Late-night hosts David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel are not impressed with Tom Cruise’s decision to skip this year’s Academy Awards.
The Hollywood star, who was nominated for six awards, including a Best Picture nomination for his movie Top Gun: Maverick, was noticeably absent from the event.
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Letterman posed the question that was on everyone’s mind: “Here’s something that’s a little sensitive: Tom Cruise. Where was Tom Cruise?”
Kimmel did not hold back and responded, “We don’t know where Tom Cruise was. We heard production issues.”
Letterman was quick to dismiss the excuse and retorted, “What does that mean? That’s nonsense.”
Kimmel agreed and added, “Exactly. It’s very non-specific. But we have no idea what happened.”
The late-night hosts went on to discuss how Cruise should have been there to celebrate the success of his movie. Letterman said, “It seems like he should’ve been there, but he was not there,” to which Kimmel replied, “Maybe he felt like he wasn’t going to win, so he didn’t want to come.”
Letterman then congratulated Kimmel on his hosting efforts, saying, “More to the power of your success. If ‘Mr. Big Shot’ was not there, the show was still never more successful.”
Cruise’s absence did not stop Kimmel from making a Scientology joke during his Oscars monologue. Kimmel quipped, “Tom Cruise with his shirt off in that beach football scene? L. Ron Hubba Hubba, you know what I’m saying?”
While Cruise’s representatives claimed that he could not attend the Oscars due to production issues on the set of Mission: Impossible 8 in Italy, the actor was spotted attending Michael Caine’s 90th birthday party in London just two days after the awards ceremony.
The hosts were not impressed, and Letterman said, “Between you and me, he should have been there, right?” Kimmel agreed, stating, “Yeah, of course. He’s the prince of Hollywood.”
Cruise’s absence has raised questions about his commitment to the film industry and his attitude towards the Academy Awards.
It remains to be seen whether he will attend future ceremonies, but his absence from this year’s event has certainly not gone unnoticed.
