Tom Cruise on his children: ‘They’re good people’
In the first of a two-part interview with Oprah Winfrey, actor Tom Cruise opened up at length about his three children — Isabella Jane, 15, and Connor Antony, 13, with ex-wife Nicole Kidman, and 2-year-old Suri with wife Katie Holmes. Tom said that while false tabloid reports are understandably upsetting for the elder two children, Bella and Connor do a good job of keeping it all in perspective.
They love me, so they know. They’ve grown up with that, and I’m sure there are things that they don’t like, and you go, ‘Okay, that happened, things go wrong, but don’t live in it. Don’t live in that because today is a new day and there’s plenty of tomorrows.’ They’re good people, my children. I’m proud of them. I don’t want them to worry. They know I’m there. No matter what, I’m always there.
Katie made quite an opening impression with her future step-children, Tom said, after she gifted Bella and Connor with cupcakes.
The cupcakes are there, and they all looked at me like, ‘This is cool. Can we eat these cupcakes? This lady’s cool.’
Click ‘continue reading’ for more from the interview, and to watch videos of the appearance.
Tom, himself, made quite an impression with Suri at Christmas when he dressed as Santa Claus — though it probably wasn’t the impression he was hoping for. Showing good observational skills, Suri was able to discern that behind the Santa beard lurked a familiar face after all. Tom told Oprah,
I open the door, and I’m giving my best, ‘Oh, merry Christmas! Oh, look at this little girl,’ and Suri looks at me, and she says, ‘No — Dada!’ So that night, we were putting Suri down. Kate says, ‘How was it? Did you like it? What did you think of Santa?’ And Suri was really sweet, she looks up, and she goes, ‘Dada Santa.’
Tom revealed that Suri was born one year — to the day — after he and Katie met. The pregnancy was plagued by rumors in the tabloid media, rumors which reached fever pitch in the months after Suri was born and the couple had not released photographs of their baby girl. But Tom said that he and Katie were not keeping a deep, dark secret — they were simply enjoying some quality family time at their home in Telluride, Colo. Said Tom,
Kate and I didn’t feel any need to [introduce Suri]. We said why? It’s just our family. We were [in Telluride] with the whole family, then we heard all this stuff that was going on, and I said ‘What do you want to do?’ Kate said, ‘Okay, lets just do [a photo shoot]. This is ridiculous. And we’ll just do it. And that will be it.’ We just wanted to have our baby and have the kids and our families and everyone get to know Suri and just chill. To just have that time, that time that you never get back. You don’t ever get those moments back.
Tom also explained the decision to have a sonogram machine installed in their California home. Within 12-hours of Katie’s first positive pregnancy test, Tom said, news of the pregnancy began circulating when medical personnel leaked the results. The identity of Katie’s doctors and the name of the hospital she would ultimately deliver Suri at were being openly discussed in the press. The lack of privacy afforded to the couple left them feeling stunned.
We went in the middle of the night to get the [blood] pregnancy test, we were so excited, it was such a private moment…We sat down and talked about it, we’ll set up an examining room [in our home] and nobody will know. Because they wanted to instantly try to find out who our doctor is. What hospital is the hospital where she’s going to give birth…And you know, there’s enough stress [with a pregnancy]… Kate said ‘There’s no way I want my sonogram on the internet.’ So we bought a sonogram machine, we had the doctor coming in, doing this…so that people couldn’t figure out what doctor [we were using] and where we were going to deliver. When you’re having a baby you just want it to be safe, and as easy as possible.
Contrary to speculation, Tom said that Nicole has not been forced out of the lives of their children. Noting that they have "shared custody" of Bella and Connor, Tom said that his relationship with his ex-wife is a good one. That Nicole and Katie are yet to spend any time together with the kids as an extended family is a byproduct of their busy schedules, and not an indicator of any animosity they harbor for each other, Tom said. The 45-year-old actor was also asked about rumors that Suri isn’t his biological child — rumors that a visibly shaken Tom said cross the line.
When someone compares your daughter to Rosemary’s Baby…It’s one thing to come after me, but when it comes to my family and my children, that’s when I went ‘this is off the charts.’
