Apparently Hollywood really is jumping on my “pasty is sexy” campaign. I knew if I plugged it long enough, if was bound to pay off. “Brothers & Sisters” star Rob Lowe has recently been on the receiving end of some stern warnings from studio bosses. Why? For his overly-tanned face. Now to be fair, Rob isn’t really overly tanned. He claims that if you put anyone next to Calista Flockhart, you’re going to look well-done in comparison.

Rob Lowe has been ordered to stay out of the sun after his TV bosses objected to him becoming too tanned. Skip related content

The actor, who plays Senator Robert McCallister on hit U.S. show Brothers & Sisters, lives in sunny Montecito, California with his wife and their teen sons and is an avid sportsman.

But the 44-year-old star had to give up playing outdoor sports with his family after his bosses were angered by his sunkissed complexion.

He says, “I got a phone call from the president of ABC who said, ‘You’re getting too dark. Seriously, stay out of the sun.’ I go, ‘I’m not tanning. I’m active. I surf and I kayak.'”

And Lowe blames his pale co-stars for him now having to slather on the sunscreen before stepping outside.

He adds, “If you stand next to Calista Flockhart, anybody’s going to look like (singer) Harry Belafonte. I wear (sunscreen) over my entire face and a hat that has a chin strap. I look like the biggest idiot.”

[From Yahoo! News]

Ahh, nothing adds to the inherent sexiness of pasty more than a hat with a chin strap. Well, maybe really big glasses and long sleeves. That’s a pretty hot look right there. Rarely do I defend anyone who is capable of getting a tan, due to my seething halfbino jealousy. But in this case I gotta say Rob doesn’t exactly look like George Hamilton or anything. I can definitely believe his skin is that shade from the sun, not the tanning booth. That said, sunscreen is always your friend. I use SPF 85, and if you think I’m kidding, you’re wrong. And I’m not going to have all sort of weird splotches and melanomas when I’m 40 (ahem, Britney Spears). I’m sure in the long run his bosses are doing Rob a favor. And in the short run, he’s doing Calista Flockhart a favor.

Rob Lowe at the Stand Up 2 Cancer event held at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles on September 5th. Images thanks to WENN.com.