Tom Cruise has declined a major Kennedy Center Award from Donald Trump, according to The Washington Post.
Trump announced the honorees on Wednesday from the Center, also revealing that he would host the televised show in December. Trump had reportedly wanted to unveil Cruise alongside KISS, Michael Crawford, George Strait, Sylvester Stallone, and singer Gloria Gaynor. The publication cites confirmation from several anonymous Kennedy Center employees. According to the report, Cruise’s team said the star could not attend the ceremony due to “scheduling conflicts.”
A rep for Cruise did not return The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
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Cruise would have been the most high-profile honoree on Trump’s roster, who Trump said he was “98 percent involved” with selecting.
The Mission: Impossible star is notoriously quiet on politically charged subjects, opting instead to put his star power behind supporting the military, veterans, and, of course, Scientology.
Some honorees in years past have declined the award or avoided the broadcast to protest the sitting president. Mel Brooks refused the award under George W. Bush in 2009. Norman Lear declined to attend the White House Gala that came with the award in 2017 to protest Trump’s policies, but attended the Trump-free Kennedy Honors broadcast show.
“I could never turn my back on” The Kennedy Center,” Lear wrote to Twitter/X at the time. “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 @WhiteHouse reception with @realDonaldTrump.”
The acceptance of Trump’s Kennedy Center awards by the honorees has already put some at odds with their anti-Trump fans. On Thursday, The View host Ana Navarro publicly begged “I Will Survive” singer Gloria Gaynor not to accept the award from the president, who Navarro called a “stain” in a new Instagram post.
As for Cruise, he has several projects on the horizon that could potentially prevent his attendance the honors. One project that might keep the A-lister busy later in the year is the filming of his highly anticipated Top Gun 3, which Paramount has said it will prioritize post-Skydance merger. The 48th Annual Kennedy Center Honors will take place on Dec 7.
