Tom Cruise Launched Into A Sweary Tirade Against ‘Mission: Impossible’ Crew Members Who Weren’t Following COVID-19 Protocol

Movies have been back in production for a while now, but with one giant caveat: There’s still an out-of-control pandemic happening, and now cast to crew have to obey strict COVID-19 protocol lest everyone get infected. But one person seems to be taking it even more seriously than everyone else: Tom Cruise. (Though he did brave a movie theater to go see Tenet.) In audio obtained by The Sun (and later verified by Variety), the superstar can be heard launching into a sweary tirade after catching two crew members not obeying social distancing.

The crew in question were reportedly standing too close to each other when Cruise caught them. That’s when the actor — who often risks his very life to entertain us, but is clearly not about to catch a highly contagious virus — went to town.

“We are the gold standard. They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us. Because they believe in us and what we’re doing,” Cruise is heard saying. “I’m on the phone with every f*cking studio at night, insurance companies, producers and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies. We are creating thousands of jobs, you motherf*ckers. I don’t ever want to see it again. Ever!”

He wasn’t done. “You can tell it to the people who are losing their f*cking homes because our industry is shut down,” Cruise told them. “It’s not going to put food on their table or pay for their college education. That’s what I sleep with every night – the future of this f*cking industry!”

He then backed off a bit, though not entirely. “So I’m sorry, I am beyond your apologies,” he said. “I have told you, and now I want it, and if you don’t do it, you’re out. We are not shutting this f*cking movie down! Is it understood? If I see it again, you’re f*cking gone.”

But he still had some fight left. “Am I clear? Do you understand what I want? Do you understand the responsibility that I have? Because I will deal with your reason, and if you can’t be reasonable and I can’t deal with your logic, you’re fired,” Cruise told them. “That’s it. That is it. I trust you guys to be here.”

You can hear the audio here.

But it’s likely it won’t be received the same way that, for instance, Christian Bale’s notorious blow-up on the set of Terminator: Salvation was. Bale was in the wrong there; Cruise is not. Even if he went ultra, it’s because he clearly wants a safe set. Many productions have had to go on pause because of COVID-19 outbreaks. Cruise obviously does not want the same fate to befall Mission: Impossible 7. In fact, people are already commending him for being a voice of reason when too many people are “mask-skeptics,” even as cases skyrocket.

Although the news did take some people aback.

(Via The Sun and Variety)