Tom Cruise
Image Source: Lily Ballard, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What Was the Accusation?
Actor Tom Cruise faced widespread criticism in 2005 after publicly attacking psychiatry and the use of antidepressant medication while discussing actress Brooke Shields, who had written about taking medication while experiencing postpartum depression. Cruise, a prominent Scientologist, argued that psychiatric drugs were harmful and criticized Shields for using antidepressants. Shields responded publicly, arguing that Cruise’s comments were harmful to women dealing with postpartum depression. The dispute expanded beyond a disagreement between two celebrities because Cruise was making broad claims about psychiatric treatment while using Shields’s personal medical experience as an example.
The controversy intensified during Cruise’s June 2005 appearance on NBC’s Today with Matt Lauer. When Lauer challenged Cruise’s position and noted that some people believed psychiatric medication had helped them, the discussion became confrontational. Cruise told Lauer that he did not understand the history of psychiatry, insisted that he himself had studied the issue, and repeatedly challenged the host’s knowledge. In the exchange’s most widely remembered moment, Cruise called Lauer “glib” while rejecting his questions about psychiatric drugs. The interview attracted extensive attention not only because of Cruise’s views but because his aggressive delivery was widely interpreted as condescending and combative.
Cruise later separated his handling of the controversy from his underlying position on antidepressants. In September 2006, Shields said Cruise had come to her home and personally apologized for bringing her into the dispute. She described the apology as heartfelt and said she accepted it. Cruise’s representative nevertheless made clear at the time that the actor had not changed his opposition to antidepressants. The apology therefore repaired Cruise’s personal dispute with Shields without constituting a retraction of his broader position on psychiatry.
On December 15, 2008, Cruise returned to Today for his first interview with Lauer since their 2005 confrontation. Asked about the earlier appearance, Cruise acknowledged that he had reviewed his behavior and believed that he had come across as arrogant. He said the impression was not what he had intended, admitted that he could have handled the exchange better, and said he had failed to communicate his position in the way he wanted. Cruise also distinguished the behavior viewers saw in the earlier interview from his conception of his own character, saying that the person who appeared in that exchange was not who he believed himself to be.
Cruise did not renounce Scientology or abandon his willingness to discuss his beliefs. Instead, he said he had learned that there was an appropriate time and place for such discussions and that, when audiences were tuning in to hear about one of his films, his role was primarily to entertain them and discuss the movie. Lauer also emphasized that the pair had not maintained a personal feud after the 2005 interview, explaining that they had shaken hands and embraced after the original exchange. Cruise’s 2008 appearance consequently functioned as an image-repair effort focused primarily on his conduct, tone, and communication rather than a repudiation of the beliefs that produced the original disagreement.
Key Apologia Strategies:
Mortification, Good Intentions, Corrective Action
Video
Tom Cruise’s June 2005 interview with Matt Lauer:
Transcript
Excerpts from Tom Cruise’s December 15, 2008 Today Interview:
“I’m here to entertain people. That’s who I am and what I want to do.”
“I learned a lesson. I think I learned a really good lesson.”
“I thought about it a lot. It’s a subject matter that was important. After looking at it, I really thought, it’s not what I had intended. In looking at myself, I came across arrogant. I absolutely could have handled that better.”
Sources
Associated Press. (2005, June 25). Cruise spars with Lauer on ‘Today.’ Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jun-25-et-quick25.6-story.html
CBS News. (2006, September 2). Cruise says ‘sorry’ to Brooke Shields. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cruise-says-sorry-to-brooke-shields/
Associated Press. (2008, December 15). Cruise regrets lashing out at Lauer. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cruise-regrets-lashing-out-at-lauer/
CNN. (2008, December 15). Showbiz Tonight [Transcript]. https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/sbt/date/2008-12-15/segment/01
Fisher, L. (2008, December 16). Tom Cruise headlines 2008’s celeb apologies. ABC News. https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/Movies/story?id=6475503&page=1
Los Angeles Times. (2008, December 16). Cruise apologizes. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-dec-16-et-quick16.s1-story.html
NBC Washington. (n.d.). Tom Cruise on Today: “I came across as arrogant.” https://www.nbcwashington.com/local/tom-cruise-on-today-i-came-across-as-arrogant/1847224/