wouldn’t let him do it at first, fearing that he would be embarrassed in front of a national audience.
“I said, ‘That ship has sailed,'” Lowe noted, having reminisced about his disastrous 1989 Oscars opening number earlier in the episode.
The Brat Pack alum convinced his spouse to give him the greenlight by sharing the hefty payday that Comedy Central offered him. Podcast host Sinek jokingly asked if that was the price of humiliation.
“Turns out, it’s about a million,” Lowe said. “It’s about a million dollars for about five hours work.”
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The Outsiders actor said that he “never had more fun” on a project than he did on the Comedy Central Roast of Rob Lowe.
David Spade served as the Roast Master for the special, which featured celebs like Peyton Manning, Pete Davidson, Nikki Glaser, and Ralph Macchio. However, conservative pundit Ann Coulter was the the true guest of dishonor, serving as the butt of many jokes that evening.
Listen to the full episode of the A Bit of Optimism podcast with Rob Lowe below.