Finally, Tom addressed the controversy which erupted after his 2005 appearance on the Today Show, during which he criticized Brooke Shields for using anti-depressants to treat postpartum depression she suffered following the birth of her daughter Rowan, turning 5 this month. Tom said that he was feeling "pressed" during his interview with Today co-host Matt Lauer, that his main concern was — and is — what he perceives to be an over-medication of children in this country, and that his statements with regard to Brooke "came out wrong."
Brooke and I have always been friends. It came out wrong. I apologized to her, and as a result, we’re even closer friends…What I regret is that it just came out wrong. What I regret is even discussing Brooke in any way. It’s an individuals right to make a decision about what they’re going to do with their life…I was raised by four women who have children, had babies, and for me to tell anyone — I’m not trying to or want to tell anyone how to live their life, and what they should believe, in any way. As a man and as a human being.
Part 2 of Oprah’s interview is scheduled to air Monday.
Sources: The Oprah Winfrey Show, People
- Posted on May 2, 08 at 9:03PM
- Permalink
- 56 Comments
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Tom is just like the rest of us in the most basic way. He says and does things that he regrets… we ALL do. I appreciate the fact that he seems very sincere and forthright in the most personal aspects of his life. He loves his family, and I’m sure those children are being raised to know what is real and what is not…. nice interview (of course all the questions are given to him, approved, and he is set to answer) but you know what, with the media the way it is, with people’s lives encapsulated w/ soundbites, that is smart and ok w/ me.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:25 pm
He seemed pretty normal on the show today. Except when he talked about sharing custody with Nicole. When Oprah would ask does Nicole see the kids often? Does she have contact with them? He just kept saying “we share custody,” even though she has come out and said she doesn’t see them often. I liked that they showed candid family pictures, like the one of Katie with little or no makeup smiling and holding Suri on Christmas or Christmas Eve, she looked so happy and normal. I liked this interview a lot, lol I like it when they don’t call their 2 yr old daughter an “artist” or glorious or some other adjective that doesn’t fit a toddler.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:37 pm
No matter what I think about their parents, I feel bad for any child who has to endure damaging stories constantly about their parents. They are kind of set up from birth to have a harder time with that sort of thing, but I at least admire that Tom seems to be doing his best to make sure his kids aren’t affected too much by it.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
I have always liked tom, and today on oprah he seemed so sweet. He makes mistakes, but who hasn’t we are all human and not perfect, but he seems like a nicy guy and a great dad. The way he talked about his kids, and his face lit up, was so sweet. That suri is such a gorgeous baby, love this family.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:53 pm
on the jjb website there are more candi shots pics of the family, the two most beautiful ones are the ones of connor holding a sleeping baby suri, and the other one of the two of them together and suri is laughing so hard lol.
the pics of the whole family are sweet, it seems no matter how rich and the fact that they are celebrity, at the end of the day they are trying to have a normal family life.
is it possibe if i can post the link to the pics.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:55 pm
He was great on Oprah. I love the picture Bella painted for her daddy. And I like Suri’s playhouse. It seems like in Colorado they are able to have a simple life. For example, after Katie hugged Oprah she said, “I am going to take the kids into town.”
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:19 pm
I’m going to give Tom a break. He answered questions that really are none of the public’s business. He admitted that he made mistakes and has regrets. Hindsight is always 20/20. Some parts of the interview made me go hmmmmm but I won’t comment further.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:35 pm
I think it is interesting that Tom says he and Nicole “share custody” since Nicole has made of point of not living in the same state let alone continent as her children. Literally speaking, Tom is right, if he has the kids 70-85%of the time and she has the 15% of the time, they share custody although he clearly has primary physical custody because even when Tom is not in LA, the kids are still there.
On a side note, I often wonder how pregnant celebrities go about getting prenatal care because if you go to the OB/GYN everyone is going to know your business since anyone from the receptionist to the nurse can leak your personal info to the tabloids. Clearly, go to the doctor after hours did not help Katie.
I am glad that Tom has clarified the sonogram issue. I thought the reason why he got the machine was to conduct the ultrasound himself. I did not know he was inviting a professional into his home.
I know that Brooke Shield’s has forgiven Tom for his ridiculous comments regarding post partum depression and anti-depressants but I have not. Tom Cruise is not a woman. He has never given birth so he does not really know what women go through. Secondly, as far as I know, Tom does not have a medical degree or degree in psychology. In fact, I do not think he even went to college so who is he say to women you should not take this job because me, a famous actor with no medical training/knowledge whatsoever says so. I have lost a lot of respect for Tom as have others.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Tom was heartbreakingly honest, sincere and tender. It was a painful interview to watch. But, I “hung tough” because I was intriqued by his forthrightfulness.
