Corey Feldman Reacts to Exclusion from Rob Reiner’s Oscars Tribute, Says It Was a ‘Family Reunion I Wasn’t Invited to’

Desiree AnelloSat, March 28, 2026 at 7:57 PM UTC

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Corey Feldman; Rob ReinerCredit: Roy Rochlin/Getty;Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty -

Corey Feldman said that Rob Reiner’s tribute during the 2026 Oscars felt like a “family reunion I wasn’t invited to”

While his Stand By Me costars Jerry O’Connell and Wil Wheaton were onstage for the moment, Feldman was absent

“We're all very destroyed that things went down the way they did,” Feldman said of the late director’s December 2025 death

Corey Feldman felt a bit left out of Rob Reiner’s 2026 Oscars tribute.

Nearly two weeks after the late actor-director was honored at the 98th Academy Awards by several cast members of his films, the Stand By Me alum, 54, told Entertainment Weekly that the tribute felt “a little bit like a family reunion I wasn’t invited to.”

“We're not going to use this time to go into my feeling about that," Feldman said in a joint interview with Jerry O’Connell and Wil Wheaton for the film’s 40th anniversary. "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 was found dead at his Los Angeles home at age 78 alongside his wife, Michele Reiner, on Dec. 14. Their middle child, Nick Reiner, was arrested the day after his parents’ death and has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, to which he pleaded not guilty. Nick, who could face life in prison without parole or the death penalty if convicted, is next due in court on April 29.

Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Jerry O'Connell, Corey Feldman in 'Stand By Me,' directed by Rob ReinerCredit: Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock

While Feldman wasn’t at the Oscars to pay tribute to the late director himself, both O’Connell, 52, and Wheaton, 53, stood onstage alongside more than a dozen of Reiner’s collaborators — including Meg Ryan, Demi Moore, John Cusack and Kathy Bates — during the emotional moment.

"I think Jerry and Wil did what had to be done,” Feldman said of his former costars’ involvement in the tribute. “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," he added. "Although they did a wonderful job, I would've liked to have heard from Wil and Jerry and a few other people up there."

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The Academy didn’t immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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Tribute to Rob Reiner at the 2026 OscarsCredit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty

During the heartfelt tribute, Reiner’s longtime friend and collaborator Billy Crystal did the honors of listing many of the late filmmaker’s notable projects, noting their variety and impact.

"My friends, Rob's movies will last for lifetimes, because they were about what makes us laugh and cry, and what we aspire to be far better in his eyes: far kinder, far funnier, and far more human," Crystal, 78, said onstage. "To the millions who have enjoyed his films all these years, I want you to know, here and around the world, how many times Rob told me that it meant everything to him, that his work meant something to you — and for us who had the privilege of working with and knowing him and loving him."

The When Harry Met Sally star also paid tribute to Michele, noting that the couple was “unstoppable” together.

"A gifted photographer, she not only produced films with Rob, but it was her energy that had them working tirelessly to fight social injustice in the country that they both loved,” he said. “Rob and Michele Reiner became the driving force in the landmark decision for marriage equality across the United States."

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