Actor Tom Cruise has turned down President Donald Trump’s invitation to the 48th Kennedy Center Honors, according to a new report.
On Wednesday, Trump announced the recipients of the prestigious award, which “recognizes and celebrates individuals whose unique artistic contributions have shaped our world,” according to the Washington, D.C. arts center.
The five recipients who will be honored in December are country music singer George Strait, rock band KISS, Broadway star Michael Crawford, singer Gloria Gaynor and actor Sylvester Stallone.
Not on the list is Cruise, known for his starring roles in the movie franchises “Mission Impossible” and “Top Gun.”
Cruise was offered the award but declined due to scheduling conflicts, The Washington Post reported, citing current and former Kennedy Center employees.
The Independent has reached out to a representative for Cruise for comment.
In November, Cruise will receive an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards, alongside the production designer Wynn Thomas, and the choreographer and actress Debbie Allen, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced in June.
Before announcing the award recipients this week, Trump suggested that he be honored next year, as he had never received one.
“I waited and waited and waited, and I said, ‘The hell with it, I’ll become chairman and I’ll give myself an honor,’” he said. “Next year, we’ll honor Trump, okay?”
The president insisted the Kennedy Center board had requested that he serve as the emcee of this year’s show, stepping into shoes once filled by the late CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite from 1981 to 2002, then by Ambassador Caroline Kennedy — the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, for whom the arts center is named — from 2003 to 2012.
Trump initially claimed the center’s board had selected “a truly exceptional class of honorees.” But under questioning from reporters he admitted that he had signed off on the list and rejected multiple picks for honorees because they’d been “too woke.”
“I would say I was about 98 percent involved ... they all went through me,” he said.
“I turned down plenty who were too woke.”
With reporting from Andrew Feinberg in D.C.
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