Tom Cruise has been in the news a lot lately, largely due to his budding romance with Ana de Armas.
But now, the Mission: Impossible star is making headlines for a very different reason.
And while Tom usually eschews politics in order to keep the public’s focus on his movies (and stunts), his latest action might place him squarely in the center of the nation’s never-ending hyper-partisan family feud.
Did Tom Cruise just publicly snub Donald Trump?
Every year, the Kennedy Center honors several Americans for their cultural contributions.
A medal from the organization is considered one of the highest honors an artist or entertainer can receive, and this year’s honorees include George Strait, KISS, Michael Crawford, Gloria Gaynor, and Sylvester Stallone.
But despite an offer from the White House, Tom Cruise will not be on hand to receive an award when the annual ceremony takes place in December.
According to a report from The Washington Post, Cruise has declined to be among the first group of Kennedy Center nominees for Trump’s second term.
Unnamed Kennedy Center employees say that the screen legend turned the offer down due to “scheduling conflicts.”
Of course, that’s the excuse celebs always give when they don’t want to attend an event. And the ceremony — which is still several months away — would only require a couple hours of Cruise’s time.
The politicization of the Kennedy Center honors
In the past, the Kennedy Center was a mostly apolitical organization. But nothing is apolitical in 2025.
Trump announced his intention to take over operations of the Kennedy Center shortly after taking office for his second term.
And in the months since, he’s proceeded to do exactly that.
In fact, Trump intends to host this year’s ceremony, an unprecedented move for a sitting president.
Trump became chairman of the Kennedy Center Committee back in February, and he says he took a hands-on approach to selecting this year’s honorees.
“I would say I was about 98 percent involved. They all went through me,” the president said, per the Post.
“I had a couple of wokesters. Now, we have great people. This is very different than it used to be, very different.”
The Post also quotes Trump as saying he always wanted an award from the Kennedy Center, but “was never able to get 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 continued, adding, “Next year, we’ll honor Trump, okay?”
We may never know for sure why Cruise opted out of any involvement in this year’s awards.
But we’re guessing that December’s presentation ceremony will be unlike any other in Kennedy Center history.