During the early 2000s, it became clear that Tom Cruise was unfiltered when it came to his thoughts. That was evident during several interviews, including his time alongside Matt Lauer on the Today Show.
In the following, we'll revisit that very moment, and reveal what set Lauer's guest off. After the fact and following Tom's divorce with Katie Holmes, his ex-wife was asked about the moment. She came up with the perfect response and one that completely avoided controversy, much to the dismay of gossip tabloids.
In addition, we're going to reveal how Brooke Shields felt about it all, and how Cruise made things right with the actress following his words on the Today Show.
Tom Cruise's Interview With Matt Lauer On The Today Show Took A Turn Over Brooke Shields' Medication
Tom Cruise let it be known, he doesn't agree with psychiatry, nor does he believe in medication to cure battle with depression.
Cruise revealed at the time, "I've never agreed with psychiatry, ever. Before I was a Scientologist, I never agreed with psychiatry, and then when I started studying the history of psychiatry, I started realizing more and more why I didn't agree with psychiatry.”
"When someone says (medication) has helped them, it is to cope; it didn’t cure anything. There is no science. There is nothing that can cure them whatsoever. I care about Brooke Shields because I think she is an incredibly talented woman, (but) look at where her career has gone.”
Cruise was challenged by Lauer after making the statement, and clearly created even more tension between the two. Brooke Shields ended up releasing a statement of her own pertaining to the matter.
"While Mr. Cruise says that Mr. Lauer and I do not ‘understand the history of psychiatry,’ I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Mr. Cruise has never suffered from postpartum depression," she revealed.
“Comments like those made by Tom Cruise are a disservice to mothers everywhere. To suggest that I was wrong to take drugs to deal with my depression and that instead I should have taken vitamins and exercised shows an utter lack of understanding about postpartum depression and childbirth in general.”
At the time, Katie Holmes stayed quiet over the interview. However, following their split, Lauer brought up the matter and here's how she reacted to it.
Matt Lauer Brought Up The Interview With Tom Cruise, But Katie Holmes Was Able To Side Step The Question
Katie Holmes' film at the time, Touched With Fire, dealt with a similar topic to what Lauer and Cruise had debated years prior. Therefore, Lauer could not pass up the opportunity to bring up the comparable.
"[The movie] asks the question, is it beneficial to treat these people with drugs?" Lauer set up. "You and I both remember a heated discussion I got into on that subject here in this studio. How do you think the movie comes down on that?"
Holmes did not get sucked into the question and had the perfect response, putting the emphasis elsewhere on both the director, and how the film was trying to tell a love story as well.
"What I think our director [Paul Dalio] did a wonderful job with is this movie just kind of shows, this is it," she said. "These are these two characters in a love story, which he’s saying is kind of its own kind of mania, to fall in love. But he puts the question out there for the audience to make their own decision."
Holmes was applauded for the way she handled the question, going about it with pure class.
Tom Cruise Went Over To Brooke Shields' House And Personally Apologized For The Moment
As for the saga between Cruise and Shields, it was resolved on a positive note. According to Brooke, Cruise showed up on her doorstep, and offered a genuine and heartfelt apology.
Shields recalls, "He came over to my house, and he gave me a heartfelt apology, and he apologized for bringing me into the whole thing and for everything that happened,” she said.
"And through it all, I was so impressed with how heartfelt it was. And I didn't feel at any time that I had to defend myself, nor did I feel that he was trying to convince me of anything other than the fact that he was deeply sorry. And I accepted it."
As for Cruise and Lauer, they were also able to overcome the situation, while Lauer used the negative as a lesson.
“If you have a bad experience on the air, you don’t think you’ve done your job or you have an embarrassing moment. I guarantee you’ll work harder the next time not to let it happen again.”
At the very least, everyone moved on from the situation.
