Currently Tom Cruise is working in Iceland on a new science fiction movie; an interpretation of the graphic novel Oblivion. The film should hit our movie screens next year. Today’s also his 50th birthday, so “Happy Birthday” to him.
And I’m sure that, even as a dedicated professional actor, his mind is thousands of miles away, concentrating on other more important matters.
As of last weekend, he gets to look forward to months of scrutiny and scandal, as the court of public opinion has already weighed in on his upcoming divorce from actress Katie Holmes. Opinions were spread around like Nutella on toast – for example, people questioning whether Cruise was going to indoctrinate his daughter Suri into some ultra-orthodox division of Scientology. Or whether there’s some “more than professional” relationship with some other male actor. Or a hundred other rumors or innuendo or veiled whispers.
Let me ask you something. And I’m being a devil’s advocate here.
Why does Tom Cruise deserve all this vitriol? How do we know that this entire divorce proceeding is his fault, or that he’s the cause or the reason for it?
The fact is – we don’t.
Think about this for a second. We’re not privy to what happened behind closed doors. We’re not in the Cruise-Holmes household. We only see what is filtered through TMZ and the National Enquirer and Entertainment Tonight and every other tabloid out there. We have A story. We don’t have THE story. And we’re not privy to THE story.
Trust me. When did we start hearing stories about Tom Cruise acting like a fool, jumping on couches and the like? It certainly wasn’t when he was married to Mimi Rogers, was it? Nor was it when he was married to Nicole Kidman. He wasn’t jumping on couches on the Oprah Winfrey Show when he was married to either of them. You think that maybe… just maybe… it had something to do with Katie Holmes? And so what if he jumped on a couch on a talk show? Tell me that there hasn’t been a time when one of us – not just an actor or a public figure – hasn’t done something goofy or impulsive when they’ve fallen in love.
And we have the story about Tom Cruise’s involvement with Scientology, and whether or not that’s a religion or a cult or a whatever. And that maybe Scientology destroyed the TomKat relationship. Or that maybe Katie Holmes found Tom Cruise’s autographed copies of the Mission: Earth series, and thought that Tom was auditioning for the role of Jettero Heller – or, worse, CIA agent Soltan Gris.
Look. Whatever faith Tom Cruise wants to believe in, whether it’s Scientology or Christian Science or She Blinded Me With Science, that’s his choice. I understand his dedication and commitment to Scientology, I understand he’ll defend it with his dying breath to anyone who would dissuade him on it. But who wouldn’t do that with their own personal beliefs or their theology? And no matter whether you approve of his beliefs or don’t like his beliefs, he does have a right to believe in whatever higher power he chooses. And the last time I checked, the First Amendment doesn’t say “freedom of religion with the exception of Scientology.”
I’ve also heard people say, “Well, his movie career has tanked of late, Rock of Ages was a bomb.”
Yeah, Rock of Ages wasn’t exactly a blockbuster. But his last few films, including the Mission: Impossible series, have garnered billions of dollars domestically and worldwide. And he was married to Katie Holmes during many of those blockbuster films. He even found time to buy stock in United Artists, and for a while was one of that movie studio’s top shareholders.
In fact, if you go back to his early career – back to films like Risky Business and All The Right Moves and the like – his career as an A-list actor has spanned over 30 years. He’s got three Oscar nominations and three Golden Globe awards for his work. He’s worked with everyone from Dustin Hoffman to Paul Newman, from Steven Spielberg to Stanley Kubrick. His movie lines are quoted as part of popular culture. Say them with me. “I feel the need for speed.” “Show me the money!” “Sometimes in life, you just gotta say what the 
.” That’s 30 years of being at the top of the film industry. That’s one heckuva long career. You gonna stop watching his films? Me neither.
Besides, our perception of Hollywood’s superstars changes almost overnight. Wasn’t there a time when Robert Downey, Jr. couldn’t even get insurance for an indie film? And now he’s part of two successful motion picture franchises, the Sherlock Holmes / Guy Ritchie film series and the Marvel Cinematic Universe film series. And on top of all that, Downey Jr. picked up an Oscar nomination for his work in Tropic Thunder – a film which also starred, in a cameo role, Tom Cruise. Small world, eh?
And some people are also saying, “Well, he’s got a lot of nerve going to Iceland and filming a picture rather than staying home and fighting to save his marriage and his kid.”
What is he going to do? Tell hundreds of actors and the film crew that he’s taking a few days off? Want to see how hard that is to do, when a film is on a schedule to be the “tentpole” picture for next year? I’m sure that while he’s filming his movie, Tom Cruise is in constant contact with his attorneys, trying to either fight to save his marriage, or barring that, to arrange for an agreeable custody situation for Suri. I’m sure he’s trying to talk with Katie Holmes, trying to either save the marriage or to let go of someone he truly thought he loved.
And some people are also saying, “Well, Tom Cruise was in a lavender marriage anyway.”
Come on. You don’t know if he’s gay or straight because, as I’ve said before, he has not told you if he’s gay or straight. Like it’s any of your business. Again, people are basing this perception on what they’ve read in tabloids and on gossip TV shows. I could argue that those same gossip TV shows and tabloids have chronicled his relationships with Mimi Rogers and with Nicole Kidman when he was married to them, and with Rebecca DeMornay and with Penélope Cruz when he was single. If the media has covered all these relationships in microscopic detail, then where are the stories about the alleged gay relationships?
The fact is, it doesn’t matter what Tom Cruise does in bed and who he does it with. Making suppositions otherwise isn’t worth the time wasted.
And some people are saying, “Tom Cruise is a control freak, and Katie Holmes couldn’t handle the restrictions.”
