Tom Cruise Turned Down Trump’s Lifetime Achievement Award
The actor reportedly cited “scheduling conflicts.”
Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images for Paramount Pictu
Tom Cruise has declined a major Kennedy Center Award from Donald Trump, according to The Washington Post.
Trump announced the honorees on Wednesday from the Center, also revealing that he would host the televised show in December. Trump had reportedly wanted to unveil Cruise alongside KISS, Michael Crawford, George Strait, Sylvester Stallone, and singer Gloria Gaynor. The publication cites confirmation from several anonymous Kennedy Center employees. According to the report, Cruise’s team said the star could not attend the ceremony due to “scheduling conflicts.”
A rep for Cruise did not return The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
Trump reportedly wanted Tom Cruise on his list of Kennedy Center Honorees.
MANDEL NGAN/MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
Cruise would have been the most high-profile honoree on Trump’s roster, which Trump said he was “98 percent involved” with selecting.
The Mission: Impossible star is notoriously quiet on politically charged subjects, opting instead to put his star power behind supporting the military, veterans, and, of course, Scientology.
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Some honorees in years past have declined the award or avoided the broadcast to protest the sitting president. Mel Brooks refused the award under George W. Bush in 2009. Norman Lear declined to attend the White House Gala that came with the award in 2017 to protest Trump’s policies, but attended the Trump-free Kennedy Honors broadcast show.
“I could never turn my back on” The Kennedy Center,” Lear wrote to Twitter/X at the time. “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.”
A photo of country music artist George Strait is unveiled as U.S. President Donald Trump announces the nominees for the annual Kennedy Center Honors.
Getty Images
The acceptance of Trump’s Kennedy Center awards by the honorees has already put some at odds with their anti-Trump fans. On Thursday, The View host Ana Navarro publicly begged “I Will Survive” singer Gloria Gaynor not to accept the award from the president, whom Navarro called a “stain” in a new Instagram post.
As for Cruise, he has several projects on the horizon that could potentially prevent his attendance at the honors. One project that might keep the A-lister busy later in the year is the filming of his highly anticipated Top Gun 3, which Paramount has said it will prioritize post-Skydance merger. The 48th Annual Kennedy Center Honors will take place on Dec. 7.
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