Has Tom Cruise joined the resistance?
Maybe not, but the “Mission: Impossible” star has reportedly declined a major Kennedy Center Award that would have been presented to him by President Donald Trump himself on Dec. 7. The Washington Post reported that Cruise was offered a Kennedy Center Honor, which recognizes and celebrates the contribution of major performing artists to American culture.
But Cruise said thanks, but no thanks. That means the “Top Gun” actor won’t join KISS, Michael Crawford, George Strait, Gloria Gaynor and the pro-Trump Sylvester Stallone in receiving this once-in-a-lifetime honor from America’s polarizing president. But it also means that Cruise won’t get the chance join the ranks of past Kennedy Center luminaries, who include some of the most prominent names in American film, TV, theater, dance and music over the past half century, including Meryl Streep, Johnny Cash, Stephen Sondheim, Aretha Franklin, Francis Ford Coppola and the Grateful Dead.
Cruise’s representatives said he had “scheduling conflicts,” according to several current and former Kennedy Center employees who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity. A spokesperson for Cruise declined to comment.
Yes, Cruise is a very important movie star, and he could conceivably have “scheduling conflicts,” due to upcoming projects, such as filming his highly anticipated “Top Gun: Maverick” sequel, according to the Daily Beast.
But he’s also Tom Cruise, a rich and powerful global figure, who should probably be able to work around any “scheduling conflicts” that would keep him away from Washington, D.C., in early December. So, it’s entirely possible that Cruise didn’t want to appear on stage with Trump.
Over the years, Cruise has been been quiet about his politics, according to the Daily Beast. But he and his representatives should know that taking an award arranged by the MAGA leader would usher in an uncomfortable news cycle. It could leave Cruise open to questions about whether he supports Trump, including what critics say are the president’s efforts to turn the Kennedy Center into an agency of MAGA propaganda.
The star of “Risky Business,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Rain Man” and “Jerry Maguire” also has mostly steered clear of politically charged subjects in his work or in his personal life, according to the Daily Beast. Cruise has offered public support to the U.S. military, through projects like “Top Gun” and “Top Gun: Maverick” — but supporting the troops is hardly controversial. The only time that Cruise appears to have gotten remotely political was when he returned his three Golden Globe Awards in 2021 to protest the alleged longstanding racist, homophobic and sexist practices of the awards’ organizers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
But even that protest sparked debate, because Cruise’s critics said he was grandstanding and only returned the awards to deflect from the bigger controversy that has attached itself to him over the years.
Cruise’s reputation as a Hollywood golden boy has been diminished over the past 20 years by the public’s growing awareness of his deep association with the cult-like Church of Scientology. His films may still make hundreds of millions of dollars, he’s been credited by Steven Spielberg with “saving” movies, and he remains a force in the cultural conversation, but he also has become known for reportedly letting Scientology exert control over his marriages to ex-wives Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes. Both those marriages ended in divorce, while Cruise has been repeatedly called out for appearing to let Scientology influence his reported estrangement from his daughter, Suri.
With all the lingering Scientology drama, Cruise and his handlers may want to avoid any new controversy. Hence, his decision to turn down the Kennedy Center award. But it’s also easy to see why they don’t want to make a big deal about his reasons for declining the award, whatever they may be. Better to leave big statements about refusing a Kennedy Center award to celebrities who are more comfortable with speaking out.
As the Daily Beast reported, a few celebrities have voiced concerns about accepting Kennedy Center Honors in the past, usually because of the politics of the person occupying the White House.
Mel Brooks refused the award under George W. Bush in 2009, while Norman Lear attended the Kennedy Center ceremony in 2017 but only because Trump, in his first administration, had little to do with the center’s operations at the time, according to NPR.
But the esteemed TV producer, famous for creating the sitcoms “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” declined to attend a White House gala associated with the awards to protest Trump and his policies, NPR also reported. Lear wrote on X: “I could never turn my back on (The Kennedy Center). It represents the Arts and Humanities which mean everything to me. Of course, I’m accepting the honors. What I’m not accepting is the @WhiteHouse reception with @realDonaldTrump.”