# Boycotting Tom Cruise **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795 "2008-12-11T23:51:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/41 "2008-12-12T13:24:34Z")
I’m at boycott fatigue, so I don’t boycott Cruise. However, aside from the Mission Impossible movies, he hasn’t been in any movies in over a decade that I’ve been interested to see. I probably would have seen **War of the Worlds** if the reviews hadn’t been so awful. I’ll probably watch the dvd one day. I’ve seen **Risky Business** too many times to want to see it again. Like every person who went to high school in the late 1980s, I’ve seen\*\* Top Gun\*\* at least 50 times. Outside of **Born on the 4th of July** , I can’t think of any other Cruise films I’m likely to watch. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/42 "2008-12-12T14:00:49Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > _German officer of the SS_. Cruise’s character, who was a real person, was not a member of the SS, refused to join the Nazi Party, and became implacably opposed to Hitler quite early in the war in large part due to its mistreatment of innocent people. He also remained a practising Catholic, ironically enough, long after that had fallen out of fashion with the Nazis. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/43 "2008-12-12T14:04:36Z")
> [@](#): > > The guy has seemed a bit off his rocker the last couple years when off-screen, however unlike some people who get boycotted in the entertainment industry, he hasn’t or isn’t out to hurt anyone, as far as I know, and doesn’t even push his agendas into any of his movies. Scientology is a dangerous organisation that Tom Cruise is the de facto public face of. He may not push his agendas on screen, but her certainly does on set. It was one of the major reasons behind his falling out with Spielberg. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/44 "2008-12-12T14:05:53Z")
I urge all you sci-fi junkies to see _Minority Report_. This is one of my all time favorite Cruise films. Yes, Cruise may be a nut, but so are many other celebrities. That doesn’t mean that they can’t still be entertaining. I despise George Bush, but I’ll watch a montage of his verbal slip-ups because they are funny. Many of you sound like the people who boycotted the French in the opening stages of the war. Freedom fries, Freedom toast, or Freedom onion soup, anyone? I immensely dislike Pacman Jones, but will I watch a football game he’s playing in? Sure. Same with Ron Artest in basketball. The hate for Tom Cruise as a person may be warranted, but to boycott his movies that you would otherwise enjoy is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/45 "2008-12-12T14:13:42Z")
> [@Hi\_Neighbor](#): > > but to boycott his movies that you would otherwise enjoy is ridiculous. I have no dog in this fight. I don’t care a whit for Cruise, but I don’t boycott his movies either. But can you not see how a person of conscience might not be willing to put even a penny in the pocket of someone whose views they find repugnant? The examples you give (Jones, Artest) are not analogous to this situation because as I understand it, athletes do not get back-end paychecks for their games. Movie stars like Tom Cruise usually (again, as I understand it) negotiate their compensation to include a percentage of the actual box office their films produce. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/46 "2008-12-12T14:20:08Z")
> [@Hi\_Neighbor](#): > > I urge all you sci-fi junkies to see _Minority Report_. This is one of my all time favorite Cruise films. > > Yes, Cruise may be a nut, but so are many other celebrities. That doesn’t mean that they can’t still be entertaining. I despise George Bush, but I’ll watch a montage of his verbal slip-ups because they are funny. > > Many of you sound like the people who boycotted the French in the opening stages of the war. Freedom fries, Freedom toast, or Freedom onion soup, anyone? > > I immensely dislike Pacman Jones, but will I watch a football game he’s playing in? Sure. Same with Ron Artest in basketball. The hate for Tom Cruise as a person may be warranted, but to boycott his movies that you would otherwise enjoy is ridiculous. Enjoy or not, I refuse to fund Scientology. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/47 "2008-12-12T14:21:26Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > The examples you give (Jones, Artest) are not analogous to this situation because as I understand it, athletes do not get back-end paychecks for their games. Movie stars like Tom Cruise usually (again, as I understand it) negotiate their compensation to include a percentage of the actual box office their films produce. True, but if I attend a game, a majority of the revenue is going back into players’ contracts. The analogy is far from perfect, but fans account for much of what players make. More revenue = larger, pricier paychecks for players. Also, I doubt these people would even borrow a Cruise movie from a friend or buy a used copy off of eBay, which wouldn’t put money in his pocket. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/48 "2008-12-12T14:42:10Z")