Again, let’s think about this for a second. When you’re in Hollywood, you have to carefully maintain your public image. Anybody throws some rumor or innuendo at you, it can damage your reputation – in many cases, irreparably. People are more likely to believe a lurid rumor in a supermarket tabloid than they are the truth. Tom Cruise has probably seen this happen too many times to too many of his friends. Why should he want it to happen to him as well?
I’m not saying that Tom Cruise is a perfect husband or a perfect parent. And I’m not saying that he’s the greatest person in the world. But I am saying this.
Tom Cruise doesn’t deserve all this crap. He doesn’t deserve the innuendo and he doesn’t deserve the lambasting. He’s a husband and a father who just found out that his wife has left him and taken their child. And it’s playing out in media outlets all over the world.
That’s not a birthday present ANYONE should deal with.
Chuck The Writer 
It’s been said that fame is a double edged sword. It goes with the territory. People are ALWAYS going to speculate and gossip, that’s what we do! Know why? It sells newspapers, magazines and movie tickets.
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Sort of made many of these points in Kristi blog but it fell on deaf ears.
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@Chuck…well written….however, all that T.C. is going thru has zero to do with acting, money, good/bad movies…has to do with his personal life only, so any references to how good/bad his acting or movies are or how much money they made is irrelevant IMO….and the fact that it is publicized all over the world comes with the territory…have to take the good with the bad when you are a celebrity…there are far worse and better celeb. stories than his….another marriage ending for him has become old hat now….and let’s face it..since he has “joined” that cult-like phony religion, he has gotten a bit odd, again, IMO…
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I guess you didn’t see his interview with Matt Lauer when he went after women with post partum depression and tried to hawk his cults magic vitamins.
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I take celebrities about as seriously as I take my current “diet”.
Love,
huge Tom Cruise, Kanye West and Charlie Sheen fan.
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Maybe it’s a little karma coming around. After 10 years of marriage, he blindsided Nicole with divorce papers, who was pregnant at the time. I think a dose of his own medicine is quite appropriate,IMO. Katie saw first hand what happened with the relationship, or lack there of, between Nicole, and her kids after the divorce. She’s making sure that doesn’t happen with Suri. Good for her.
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Well written and well said.
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In fairness to Tom, anyone who asks for SOLE legal custody is NOT acting in the best interest of the child. Anyone who sees pics of Tom interacting with his children see a loving, devoted father, clearly not a man who is abusing them. Courts dont care about differening parenting styles or religion. Regardless of Tom’s involvment in Scientology or his “controlling” nature, no child shpould be used as a weapon.
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This is great, well done, that’s right nobody knows what goes on behind close doors, I couldn’t agree with this more. But who actually cares too, it’s life and stars don’t stay together, no big surprise at all.
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‘Rock of Ages’, despite the critics, was actually a pretty good way to spend a couple hours. Baldwin and Brand were hilarious, too. Cruise can sing and act, he should just shutthe####up. It would help his image.
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One of the most well written articles I’ve read on the Cruise/Holmes story and an article that should serve as the model for all celebrity misfortunes. Thanks.
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I agree that we don’t know what goes on behind closed doors but any celebrity has to take the intrusion in his or her life as part of the game and if a marriage isn’t working that is not unusual in this day and age. However, I think that most celebrity marriages are in danger because of the time and attention they receive especially if one of them is not silent about his or her beliefs when they are far out.
Maybe Katie raising her daughter as a strict Catholic is no better than being a scientologist since both depend on unreality. I feel sorry for Suri but hope she will be allowed to follow her own star and have a happy life. One thing I can comment on is that is obvious that she is being raised in a spoiled manner with all her expensive clothes at a time when people are hurting financially and she should be taught that there are boundaries to certain behaviors and fulfilling wishes which are not the real world she will be entering one day. Her parents are talented and ambitious people which will be a hard venue to grow up in safely.
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While a lengthy defense that strikes me as more than you just “being a devil’s advocate”, I agree with pretty much all you said – but none of that is the ‘problem’ with Tom… The ‘problem’ with Tom is – he’s weird – he’s odd – he’s a nutjob, not in the sense of a deranged criminal but in the sense of saying and doing things – many things – that range from odd/goofy/abnormal to just plain wrong. It brings into question his ability to competently mentally process situations/information and arrive at an appropriate conclusion/course of action.
Let’s just start off with three failed marriages. Significant others can’t/won’t stay with him – why? Because when they get to really know him, he comes off as being from the dark side of the moon? Bear in mind, you can only blame others for so long when you’re the common denominator – he was the common denominator in three relationships that didn’t work out. And if you want to point the finger at the women in those relationships, then you have to question his ability to judge other people, to figure out who they are, to determine is this the kind of person that you want to attempt a long-term relationship (i.e., marriage) with… Katie Holmes strikes me as being in the same nutjob boat as Tom – couldn’t he see that? And if he did, how smart was he to ‘go there’? This is the kind of thing you do when you have poor judgement…
Leaving Nicole Kidman when she’s pregnant – just plain despicable, just plain wrong. There’s been plenty of reports over the years of the odd/weird/offbeat things Tom has said and done. As for religion, I generally don’t think much of human-guided ‘organized religion’ but some are more ‘mainstream’ than others. Jim Jones in Guyana was at the other extreme, but along the spectrum, Scientology falls pretty much somewhere south of ‘mainstream’…
Taken as a whole, it’s the many odd/weird/offbeat/nonsensical/stupid/ just plain wrong things that he has said or done in his life, in relation to many varied situations, involving many different people, in a number of different settings, over many years, that throws Tom over the edge of being admirable, responsible, and respectable.
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Amen. Leave the man alone.
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