News Room : Corey Feldman breaks silence on snub from Rob Reiner tribute at Oscars: ‘It is what it is’

Corey Feldman has broken silence on being excluded from the emotional Rob Reiner tribute at the 98th Annual Academy Awards earlier this month. 

The 54-year-old actor – who finalized his divorce from estranged wife Courtney in February – had previously starred in Reiner’s 1986 movie Stand By Me with Jerry O’Connell, Wil Wheaton and the late River Phoenix. 

However, while O’Connell and Wheaton were invited to take part in the tribute on stage during the ceremony – the invite was not extended to Feldman. 

‘I think Jerry and Wil did what had to be done,’ he told Entertainment Weekly while celebrating the film’s 40th anniversary. ‘It was a fleeting moment, so I don’t feel like I missed much at all. 

‘I personally was probably maybe a little bothered by the fact that nobody got to speak or do or say anything from their own heart.’ 

Feldman expressed that ‘it is what it is’ before admitting that ‘it felt a little bit like a family reunion I wasn’t invited to.’ 

Corey Feldman, 54, has broken silence on being excluded from the emotional Rob Reiner tribute at the 98th Annual Academy Awards earlier this month

Feldman had previously starred in Reiner’s 1986 movie Stand By Me with Jerry O’Connell, Wil Wheaton and the late River Phoenix

But the star added that ‘we’re not going to use this time to go into my feeling about that.

‘Instead I just want to say that I’m with the rest of us, we’re all very destroyed that things went down the way they did, losing Rob when we all thought he’d be joining us at some point for this tour and it’s a tragedy.’ 

Reiner as well as wife Michele were tragically killed inside their Los Angeles home on December 14, 2025. 

A source told the Daily Mail last month that Feldman had been ‘devastated’ that he wasn’t included in the tribute, with the Goonies star allegedly viewing it as a huge ‘slap in the face.’ 

‘As the Academy starts to unravel their ideas for the Oscars, one thing they have planned is a tribute to Rob Reiner,’ the insider explained.

‘They are looking to have Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal on stage and also have Jerry O’Connell and Wil Wheaton from Stand By Me to be a part of the tribute.

‘One person currently left off is Corey Feldman, and Corey is devastated that he hasn’t been asked to be a part of the tribute.’

The source added that Feldman ‘loved Rob and expected to be asked, especially since Jerry and Wil were asked.’

Feldman expressed that ‘it is what it is’ before admitting that ‘it felt a little bit like a family reunion I wasn’t invited to; O’Connell and Wheaton seen above at 2026 Oscars 

A source told the Daily Mail last month that Feldman had been ‘devastated’ that he wasn’t included in the tribute, with the Goonies star allegedly viewing it as a huge ‘slap in the face’; Reiner’s tribute at 2026 Oscars seen above

The source added that Feldman ‘loved Rob and expected to be asked, especially since Jerry and Wil were asked; seen in 2025 in L.A. 

They continued that the star wanted ‘nothing more than to honor Rob, and the fact that he currently isn’t allowed is an absolute slap in the face. 

‘Even if he wasn’t on the stage, he’d love to be there, to honor Rob.’ 

Both O’Connell and Wheaton allegedly reached out to the Academy ‘for some answers’ but were ‘met with silence.’ 

The pair felt that Feldman should have also been ‘a part of the tribute’ before the insider alleged that organizers were possibly ‘looking to snub him out.’

Before the awards ceremony, the actor briefly talked about not being invited on his X account. 

‘HI FOLLOWERS & SUPPORTERS, I JUST WANT 2 BRIEFLY MENTION THIS WHOLE OSCARS THING!’ he began. 

‘YES ITS TRUE THAT I WAS NOT INVITED, I UNDERSTAND MANY BELIEVE ITS DUE 2 BEING OUTSPOKEN ABOUT THE ABUSE I SUFFERED AS A CHILD & THE CAMPAIGN 2 SILENCE ME.’

The star added, ‘HOWEVER THIS ISNT ABOUT ME! ITS NOT MY MOMENT @ ALL! ITS ABOUT THE TRAGIC LOSS OF R FRIEND ROB REINER & HIS MEMORY. SO AS MUCH I APPRECIATE ALL SUPPORT, ITS VERY SWEET OF U…..’

They continued that the star wanted ‘nothing more than to honor Rob, and the fact that he currently isn’t allowed is an absolute slap in the face’; Reiner and wife Michele seen in 2019 in L.A. 

‘HI FOLLOWERS & SUPPORTERS, I JUST WANT 2 BRIEFLY MENTION THIS WHOLE OSCARS THING!’ he began

Feldman made headlines back in December when he claimed he was molested by his late best friend and confidante Haim in an Apple TV documentary about his life.

In Corey Feldman vs. The World, Feldman alleged that Haim, who died aged 38 in 2010, sexually propositioned him while they filmed the 1987 vampire thriller The Lost Boys. They were both 16 years old at the time. 

‘When we did Lost Boys, Corey said to me, “Hey man, let’s mess around.” And I said, “What do you mean?”‘ he said in the doc.

Feldman alleged that Haim told him: ‘This is what, you know, what guys in the business do, right? You know, you suck each other’s d**ks, or you f**k around – you do this stuff.”

Feldman said Haim had then initiated sexual activity, claiming that he decided to oblige Haim in an effort to make the behavior stop.

‘I called [Haim] and said, “Come over,”‘ Feldman said. ‘But you know, when you have got somebody that’s trying to come onto you sexually, and you don’t want that, and you are a kid, and you are scared, you do whatever you can to stop it from happening.

‘And that’s what was happening. I was being molested by Corey Haim. Truth be told.’

Afterwards, his team released a letter to the Daily Mail and other media outlets clarifying: ‘Mr. Feldman’s statement that Mr. Haim “molested” him was in reference to Mr. Haim’s advances, not physical molestation.’

Feldman made headlines back in December when he claimed he was molested by his late best friend and confidante Haim in an Apple TV documentary about his life; Haim and Feldman seen in 1989

They alleged that the claims were a ‘sensationalized mischaracterization of the statements made in the film’ and that Feldman ‘did not reciprocate [Haim’s] advances’; seen in 2017 

They alleged that the claims were a ‘sensationalized mischaracterization of the statements made in the film’ and that Feldman ‘did not reciprocate [Haim’s] advances.’ 

They further claimed that ‘the producers of the film made the film without Mr. Feldman’s knowledge and obtained the footage through dishonest means.’

To refute Feldman’s claims, an attorney for the production team of the documentary released a statement to the Daily Mail.

The attorney stated that ‘all footage used in this film was obtained lawfully and with Feldman’s express written consent’ and claiming that he ‘repeatedly invited filming to take place.’