George Clooney went on Howard Stern’s show to promote The Midnight Sky this week, and of course Stern asked him a lot about the pandemic (Clooney has been locked down in LA) and about the Tom Cruise rant. As we discussed, Cruise was recording going on a lengthy rant at crew members after those crew members were failing to adhere to pandemic protocols (apparently they were standing too close together). George had some thoughts about all of that, and about people who refuse to wear masks.
Clooney doesn’t think Cruise acted inappropriately. “He didn’t overreact because it is a problem. I have a friend who’s an AD on another TV show who just had the almost exact same thing happen with not quite as far out a response. I wouldn’t have done it that big. I wouldn’t have, you know, pulled people out. You’re in a position of power and it’s tricky, right? You do have a responsibility for everybody else and he’s absolutely right about that. And, you know, if the production goes down, a lot of people lose their jobs. People have to understand that and have to be responsible. It’s just not my style to, you know, to take everybody to task that way.”
Still, he understands Cruise’s frustration: “I understand why he did it. He’s not wrong at all about that. You know, I just, I don’t know that I would have done it quite that personally, but I don’t know all the circumstances so maybe he had it 10 or 15 times before.”
On people refusing to wear masks: “This thought where everybody is like, ‘Well it’s my freedom.’ It’s like, that’s not how this sh-t works, dumbass. Your freedom is this: You’re free to smoke until your lungs turn black, but you can’t do it on the bus. And you’re free to drink until your liver comes out your ass, but you can’t drink and then get behind the wheel of a car. There have to be certain rules. This is one that says: Put on a f***ing mask and we’ll get through this. We’ve got vaccines coming — let’s save another 60,000 lives before the vaccines.”
[From People & the Daily Mail]
Yeah, my guess is that a lot of powerful Hollywood people will have Tom Cruise’s back on this particular issue. Sure, it’s not a great look when a big celebrity is screaming at people. But studios, executives, producers and directors are all really worried about what this “pause” in production has meant for the industry, and there are legitimately a lot of people out of work. And really, the covid protocols are there for a reason. All that being said, George is famously the guy who (reportedly) put David O. Russell in a chokehold on the set of Three Kings (because Russell was verbally abusing crew members), so who knows if George’s reaction really would have been to back up Cruise in real time. Totally agree with George about masks though!
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.
Per Leah Remini: “All Scientologists believe that if they aren’t connected to what they label “suppressive persons” they will not get sick.” I recommend y’all read Lainey’s take on things, because you cannot separate the Scientology from Cruise.
I’m not seeing people celebrating Tom Cruise as a person, just support for him in this isolated incident. But reading all the reminders of how Scientology-y Tom’s behavior is gives me pause. We know he is a horrible person but he is verbalizing some very real frustration. Like Clooney said, it’s tricky.
@Ann- yes I’m not taking this on face value… I also forgot to say above that Cruise runs a very tight ship. For someone to video him and then release it without him knowing- I don’t buy it for one second. I think he’s behind all of it, he wants this out there because he thinks it makes him look good, a Covid Crusader to save everyone.
yeah, and it is a slow slide down a steep hill when we stop bring vigilant. Forget to social distance one day and in a week people are gathering and maybe mask wearing gets less… we are human, and as such very good at forgetting when our lives are at risk.
I don’t get why people don’t like George, he seems eminently sensible
I’ve always appreciated that about Clooney and that he won’t let subordinates be bullied by higher ups.
If this is how he wields his authority on a public set, imagine how he must treat the slave labour provided to him by the cult he belongs to.
Yeah, people should wear masks and follow guidelines; if they don’t, I’m in full support of firing them and replacing them with people who will respect the rules. That’s the boss’s prerogative. But praising him for his absolutely unprofessional and abusive behaviour on set is something I can’t get behind; on top of the abuse of power this is just further propaganda that the cult will use to promote their dangerous club. “Look how much we care, Scientology protects people, blah blah blah.”
Something I saw on Instagram really stuck with me and is affecting how I see this; think of all the individuals who have been actively harmed by the cult’s refusal to allow them access to full medical care. During the year of the pandemic, how many had to go without anti-depressant support because their cult thinks psychology is bunk? How many family members died alone and uncomforted because the cult has labelled them suppressive? How many slave laborers have been forced to work in close proximity and how many of them has Tom Cruise personally “protected” by going on a rant against cult leaders who are actively causing harm to their followers?
Tom Cruise is a terrible person. He is one of the main tools of Scientology and actively props up the institution and benefits directly from its horrible abuses. Praising him for losing his temper on set is a slippery slope, and still all I can think that if this is how he rants knowing that it will go public, what is he like when he’s away from the cameras and within the protections of the cult? He’s disgusting, and while I think that anyone not following protocols at any job is certainly right to be fired or at least disciplined, nobody LITERALLY NOBODY should ever have to worry about their boss losing his/her temper at them like this ever.
Cosign!
Absolutely!
+1
I do think Cruise acted inappropriately and have strong suspicions it was a publicity stunt, especially with how overwhelmingly positive the comments have been. Cult spamming at it’s finest. However, Clooney’s response was impressively diplomatic. Clooney for the win.
To be fair I have been so fed up with unmasked people while I’m pregnant and around a compromised immune system in my household that I have yelled at my fair share of people. You get burnt out from the stupid. I shamed a woman in Target and I told her she was improperly wearing her mask and I wouldn’t use the same register as her because “I don’t fuck with stupid.” I yelled at a woman in a park on a public path. I have flicked off many a Trump trucks. I know it’s not nice but I am beyond my limit with this forsaken country.
Honestly, I think if the story were that Tom Cruise bitched out some people at Target who weren’t wearing their masks right I’d probably 100% co-sign that lol. I wholly support you shaming all the assholes you encounter and wish I had the guts to do that vs. just running away when I see them coming towards me mask-below-nose.
Miles Klee breaks down why Tom Cruise is wrong for this here TLDR in October Tom was filming in an Italian hospital w/COVID patients where 12 of the crew he is abusing then tested positive for the virus: https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/tom-cruises-ego-is-the-killer
That was such an interesting read. I wasn’t aware of what happened in Italy, but remember reading about the historic bridge in Poland TC wanted to blow up. And I like how the writer so eloquently dissected the true motives of Cruise’s outburst.
Clooney is smart, and that’s sexy. He’s sexy even without the smart, but that intelligence is the cherry on top!