Tom Cruise has been an important pillar of the Hollywood movie-making community for over 40 years. He has seen the ups and downs of the industry and has been a support system for every innovation that helps create movies and uplift the industry. His influence and commitment to the theatrical experience have been nothing but inspiring.
In 2021, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) which is the non-profit organization behind the Golden Globe Awards came under fire for not implementing new and improved measures to change its problematic system of operation. Cruise even returned all 3 Golden Globe Awards that he won over the years as a sign of protest against the organization.
Tom Cruise Protested Against Tone-Deaf HFPA, Returned All His 3 Golden Globes
In 2021, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association came under scrutiny as the LA Times reported that there are no African-Americans in its 87-member committee. The organization that is responsible for the Golden Globes also came under fire when films like Da 5 Bloods, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Judas and the Black Messiah were not even nominated for Best Picture at the 2021 Golden Globes (all films led by African-American protagonists).
The event itself was criticized for its deliberate practice of exclusion and the lack of effort by the HFPA to change its problematic system of racial undermining and biased nature turned off many people. As Variety reported, various actors and studios all spoke against the unjust practices of the organization and distanced themselves from the organization until significant improvements were made.
Tom Cruise spoke the loudest through his actions when he returned all 3 Golden Globe Awards that he won for Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, and Magnolia. The actor’s stance was a big moment in the industry’s protest against the organization and NBC which broadcasted the Golden Globes also declined to air the Golden Globes in 2022.
Cruise did not make an appearance when the Golden Globes returned in 2023, even though Top Gun: Maverick was nominated in some categories. He was even ridiculed by host Jerrod Carmichael at the event (via Variety) as he came out holding the trophies that the actor gave back in 2021. Cruise is still holding his stance against the HFPA as he also didn’t attend this year’s Golden Globes.
Hannah Waddingham Had The Most Awe-Inspiring First Day on MI: 8
Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham is starring in the upcoming eighth installment of Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible franchise. During Variety‘s pre-show of the Golden Globes, the actress revealed that she was welcomed on set by Cruise, director Christopher McQuarrie, and 4500 real-life active members of the military.
She also praised Cruise for being an incredibly generous and loving actor and called the experience a ‘pinch-me job’. She said,
“He’s lovely and fabulous to work for and that’s it. We arrived on an Osprey on the moving [USS George H.W. Bush fighter carrier] with 4,500 serving men and women in the hull. It was insane! It’s a proper, ridiculous pinch-me job. Him and Christopher McQuarrie are total dreamboats.”
Apart from Cruise and Waddingham, the film will also see the return of Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, and Pom Klementieff. The much-anticipated sequel to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One will be released in theatres on May 23, 2025.
