The set of Mission: Impossible 7 is reportedly tense following Tom Cruise’s recent rant about COVID-19 protocol being broken. The leaked audio recently went viral and features Cruise yelling expletives and threatening to fire crew members after seeing them standing too closely together, thereby breaking social distancing rules. The movie is currently filming in Europe, though production was temporarily halted in February and October due to the coronavirus pandemic, and again in August because of a motorbike accident.
The audio is indeed alarming, with Cruise shouting about how their set is the “gold standard” and that everyone needs to consider not only health and safety, but also the people who are losing their homes because the industry is shut down. Several celebrities have since commented on Cruise’s outburst, an incident that brings to mind other on-set rants like the infamous one from Christian Bale. George Clooney came to Cruise’s defense, noting that Cruise’s message was valid, even if his methods were not. Alternatively, ex-Scientologist and actress Leah Remini insists that Cruise’s rant was simply a publicity stunt that “shows his true personality.”
Now, US Weekly reports that an undisclosed source commented on the current Mission: Impossible 7 set atmosphere, saying, “They believe it had a lot to do with his ego. Good intentions aside, he didn’t need to rant and rave the way he did” and “the crew has been walking on eggshells ever since the actor exploded on them.” While Cruise’s intentions might have been good, some members of the crew have clearly not recovered from the emotional explosion, while others have actually come to his defense.
Cruise has been highly involved in maintaining COVID-19 safety protocol on set, as he is a producer on the film in addition to starring. He reportedly spent over half a million dollars of his own money on cruise ships to provide housing for the crew while filming. This effectively creates an isolation bubble, an approach that many productions are currently using. In addition to filming delays, the release date of Mission: Impossible 7 has also been moved from its original date of July 23, 2021 to November 19, 2021.
Though his frustration is understandable, it’s tough to defend high-powered celebrities when they behave like this, especially when considering everyone on that set is also dealing with the overwhelming stress of producing a movie in the middle of a global pandemic. Perhaps Cruise was acting as more of a producer than an actor in that moment, but it still doesn’t excuse the approach. In the audio, Cruise insists that his anger is beyond the reach of any apologies, but it seems like it’s the crew of Mission: Impossible 7 that really deserves one.
Source: US Weekly
