According to The Washington Post, Tom Cruise has gracefully declined a prestigious Kennedy Center Award bestowed by Donald Trump. The announcement of the honorees was made by Trump from the Kennedy Center itself on Wednesday, who also revealed his plans to host the televised ceremony in December. Trump had reportedly envisioned a grand unveiling, featuring Cruise alongside legends such as KISS, Michael Crawford, George Strait, Sylvester Stallone, and the iconic singer Gloria Gaynor. Several unnamed Kennedy Center insiders have corroborated this information.
Cruise's camp cited "scheduling conflicts" as the reason behind his inability to attend the ceremony, making him the most prominent figure on Trump's roster of honorees. Trump boasts of being "98 percent involved" in selecting this esteemed list.
Renowned for his discretion on politically charged matters, Cruise prefers to lend his star power to supporting the military, veterans, and, notably, Scientology. In the past, some honorees have declined the award or shunned the broadcast as a protest against the sitting president. In 2009, Mel Brooks refused the honor under George W. Bush, while Norman Lear declined to attend the White House Gala accompanying the award in 2017 due to his opposition to Trump's policies, though he did participate in the Kennedy Honors broadcast sans Trump.
Lear expressed his stance on Twitter at the time, stating, "I could never turn my back on The Kennedy Center. It represents the Arts and Humanities, which mean everything to me. Of course, I’m accepting the honors. What I’m not accepting is the White House reception with Donald Trump."
The acceptance of Trump's Kennedy Center awards by the honorees has already sparked争议 among their anti-Trump supporters. On Thursday, The View host Ana Navarro publicly pleaded with Gloria Gaynor, the singer of the anthem "I Will Survive," not to accept the award from a president whom Navarro derisively labeled a "stain" in a recent Instagram post.
As for Cruise, he has an array of upcoming projects that could potentially clash with his attendance at the honors. One such endeavor is the filming of the highly anticipated "Top Gun 3," which Paramount has prioritized post-merger with Skydance. The 48th Annual Kennedy Center Honors is scheduled to take place on December 7.
