Tom Cruise Trashed By Two Late Night Hosts For His Oscars No-Show
David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel discussed Tom Cruise's Oscars absence during Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Tom Cruise was a no-show at the Oscars, and Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman did not hesitate to call the Top Gun: Maverick actor out on his absence. On Wednesday’s showing of Jimmy Kimmel Live! Letterman was Kimmel’s first guest, and the veteran television host only had one question for Kimmel, “Where was Tom Cruise?”
Tom Cruise was expected to join his co-stars at the Oscars last week after his film Top Gun: Maverick was nominated for six total Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Sound. Even though Cruise wasn’t nominated for Best Actor, he was still expected to appear at the awards ceremony, especially considering his heavy involvement in the film. Not only did Cruise star in the movie, but he was also one of the movie’s producers, next to Jerry Bruckheimer, David Ellison, and Christopher McQuarrie.
Apparently, David Letterman thought Tom Cruise should have been there, too, which is why he called the Mission: Impossible 7 actor out for his absence and asked Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the 2023 Oscars, why the “Big Shot,” as Letterman called him, wasn’t there. Kimmel stated he didn’t know why Cruise didn’t show up to the biggest Hollywood annual event of the year but said he heard that it was because of “production issues.”
The production issues excuse wasn’t enough for Letterman, who called it “nonsense,” with Kimmel agreeing that it was a vague justification and then brainstorming a few other reasons why Tom Cruise didn’t show up to his Oscars appointment. “Maybe he feels like he wasn’t going to win, so he didn’t want to come,” the late night host suggested.
Even though Tom Cruise’s lack of faith in his film may have been the reason the actor held back from attending the Oscars, that didn’t stop his fellow castmates from appearing on the red carpet that night. The rest of Top Gun: Maverick’s cast was in attendance at the event, including Miles Teller, Monica Barbaro, Greg Tarzan Davis, Jennifer Connelly, Jay Ellis, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, and Charles Parnell. While Maverick didn’t end up winning Best Picture, the film still came away with an Academy Award for Best Sound.
Some have suggested that Tom Cruise didn’t attend the Oscars to avoid his ex-wife, Moulin Rouge! actress Nicole Kidman, or to avoid hearing Scientology jokes poking fun at his religion. Ironically, Kimmel did say one Scientology joke, but it wouldn’t have happened if Cruise had appeared at the ceremony.
According to Jimmy Kimmel Live! producer Molly McNearney, Kimmel actually had a three-minute monologue planned to commemorate Cruise and his involvement in reviving the movie industry. McNearney said that Kimmel was extremely disappointed when he heard Tom Cruise would not attend the Oscars, and he decided to change his monologue at the last second. The revised monologue removed the salute to Cruise and replaced it with a tame Scientology joke calling Cruise “L. Ron Hubba Hubba.”
The joke is in reference to a shirtless Cruise moment in Maverick and is a wordplay based on the founder of Scientology’s name, L. Ron Hubbard.
