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Tom Cruise has remained one of the biggest action stars in the world for decades now, and in recent years, the actor has not been in anyone's bad books. He has also been seen as a savior of big-screen cinemas in recent years with his films like Top Gun: Maverick and the Mission Impossible franchise.
However, two decades back, the famed actor was in the middle of a big controversy that had many fans hitting out at him. This was related to Tom Cruise's beliefs about psychiatry, a subject that he has discussed multiple times in public. Among his controversial views on psychiatry and the use of psychiatric medication, the actor had made a big splash in a particular appearance on his press tour for War of the Worlds in 2005 when he sat down with Today Show host Matt Lauer.
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After a brief discussion about the movie, the topics soon moved to a place where Cruise appeared extremely animated and he ended up delivering his controversial take on psychiatry, which has still remained a source of discussion among fans.
Addressing this in a heated manner, Tom Cruise had said:
"I've never agreed with psychiatry, ever. Before I was a Scientologist, I never agreed with psychiatry. When I started studying the history of psychiatry, I started realizing more and more why I didn't agree with psychiatry. As far as the Brooke Shields thing… Look. You gotta understand, I really care about Brooke Shields. I think, 'Here's a wonderful and talented woman,' and I want her to do well. I know that psychiatry is a pseudoscience."
Cruise was a renowned Scientologist, but these comments still ignited backlash from fans. Moreover, in this same session, Cruise responded angrily after Matt Lauer said that taking anti-depressants and going to a counselor helped Brooke Shields.
"There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance"- Tom Cruise gives his hot take on psychiatry
In what seemed to be quite a bold statement, when Matt Lauer spoke about Broke Shields receiving help from psychiatry and medication, Tom Cruise hit back furiously with his viewpoint regarding the whole ordeal. Cruise said:
"Matt. You have to understand this… You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do… All it does is mask the problem, Matt… There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance…"
The famed actor further added:
"There's ways of vitamins and through exercise and various things [to help mental illness]. I'm not saying that [postpartum depression] isn't real. That's not what I'm saying… I'm saying that drugs aren't the answer. These drugs are very dangerous…The thing that I'm saying about Brooke is that there's misinformation. She doesn't understand the history of psychiatry. She doesn't understand in the same way that you don't understand it, Matt…"
Cruise concluded, adding:
"I think you should be a little more responsible in knowing what it is… You communicate to people."
Decades after this interview, this remains as divisive as ever today. Tom Cruise has seen new heights of success since and remains one of the best-known and best-regarded actors in the industry.
He is also continuing his work at full flow. He is soon set to appear in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which will bring the famous film series to an end.
