With just days until the Oscars and preparations well underway, a feud has allegedly erupted over a planned tribute to Rob Reiner.
The event is set to take place next Sunday, March 15, and the Daily Mail has now learned that decisions over who should be involved in honoring Reiner, who was tragically killed in December, has sparked a divide.
A source has revealed that the Academy wants When Harry Met Sally stars Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, as well as Stand By Me actors Jerry O’Connell and Wil Wheaton to come together celebrate the late director.
But according to the insider, one star is not happy that he wasn’t invited to be included in the tribute: Corey Feldman, who also starred in Reiner’s 1986 movie Stand By Me.
It’s been said that Feldman, 54, is ‘devastated’ that he wasn’t included, 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 source explained.
With just days until the Oscars and preparations well underway, a feud has allegedly erupted over a planned tribute to Rob Reiner, seen here last March
A source has revealed that the Academy wants When Harry Met Sally stars Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal to honor the late director. The three are seen on set of When Harry Met Sally
‘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.’
‘He loved Rob and expected to be asked, especially since Jerry and Wil were asked.’
The source pointed out that Feldman, O’Connell and Wheaton are touring together in honor of Stand By Me’s 40th anniversary, which made it especially ‘heartbreaking’ that they were invited and not him.
‘The night should be about Rob and honoring him and Corey wants nothing more than to honor Rob, and the fact that he currently isn’t allowed is an absolute slap in the face,’ they continued. ‘Even if he wasn’t on the stage, he’d love to be there, to honor Rob.’
Why he wasn’t included allegedly is a mystery to both Feldman and his former costars O’Connell and Wheaton, who according to the insider ‘have reached out to the Academy for some answers.’
‘They have been met with silence,’ the source alleged.
‘Jerry and Wil feel bad for their buddy and have tried to reason with the Academy that Stand By Me was an ensemble and Corey should be a part of the tribute, but that currently doesn’t seem to be the case for organizers and they are looking to snub him out.’
Stand By Me actors Jerry O’Connell and Wil Wheaton were also reportedly invited to participate, but not Corey Feldman, who also starred in the 1986 movie
It’s been said that Feldman, 54, is ‘devastated’ that he wasn’t included, with the Goonies star allegedly viewing it as a huge ‘slap in the face.’ He’s seen last March
The source also claimed that Feldman felt the Oscars previously ‘snubbed’ his pal Corey Haim in the In Memoriam following his 2010 death, adding: ‘This is yet another black eye for the Academy in Corey’s eye.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Feldman, O’Connell, Wheaton and the Academy for comment.
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.’
Wheaton, Feldman and O’Connell are seen with Reiner on set of Stand By Me
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.’
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, stating 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.’
Meanwhile, Haim’s mother Judy spoke out to TMZ and slammed Feldman, saying that the star was just ‘creating another lie to poison people’s heads and keep himself relevant.’ She snapped: ‘There is no way in hell.’
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