The strange feud between Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise

In the 2000s, Spielberg and Cruise collaborated on a pair of critically acclaimed science fiction blockbusters: Minority report in 2002 and War of the Worlds in 2005. While the first film went off without a hitch, problems began to arise during the press circuit for the adaptation of HG Wells’ groundbreaking novel.

This was the now infamous press tour where Cruise got a little too weird in public. When he appeared The Oprah Winfrey Showhe infamously jumped onto her couch and started jumping up and down while proclaiming his undying love for his new girlfriend, Katie Holmes.

Then Cruise argued with host Matt Lauer Today show the effectiveness of psychiatric medications. As a Scientologist, Cruise does not believe in using drugs of any kind, and even criticized Brooke Shields for taking antidepressants to alleviate her postpartum depression. Lauer was clearly not happy with Cruise’s behavior, and Cruise was not happy with the host, who called him “slippery.”

The Mission: Impossible star even denounced psychiatry as a profession, saying: ‘You don’t know the history of psychiatry. I do,” when Lauer noted that he had clearly done his homework on the subject. When Lauer asked how Cruise could encourage the public to better understand Scientology, he said, “You just communicate about it. If I want to know something, I’m going to find out. Because I don’t talk about things I don’t understand.”

Spielberg was reportedly deeply unhappy with Cruise in the aftermath of this disastrous press tour. It is believed that he felt that the star was overshadowing the film with his personal eccentricities, and he even felt that this damaged the film’s prospects. Worse, however, was an incident in which Cruise’s association with Scientology upset Spielberg’s family.

In 2006, The New Yorker reported that during a private conversation, Spielberg had some very nice things to say about a psychiatrist who helped one of his relatives. The problem, however, was that Spielberg was having this conversation in Cruise’s presence. When that same psychiatrist’s office turned out to be the subject of a protest by Scientologists, the finger had no choice but to be pointed at the star. For his part, Cruise reportedly assured the director that he had nothing to do with the protest, but it left a bad taste in the mouths of both Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw.

While neither man would ever publicly comment on whether this unfortunate situation led to an actual feud, they have not worked together since. But perhaps their 2023 reunion will show that it’s all water under the bridge now.

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