He’s really a lovely man. I wish him all the best.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:01 pm
I have never been one to believe the tabloid rumors about Tom (or any celeb for that matter), and I have always believed that he is actually a very nice person. However, after reading this interview, I have just gained even more respect for him. To me, it is pretty clear that he is extremely mis-understood by the media.
I also applaud him for admitting that he made a mistake when he criticized Brooke. The fact that he is willing to own up to it AND regrets it says volumes to me. He’s human just like the rest of us, and he made an honest mistake.
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:13 am
It’s Connor Antony not Anthony.
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:18 am
Di- I’m glad that you pointed out that “shared custody” doesn’t have to mean “50-50 custody”. To be fair to Nicole, though, she IS sometimes in the same continent as her children. I believe she and Keith have a home in Nashville, and they usually split their time between Australia and the U.S. I think right now they are staying mainly in Australia because of the upcoming birth of their baby. It has been rumored that Nicole wants to have the baby in her homeland of Australia.
All of that said, I am now going to *gasp* defend Tom Cruise in regards to his comments to Brooke. The guy made a MISTAKE! I agree that he shouldn’t have said what he said, but it’s clear to me that he didn’t say it to be mean or out of spite or anything (he even just stated that he and Brooke have always been friends). From what he said, it sounds like he made the mistake of not thinking before he spoke….a mistake that just about every single human being has made at one time or another.
I, personally, forgive Tom. That said, I do understand where you’re coming from. Tom also made very hurtful and controversial comments about Nicole when they first split up (I’m not going to elaborate any further, as I really don’t want to spark a debate about something that doesn’t even have to do with this post). When I first learned about those comments, I was absolutely shocked. My jaw about hit the floor and I couldn’t believe that Tom would say things like that. However, after reading this interview, I realized that I am willing to forgive him.
My hope is that, in time, people will be able to forgive Tom for his comments to Brooke as well.
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:20 am
I absolutely loved the interview – he spoke so beautifully and showed what a great man he is. I loved how he lit up when speaking of his children, and also loved that he allowed us to peer into his personal life via candid photos and the tour of his home.
What I am happiest about, though, is that he got to show the entire world the person his fans and people who have met him face-to-face see/saw of him: the sweet, down-to-earth and all-too-human person.
Very, very happy he decided to do this interview! ♥
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:25 am
I’m sorry, but looks like Tom was stretching the truth in certain parts of this interview. Specifically, what he said about the sonogram machine is in direct contradiction with statements he has made in the past. For instance, it was his publicist sister who told People exclusively that Katie was expecting.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1073518_1114381,00.html
This article doesn’t mention anything said in the Oprah interview at all. In addition, Katie couldn’t have been a tiny bit into her pregnancy when it was announced; she is shown to have a clear, round belly in paparazzi pictures taken later that week:
http://www.jackieandbender.com/katie_holmes_pregnant.jpg
This article from People tells us when these pictures were taken, on October 8th. Her pregnancy was announced on October 5th:
http://www.katieholmespictures.com/users/nimages/mery/2005/October/1014/People/People1014a.jpg
http://www.katieholmespictures.com/users/nimages/mery/2005/October/1014/People/People1014c.jpg
Again, nothing is mentioned about a hospital insider (or anyone else for that matter) leaking information. The article said that “word was just out” in relation to the announcement made by his publicist, not “word had leaked from a hospital source, and then later confirmed”.
If he really did buy the sonogram machine for the doctor, why didn’t he say that the first time around? And by the way, people didn’t “find out” that he had a sonogram machine; he announced that himself during a Barbara Walters interview! He also explicitly said that he planned to use it himself:
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1133541,00.html
Sounds to me like he changed his story once people started to criticize him.
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:49 am
Sophie- When Tom and Katie finally introduced Suri in Vanity Fair, Katie also stated that the sonogram machine was for their doctor’s use. I’m guessing that Tom was probably joking about planning to use it himself (just as he joked that he was planning to eat Katie’s placenta).
