Tom Cruise II

[Millis]

I can't believe no one ever questions Tom about Suri. I think his team sometimes puts out that he sees her in private, but that is clearly a bunch of malarkey. I mean, truly think about the fact that she's his child and he completely gave up all contact with her for a CULT. This should be bigger entertainment news.

[cremetangerine82]

As much as we can mock his absurd existence, Tom Cruise is still a huge star. After the success of Top Gun: Maverick, I can see a lot of media treading lightly around him because he still put asses in theaters seats. Although, if we're going with the current narrative of calling out celebrity deadbeat dads (*coughDRAKEcough*), Tom should definitely be next on the chopping block.

[royalwave]

Brad Pitt wishes he had the media in his pocket the way Tom does. Brad's kids dropping his name results in cover stories. Suri dropping Tom's name is an afterthought. Both are big stars. Really pretty interesting how much of a pass Tom has been given.

[cremetangerine82]

Brad did had the plane meltdown that required the FBI, so his public judgement is louder for that reason. Tom jumped on a couch, which was weird but not a crime.

[cubanitafresca]

I think the quiet part is that yes, Tom seems to have abandoned his child ... but on the other hand - she escaped a crazy cult. So ultimately, it's really a win for Suri.

[royalwave]

Totally agree Suri is better off. Yet, Tom essentially disowned his own kid solely because she wasn't going to be raised a Scientologist. And not a kid that he had never had anything to do with, but one that he was actively raising until about the age of 6. That is weirder than the couch jumping, and pretty awful. I have never been able to wrap my head around how a parent could form a bond with their own flesh and blood for years and then just up and wash their hands of them while going through a divorce. Obviously there are other people who have been abandoned by parents, but how Tom was able to keep this from becoming a PR nightmare is fascinating to me. It felt like he just stayed pretty under the radar for a while, had his people claim he still saw Suri from time to time, and waited it out. It helped that Katie was happy to keep her mouth shut in exchange for sole custody.

And Tom's older kids seemed to pretty easily ditch their sister too, as well as their mother. Gotta be a hell of a brainwashing those Scienos go through.

I don't know the extent of Brad Pitt's abusive history and whether it went beyond the one incident on the plane, but he seems to have been fighting to have a relationship with his kids and to make some sort of amends. Tom just does not care, period. Of course Brad can't escape how the dynamics of his years long legal battles with Angelina have shaped news coverage, whereas Tom and Katie ended things quickly and quietly and he just sort of receded into the woodwork, but still...Tom has really eluded what could have been a media woodchipper. He put on a master class.

[cremetangerine82]

If an abuser is comfortable enough to do it in public, then it's extremely serious.

I wonder what kind of audit info Scientology has on Tom to make him decide to stay. What could truly come to light that would make him persona non grata in the public eye? Even him being outed as gay wouldn't be as huge as a deal now than three or four decades ago.

[hellsbells]

Jun 24, 2024 15:44:10 GMT -4 cubanitafresca said:

I think the quiet part is that yes, Tom seems to have abandoned his child ... but on the other hand - she escaped a crazy cult. So ultimately, it's really a win for Suri.

I think this is true. People realize she's actually lucky and nobody is really fooled by his activities.

With Brad, I think there is actual shock and disappointment he's such a shitty human, so it merits actual news stories.

[tiggertoo]

Jun 24, 2024 22:24:19 GMT -4 cremetangerine82 said:

If an abuser is comfortable enough to do it in public, then it's extremely serious.

I wonder what kind of audit info Scientology has on Tom to make him decide to stay. What could truly come to light that would make him persona non grata in the public eye? Even him being outed as gay wouldn't be as huge as a deal now than three or four decades ago.

You’re assuming that he’s being blackmailed into staying. It may not be the case. He may just be a true believer, totally bought into the cult. I mean, do you remember those crazy videos of him speaking?

[Millis]

I agree that it's more about him being a true believer. If you consider how much of his life he's devoted to scientology, I think it would be extremely difficult for him to acknowledge that he is in fact in a CULT. If you look at the traits of any cult members, they tend to dig in when their beliefs are questioned because it's too hard to admit that they've been duped.