Rob Lowe compares Taylor Swift's current stardom to his '80s fame on 'gazillion steroids'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Rob Lowe, a star of the 1980s, recently shared his perspective on Taylor Swift's meteoric rise to fame, comparing her current experience to his own at the height of his career.

Lowe, who became a teen heartthrob in the '80s, described the intensity of fame during his heyday, recalling how fans would go to extreme lengths to meet him, including needing police escorts to navigate through crowds.

Rob Lowe compares Taylor Swift's fame to his '80s stardom

In an interview with People for this week's cover story, Rob Lowe, now 60, reflected on his experiences with a sense of disbelief. "It's the kind of stuff you look back on and go, did that really happen?" he said.

"The stories I have are mental, they're nuts."

Lowe, who rose to stardom with roles in films like 'The Outsiders' and 'St Elmo's Fire', drew parallels between his fame and that of modern-day superstars like Justin Bieber, Austin Butler, and particularly Taylor Swift.

Reflecting on Swift's immense fame, the 'St Elmo's Fire' actor, who described acting alongside his son John Owen as a "nightmare," remarked, "'I watch that, and it's what I went through on gazillion steroids.'

Lowe launched his film career at the age of 19 with 1983's 'The Outsiders', and soon after, he starred in 'St. Elmo's Fire'.

The intense public scrutiny eventually led the 'Parks and Recreation' star to seek help in rehab, and now he celebrates 34 years of sobriety.

"I was intuitive enough in those days to sense the disconnect between me, who I was, the work I was doing, that was out there in the public and making this phenomenon, the hysteria, happen."

Lowe's fame in the '80s eventually led him to a breaking point, driving him to seek help for his struggles with alcohol. He now openly discusses the challenges he faced during his rise to fame.

The 'Youngblood' actor's pivotal moment with alcohol came in 1990 when he chose to ignore a call from his mother about his grandfather's heart attack. He turned to alcohol to cope, which served as a wake-up call for him to change his life.

"I remember like it was yesterday. My mom telling me on the answering machine to 'pick up, pick up' because my grandpa had had a heart attack."

"I couldn't deal with it in the state I was in, and I needed to go to sleep to wake up so I could deal with it," he told People, saying he immediately turned to tequila.

"The fallout definitely changed my life at the time, and, in hindsight, I realized it was another step that led me to recovery and reevaluating my life. But the thing that really changed me was not being able to show up for my family and myself."

He came to understand that he couldn't achieve sobriety just because he had messed up, he needed to be truly ready for it. 

"It was relieving, and it was scary, but I learned the tools to change your life if you have the self-honesty to do it,' he said. 'I felt, "Oh, okay, I'm not alone. I'm not crazy'."

Rob Lowe comments on Taylor Swift's fame sparks reactions online

Rob Lowe's recent comments comparing his fame in the 1980s to Taylor Swift's current superstar status have sparked a range of reactions online, with fans and followers weighing in on the differences between their experiences and the nature of celebrity culture today.

One user reminisced about Lowe's peak fame, writing, "I like Rob Lowe, I’m a child of the 80’s and I like Taylor. Rob was crazy famous, and still is. The difference is he didn’t have social media and YouTube. She is famous on her own and rightfully so but you need tech to be stellar and global like her. Not available in the 80’s."

Another commenter praised Lowe's enduring appeal, saying, "Beautiful man who aged so wonderfully and what a smile."

One user pointed out, "Yet Taylor strives for all the publicity and attention. The more she gets, the better for her! More money in the bank account and plenty of new superstar 'friends' that she only dreamed of having when she was starting out. I don't feel sorry for her one iota and she caters to all the mania.

Another user drew a contrast between Lowe's and Swift's public personas, noting, "A lot of his fame was notorious. Taylor is an outstanding role model for young people."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.