In tense moment, Cruise calls Lauer ‘glib’
'War of the Worlds' star assaults psychiatry, says he's ‘really happy’
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 12:42 p.m. ET June 24, 2005

NEW YORK - Tom Cruise was all smiles talking about his movie and his fiancee on NBC’s “Today” show, but the smile disappeared when Matt Lauer mentioned Cruise’s earlier criticism of Brooke Shields for taking anti-depressants.

Cruise got very serious and kept saying “Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt” every time Lauer said he knew people who were helped by anti-depressants.

Shields took them for her post-partum depression. As a Scientologist, Cruise doesn’t believe in those kinds of drugs or therapy of any kind.

At one point Cruise told Lauer, “You’re glib” and said Lauer didn’t know what he was talking about. The star launched into a detailed discussion of the use of the prescription drug Ritalin.

“It's very impressive to listen to you,” Lauer replied, “because clearly, you've done the homework. And you know the subject.”

“And you should,” Cruise retorted. He also told Lauer, “You don’t know the history of psychiatry. I do.”

The NBC anchor told Cruise he had known people who had been helped by psychiatric drugs. Cruise then accused Lauer of advocating the use of Ritalin.

Lauer asked Cruise how he could get more people to understand Scientology, the controversial religion practiced by Cruise and other celebrities like John Travolta.

“You just communicate about it," Cruise said. “If I want to know something, I go and find out. Because I don't talk about things that I don't understand.”

‘A great time in my life’
The actor was far more upbeat when it came to discussing his recent marriage proposal to “Batman Begins” actress Katie Holmes. He said he couldn't care less about some cynics' suggestions that his over displays of affection are just for show.

“You know what? There’s always cynics. There always has been. There always will be,” said Cruise, who hasn’t been shy about professing his love for Holmes. “I have never worried ... about what other people think and what other people say.”

Cruise and Holmes went public with their romance in April, smooching and posing for photographers in Rome. They recently became engaged.

Many have doubted the romance — the words “publicity stunt” have rained down on the couple like an alien invasion as Cruise has been busy promoting his new film, “War of the Worlds,” directed by Steven Spielberg, which opens on June 29.

“I have to tell you. It’s just a great time in my life,” Cruise told NBC. “I’m really happy. And, you know, I’m engaged. I’m going to be married. I can’t restrain myself. It’s like you’ve got two little cords on your mouth and you can’t stop smiling.”

The 42-year-old actor, whose marriages to Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman ended in divorce, declined to say what the 26-year-old Holmes has brought to his life that wasn’t there in the past.

“I don’t want to compare things,” Cruise said. “It’s that thing where you just — in life when it just happens. ... You meet someone. And it’s — I can’t even describe it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Well I know something about psychiatry, anti-depressants, other psychotropic chemicals, and religion, Mr. Cruise, and I feel I can say with assurance that you are on the wrong meds right now.

He really needs some Xanax.

he could at the very least, benefit from the herb. Also if he is so frickin' concerned why doesn't he stop making films for a while and lobby congress for an indepth look at pharmaceuticals as a whole? And donate some of yo' money while your at it.


Forbes Top 100 Richest Celebrities

Tom Cruise
Power Rank 10 (2004 Rank: 12)
Actors

Rank
Pay $31 mil 30
Web Hits 2,650,000 7
Press Clips 15,784 24
TV/Radio 343 16

Cover Stories 4

Cruise was paid zilch to star in the highly anticipated War of the Worlds, but watch for him to flash that multimillion-dollar smile come opening day: The toothy actor gets to keep a double-digit percentage of the movie's take. Similarly risky business has paid off in the past. Cruise declined upfront paychecks for both Collateral and The Last Samurai in favor of back-end deals, but it hasn't hurt his wallet.

I'm really amazed how esily the perception of Cruise has changed in the last 2 months given his impressive stay at the top of Hollywood for like the last 20 years.


And he's doing nothing to fix it.

I don't know if it's Matt Laurer's job to know the history of psychiatry, but it is a psychiatrist's job, and pretty much all of them prescribe anti-depressants on a fairly regular basis.

This guy is falling faster than cuba gooding jr.

I, for one, would agree with Cruise if he were intelligent enough to make a statement about "psychiatric" prescription drugs being mis-used and over-used (especially things like ritalin and antidepressants), but there are certainly a large core of people who can really benefit from these drugs, and there IS scientific evidence to support their use.

Marge: I think we should take him off the drug.
Pharm. 1: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! You can't just go off
Focusyn.
Pharm. 2: But we can ease Bart onto one of its sister drugs, like
chlorhexinol, and augment that with some
phenolbutamine.
Pharm. 1: Hmm, and maybe some cyclobenzanone?
Pharm. 2: That's a great idea! [they kiss]

No, even faster than THAT.

I think it was discussed before, but did anyone see Cruise's interview with some Australian tv show. The interviewer asked about Nicole and his kids, Tom got real pissed and told the interviewer he was stepping over the line. Tom really seems to like attention and disagreements.

So would you still fuck him?

He is a freak.

he's on crack!

i loved that more than my last beer. and that's a lot.

what is it that he was actually doing there?