Tom Cruise apologizes to Brooke Shields for criticizing her antidepressant use

[Halo]

'Top Gun' star Tom Cruise has said sorry to Brooke Shields for commenting on her use of anti-depressants.

Tom Cruise
(BANG) - Tom Cruise has apologised to Brooke Shields for criticising her use of anti-depressants, the actress has revealed.

Shields made the revelations when she appeared on 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' last Friday (01.09.06).

She told Leno the 'Top Gun' star had visited her the day before to say sorry for his hurtful comments.

Shields, 41, said: "Tom Cruise came over to my house and he gave me a heartfelt apology. He apologised for bringing me into the whole thing and for everything that happened.

"I was so impressed with how heartfelt it was. And I didn't feel at any time that I had to defend myself, nor did I feel that he was trying to convince me of anything other than the fact that he was deeply sorry. And I accepted it."

Last summer, Cruise told Matt Lauer on 'The Today Show' that he did not think Shields should have used anti-depressant drugs to treat her post-natal depression after the birth of her first child.

In accordance with his Scientology beliefs, Cruise - whose fianc?e Katie Holmes gave birth to the couple's first child, daughter Suri, this year - insisted that depression could be treated with vitamins and exercise.

Cruise's representative, Arnold Robinson, confirmed that he and Shields had sorted out their differences.

Robinson said: "It is true that his friendship with Ms. Shields has been mended. He has not changed his position about anti-depressants, which, as evidenced by the black label warnings issued by the FDA on these types of drugs, are unhealthy."

(C) BANG Media International

 

[David Baxter PhD]

About time! It would have been better if he'd issued that apology publicly to all of the other people in the world he offended.

 

[ThatLady]

I think he knows Brooke Shields well enough to have known she would make his apology public for him. That way, his tender ego didn't have to suffer for having made the admission that he's a jackass himself.

 

[Into The Light]

He has not changed his position about anti-depressants, which, as evidenced by the black label warnings issued by the FDA on these types of drugs, are unhealthy.

this makes me so angry i could just explode, this statement that the drugs are unhealthy. so many things are unhealthy! when suffering from a potentially fatal disease it makes sense to take the medication, even if there may be side effects. i'd rather live and have some side effects than ever go through the sheer depths of despair again and wishing to die, maybe even acting on it. anti-depressants are life savers. i do not think i would be here today without them.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Don't forget: Tom Cruise is an expert on psychiatry. He said so himself. He's apparently read a book or something.

 

[ThatLady]

Personally, I think Tom Cruise is an idiot, and I'll bet he didn't even have to read a book to become one.

 

[Halo]

The reason that I posted this was to see whether by Tom Cruise apologizing changed anyones opinion of him. I see not. I know for me it didn't as I still think like TL that he is the biggest idiot in being a huge public figure that a lot of people look up to and by stating his beliefs especially about psychology, psychiatry and medication he one handedly could potentially cause harm to millions of people without even knowing it.

What is that saying......think before you speak?? Guess he never learned that one..DUH!!!

And as for the apology, that was just a private thing that didn't get published to the world and Tom Cruise still hasn't changed his beliefs so really nothing has changed. I don't care how sincere Brooke Sheilds says he was, his beliefs haven't changed and he is still an idiot for having those beliefs. Now I am not saying that his beliefs are stupid (although personally for me I think that they are) just that voicing them to the world without any factual/scientific background is stupid.

 

[Into The Light]

i think someone here pointed out, or maybe i read it somewhere else on the internet, that tom cruise may actually be doing us a service. he's so off the wall with his statements and behaviour that it's hard to take him seriously. people are actually annoyed with him and it's making depression and anti-depressants less of a taboo subject. the public is becoming more accepting of the condition and is realizing that you need medication to get well again.

tom cruise can't do anything for me to change my opinion of him. being a scientologist alone is enough for me to not take him seriously. just something about aliens from outer space being the basis of scientology, and this "religion" just being made up by some cult guy in the 60s, it just doesn't cut it.

 

[sunset]

I think he apologized because it was hurting his career, and maybe Katie got some of the blues after their baby was born. Tom thinks way too much of himself, and he needed to get off his pedestal.

 

[momof5]

One thing a man DOESNT understand is how a woman feels after childbirth. Maybe she clubbed him or something?