Have the boycotters all stopped watching “The Simpsons”? Refuse to contribute to **Elvis’** estate? No South Park? Do you change the channel so you won’t see reruns of “The King of Queens” or “That 70s Show”? **Giovanni Ribisi** has a lot of work under his belt. Do you avoid watching everything he’s in? Even **Friends**? Do you change the station so that you won’t hear \*\*Chakka Khan’s \*\* beautiful voice? How about **Beck’s**? Is Scientology the reason for the boycott or is it just Tom Cruise? (I like and watch all of the people/shows/work listed above. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/49 "2008-12-12T14:45:22Z")
Just Tom Cruise for me, explained above. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/50 "2008-12-12T15:02:37Z")
I’ve never been too impressed by TC, but his blathering about psychiatry just pissed me off to no end. Having said that, I did finally sit thru all of “The Last Samurai” and quite liked it, as the only movie he’d been in that I really liked was “Legend,” which was a LOOONG time ago. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/51 "2008-12-12T15:09:56Z")
> [@TwistofFate](#): > > Enjoy or not, I refuse to fund Scientology. How does Scientology hurt _you_? Anyone with a lick of sense wouldn’t share its views. I don’t see Scientology commercials on TV or ads in the newspapers or magazines that I read. In fact, the only time I would come across Scientology is if I’d be actively seeking it out. According to Cruise, “psychiatry is a form of pseudoscience” and there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance. If you feel the need to boycott Cruise’s films in an attempt retard the spread of Scientology, I think you should be more worried about the ignorant masses that are taking their life lessons from him and his “religion.” EDIT: And I hardly doubt Scientology is lacking funds as it is. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/52 "2008-12-12T15:12:40Z")
What Scientologists are on “The Simpsons”? ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/53 "2008-12-12T15:26:26Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > What Scientologists are on “The Simpsons”? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy\_Cartwright\_(actress)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Cartwright_(actress)) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/54 "2008-12-12T15:27:58Z")
> [@jali](#): > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy\_Cartwright\_(actress)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Cartwright_(actress)) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Not my Nan-Nan!!! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/55 "2008-12-12T16:04:57Z")
> [@jali](#): > > Have the boycotters all stopped watching “The Simpsons”? Refuse to contribute to **Elvis’** estate? No South Park? > > Do you change the channel so you won’t see reruns of “The King of Queens” or “That 70s Show”? > > **Giovanni Ribisi** has a lot of work under his belt. Do you avoid watching everything he’s in? Even **Friends**? > > Do you change the station so that you won’t hear \*\*Chakka Khan’s \*\* beautiful voice? How about **Beck’s**? > > Is Scientology the reason for the boycott or is it just Tom Cruise? > > (I like and watch all of the people/shows/work listed above. Yes to all of the above, plus the fact that I don’t think much of Cruise as an actor. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/56 "2008-12-12T16:21:20Z")
I was so disappointed when I read about Nancy Cartwright donating huge sums to the S. cult. But while I do sometimes watch “The Simpsons” show in reruns with my daughter, I never spend any money on any Simpsons related stuff, because of that Scientology connection. Previously, Hi,Neighbor asked “How does Scientology hurt you?” Well, its campaign against psychiatry probably doesn’t hurt well-balanced sane people. But it probably does hurt people that would benefit from psychiatric drugs and who by the nature of their illness might be likely to fall for the Scientology crap. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/57 "2008-12-12T16:38:04Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Not my Nan-Nan!!! Don’t have a thetan, man. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/58 "2008-12-12T16:45:13Z")
I too boycott lots of different media because of the relation of the actors or performers to Scientology and it’s killing me because one of the actors on my new favorite show Sons of Anarchy is a Scieno too. I may have to waffle a bit on the hopes that he just gets killed off. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/59 "2008-12-12T16:51:26Z")
I’d rather they gave their money to Scientology than to the Republican Party. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795/60 "2008-12-12T17:57:22Z")
I don’t boycott Cruise, but he’s not usually in movies I’m interested in (I did see _The Last Samurai_, and _Jerry Maguire_, but I think that’s it for the past decade) and I don’t think much of him as a person. Aside from all the Scientology business, whenever I see him on talk shows I always feel bad for Nicole Kidman and especially their kids. Divorce is hard enough for children without seeing their dad jumping on Oprah’s couch to express how happy he is to have a new, younger girlfriend/wife. All the hooplah surrounding baby Suri can’t have made them feel good either. I know that Cruise’s family issues are none of my business and for all I know he’s a great father, but I always think that if he really cared about his older kids he’d behave differently. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-tom-cruise/476795.md?page=4)