Rob Lowe criticises reaction to Nicole Kidman's 'brave' sex scene

Rob Lowe has taken aim at critics for branding Nicole Kidman's sex scenes as "brave".

The 60-year-old actor has been appearing on screens himself since the 1970s - and was even involved in a sex tape scandal in 1988.

Earlier this year, 57-year-old Kidman generated Oscars buzz for her performance in erotic drama Babygirl which saw her engaging in eye-popping sex scenes - although no Oscars nomination was granted.

Lowe has lashed out at the praise the Australian actress received for her portrayal on his Literally! podcast, arguing, "They're like, 'Oh, it's so brave. She's so brave.'

"She's brave because she has a sex scene. That's brave now. And in our day, it was required. There's the page 73 rule. In the day, the sex scene was always on page 73."

He explained, "You get a script and you're like, 'Oh my God, how gratuitous. Do I have to be naked in this? Let me check.' And you didn't have to read the whole script. You just went to page 73 because of that mid-second act. Which is notoriously the toughest sledding in storytelling. 'I know. They 'Blue Lagoon' it. Beach under a moonlit night.'"

Speaking to his guest, Sex and the City star Kristen Davis, he went on to recount a film he created with one of her former co-stars that became notorious for its sexually charged scenes.

He said, "Kim Cattrall and I did a movie called Masquerade together, which, I love that movie... It got good reviews, but the studio kind of dumped it because they thought it was too sexy. It was pretty gratuitous, but it was great."