I watched his interview with Matt from nbc's today show, it wasn't a good one for Matt, Tom was so red in the face I thought he was going to punch Matt in the face for disagreeing with him!

 

[stargazer]

I haven't really tuned into this whole Tom Cruise thing. Everyone keeps mentioning him in the context of being radically opposed to all medications, or something like that? Or is it only psychiatric medications that he's opposed to, and not medications to treat other medical illnesses? This has something to do with his religion, as a Scientologist?

I'm beginning to gather that he's been making outlandish and outspoken and outrageous statements, but since I don't watch TV or read much of the news, I'm pretty much out of the loop. If anyone wants to help me understand the situation, that'd be great.

My clients that I keep mentioning are into this guy who you find on natural cures dot com, and they don't even take aspirin. I respect their views, though they run counter to the mainstream.

 

[Into The Light]

in a nutshell here's the story on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_cruise#Controversy
also here's the famous interview with matt lauer: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8343367/

 

[stargazer]

Thanks, bbc, and thanks for always replying to my posts. I'll read both the articles. I'm on a break at work though, so it might be a while.

 

[Into The Light]

you're very welcome

 

[Halo]

SG

I would love to hear your opinion on this issue once you have had a chance to read both the articles.

I look forward to your insight

 

[stargazer]

I actually did read both the article and the entire interview, just now. Although my opinion is still formulating, I do want to say that, although I disagree with his seeming to deny others their right to take psychiatric medications (which is what I gathered both from the interview and from his attitude toward Brooke Shields' use of anti-depressants) I do agree with his right to believe what he believes, and to express it.

I don't think he's an idiot, as some people here have said. I have seen him perform, as I'm sure we all have, and he's actually rather brilliant. I also want to say that, for 90% of my own life, without ever having belonged to the Church of Scientology, I believed most of what he believes. And I want to add that a great number of the people I have met, have believed something similar to what he believes. In my experiece, it's been about 50/50, among people whom I've met.

Perhaps I would be a little more angry with him if I had followed this from the start, or had I seen particular statements that were especially offensive. I think that there might be a paradigm discrepancy here. To refer to psychiatry as a "pseudo-science" is naturally more offensive to those for whom psychiatry has worked, than for those for whom it has not.

There are those in some of the circles where I walk, who regard *all* science with disdain, not just psychiatry. I don't agree with them, but they still have a right to their opinions.

 

[momof5]

I"m not against his religious beliefs, only in regards to how he attacked publicly someone who went on a medication to help for depression after having a baby. This is something serious that many women deal with, and to actually publicly down someone for doing so is just not right.

I saw his interview with Matt lawor (sp) on the today show. And he was furious and looked like he was going to jump in Matt's face.

I dislike anyone that does something like this. Brooke Shields went public with what she went through to help others, like that lady that drowned her 5 children due to post partum blues. If she had proper medication and treatment those children might be alive today. Just my thoughts in regards.

 

[Halo]

I too don't care what his opinion or religious beliefs are but when he makes them public when being such a huge public figure himself that people look up to that is when I have a problem. Many people idolize him and worship the ground that he walks on and what he says is law so when he starts attacking people for taking medication for depression that is when the anger in me boils over and I start to think that he is just a big idiot. Not that his opinions or beliefs are idoitic but that he openly shares then with the world that makes him an idiot.

Just my opinion of course

 

[stargazer]

Well, I agree with both of you. I didn't see the interview, but I could tell from reading it that it got pretty heated, and Cruise may not be all that in touch with how he's coming across. And I think that to criticize a woman for taking an anti-depressant after pregnancy is extremely insensitive. I just want to reiterate that. I was just saying, he's got a right to state his opinions, as we all do, and that a lot of people, informed or misinformed, probably would agree with him. In many circles, psychiatric medication is an issue that arouses controversy, and there is a stigma against those with professed mental health conditions. I'm sure Cruise could have been a lot mellower and more reserved about the whole thing, had he been more considerate and conscientious. But it doesn't sound as though he was.

 

[momof5]

Stargazer.
You are right that we all have our rights to express our opinions, but to do so in a kind way, not in a way to attack others. When it is done that way, it is done as though theirs is the only opinon that matters or is right.