WWW- Rob Lowe called the court fight with his former nanny “very sad” and said his two sons have been affected by the ordeal.

“We live in a time where anybody can say anything about anybody. You want to defend your family,” the Brothers and Sisters star says in an interview with Entertainment Tonight airing Thursday.

In a lawsuit, ex-nanny Jessica Gibson, 34, accuses Lowe of repeatedly exposing himself and inappropriately touching her. Lowe, 44, who filed a preemptive lawsuit against Gibson, claims the nanny concocted the allegations to extort money.

Lowe says he has spoken to his sons, ages 12 and 14, about the allegations.

“The whole thing is very sad,” the actor tells ET. “But the family’s great, the boys are great. They are affected by it, but they’re moving through it. My boys understand that being a celebrity sometimes exposes you to some really bad stuff and sometimes you get a VIP tour of Disneyland.”