Tom Cruise Stands by 'Mission: Impossible 7' Rant: 'I Said What I Said'

Tom Cruise has spoken out five months after he was recorded screaming at crew members on set of 'Mission: Impossible 7' in December 2020 — read more

Standing by his word. Tom Cruise has spoken out five months after a leaked clip revealed him screaming at the crew on set of Mission: Impossible 7.

“I said what I said,” Cruise, 58, told Empire magazine (via Los Angeles Times) in a recent interview, noting that he only was addressing “select people” who were violating the COVID-19 safety protocols. “There was a lot at stake at that point.”

The film had been shut down twice due to the coronavirus pandemic, causing the Top Gun star to get upset when others weren’t following the rules, he explained.

Tom Cruise Stands by Rant on Set of 'Mission Impossible 7': 'I Said What I Said' — Tom Cruise attends the ‘Mission Impossible: Fallout’ film premiere in London on July 13, 2018. Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock

“All those emotions were going through my mind,” the actor told the magazine. “I was thinking about the people I work with and my industry. And for the whole crew to know that we’d started rolling on a movie was just a huge relief. It was very emotional, I gotta tell you.”

Since his rant, the film has not been shut down again. “Here we are, continuing to film,” Cruise said, before adding he’s available for “Zoom parties and kids’ parties also.”

In the audio, posted by The Sun in December, the Jerry Maguire actor was heard yelling at members of the crew. “They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us,” he said in the clips released. “I’m on the phone with every f–king studio at night, insurance companies, producers. They are looking at us and using us to make their movies. We are creating thousands of jobs, you motherf–kers. … If I see you do it again, you’re f–king gone. And if anyone on this crew does it, that’s it — and you too and you too. And you, don’t you ever f–king do it again. That’s it. No apologies. You can tell it to the people that are losing their f–king homes because our industry is shut down.”

The three-time Oscar nominee’s crew knew he had “good intentions,” but felt the outburst was out of line, a source told Us Weekly exclusively following the leaked video.

Cruise reportedly spent $665,000 of his own money to house crew members during filming and was “appalled anyone would jeopardize filming with an act of such sheer stupidity,” the insider added. “According to him, there’s no margin for error, especially when so many other productions have been shut down.”