After Donald Trump took over the Kennedy Center Honors by appointing himself chairman and host — he bragged that he could now tune the picks to his exact sensibilities and politics, and while people immediately started speculating who Trump meant when he said he removed some people because they were “wokesters,” new reports are now confirming that Tom Cruise rejected the honor all by himself.
Trump himself admitted to being very involved in the picking of the next round of honorees, which included Sylvester Stallone. So it’s a safe bet that he must have been the one who personally chose Cruise. But according to multiple reports, the Oscar-nominated actor politely declined the offer and attributed his decision to “scheduling conflicts.”
Tom Cruise has been a recluse ever since his fall from the public eye owing to his multiple controversies such as jumping on Oprah’s couch and spreading Scientology-sponsored pseudoscience about mental illnesses. So even if the actual reason is deeper than “scheduling conflicts,” it’s very unlikely that the action movie star will address it further.
That’s not to say people on social media were stopped from speculating. Once the story broke on X, users were quick to congratulate Cruise, with one speculating that Cruise couldn’t stand being in Trump’s orbit. Another user even challenged Stallone to follow in Cruise’s footsteps.
Even the dude who outran aliens and scaled skyscrapers draws the line at Trump's orbit. Kudos, Tom!
— Mark Van Toll (@markvantoll) August 15, 2025
Stallone should take note
— Jardani (@jardani_w) August 14, 2025
Tom Cruise is not the only person in history to have ever turned down the honor. In 2002, Paul McCartney declined the honor because he couldn’t make it to the event since he was already planning to attend a family wedding on the same day. He ended up being a 2010 honoree. And if Cruise is rejecting the honor because he disagrees with Trump’s politics — he also wouldn’t be the first person to have reservations about Trump’s leadership style affecting how they approach the honor. Norman Lear was chosen for the honor but refused to meet the president because of his budget cuts for art programs.
The ceremony is scheduled to air on Dec 7 on CBS and stream on Trump’s beloved Paramount+. Trump mentioned that not only has he always wanted an honor from the prestigious committee but also he expects the show to be more palatable to Americans unlike the Oscars, which by his understanding became too woke at some point. What’s odd is that Tom Cruise is scheduled to be awarded an Honorary Oscar this year — and there were no scheduling conflicts for that.
Cruise is now focused on his private life and expanding his very extensive oeuvre in American cinema. He has worked so hard to ensure he exists in fans’ minds as something more than just a celebrity — he’s an institution. It’s unlikely he’s going to risk that just so he can attend what Trump has turned into a celebration of loyalism to the MAGA cause.
Multiple publications including People and The Washington Post reached out to Cruise’s representatives but there was no response. Cruise is said to be at the center of Paramount’s plans moving forward and they’re already looking to work on a treatment for Top Gun 3 — that’s seemingly what Cruise is focused on now.