Also, just because it was never reported that the pregnancy news was leaked by staff at the clinic Katie went to (I doubt she’d go to a hospital for something as simple as a pregnancy test) doesn’t mean that it wasn’t. I mean, if they HAD said that, they probably would have been in MAJOR hot water.
Anyway, comments can be taken out of context (just look at poor Angelina, for example. So many of her quotes have been taken out of context that I’ve lost count!), and even People magazine doesn’t always get it’s info 100 percent correct (case in point: When Britney’s son Jayden was born, they reported that his name was Sutton Pierce).
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:50 am
Whoops! I meant to finish my previous comment by saying that I believe Tom about the sonogram machine.
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:57 am
Yeah I agree with Sophie about him contradicting himself, I was thinking the same thing about the sonogram machine. Also, I don’t think Nicole has her kids anywhere near 15% of the time, she saw them like once last year, all while she was living primarily in Nashville. It also annoys me that a good part of the interview was talking about the twisting of stories and how everyone wanted to know everything about the pregnancy and baby. The thing is, if Katie and Tom had not both fed that beast, interview after interview, day after day, and public appearance after public appearance, it could have been substantially more controlled. Sure people would still be interested (a la Shiloh Jolie Pitt) but there would not have been so many stories. They had been so public about their relationship and then their pregnancy from the get go, it isn’t fair for him to complain about how crazy the media frenzy was-he was the one egging it on the entire time. And they are more than capable of being reclusive when they want to be (we have seen on more than one occasion, months go by without a photo of Suri).
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:59 am
BTW, I love love LOVE that picture of Suri laughing and smiling at Connor! She is beyond adorable.
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:11 am
Sophie, thank you for those links but if you read the interview, you would understand that he wanted to keep it a secret that the doctor would be coming in instead of saying it only to have the paps following the doctor on his visits.
The reason people give exclusives is because news have leaked and they want to control the release instead of having it spun in different ways.
Pictures of Katie pregnant were seen long before october during the shoot of M13. Rumours were swirling already in the tabloids even before she was pregnant.
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:23 am
good person and personally I don’t understand people who hold something against someone even when they show they are really sorry and have changed. None of us is perfect. Just imagine someone refusing to take your apology when you are sorry. Tom seems sorry. He seems to have learnt from his mistakes.
I love all the pictures of the kids. They seem like a close knit family. Connor and Suri seem close. I am not surprised they took to Katie, she is easy to love
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:36 am
What a nice interview, I love that house and that area they live in, it looks so peaceful! Did anyone else notice how Tom and Kate spoke in quiet tones? That was too cute, they seem so relaxed and happy.
It shows how much Tom and Katie really love and are proud of each other and their family. I love the little stories Tom shared, my faves were when he talked about Katie bringing cupcakes to the Connor and Bella, and later on how he dressed like Santa and Suri knew it was him.
I have to admit I wasn’t too sure of Tom’s comments on PPD and his antics back then, but it all seemed like excess giddiness and foot in mouth syndrome so I didn’t think too much about it.
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:52 am
ladybird… please do post a link!
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:09 am
Suri and her famili was spotted in Chicago
http://www.suricruiseitalia.altervista.org/home.php
there is a sweet pic of baby Suri on my site.
I think Suri is a most beautiful baby in the world.
Tom’s interview is so cute..I like this family!!
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:18 am
“Tom also made very hurtful and controversial comments about Nicole when they first split up.”
I don’t remember – what were these? All I remember was Nicole’s quip about how she could now wear heels.
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:44 am
“If he really did buy the sonogram machine for the doctor, why didn’t he say that the first time around?”
Probably because it’s nobodys damn business but theirs.
Lovely interview. I look forward to seeing it.
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:50 am
WOW, Sophie, you sure did go all out to prove that Tom was lying (your words). I can’t even fathom WHY you care so much…
I’m so tired of people roasting this family/Tom just because they are celebrities. Put yourself in their shoes and think what YOU would feel like if the media spun untruths and lies about you DAILY for THREE YEARS. To have someone say that your child is an alien, not yours, DEFORMED…I feel so sorry for Tom and Katie.
That said, I really loved this interview. He was truly honest and seemed so sincere. People say it was all a “PR” scheme to get him to “look normal” but I disagree. They seem like they just want to be left alone to live their life and raise their kids.
I wish Tom all the best, I loved seeing his face light up when he talked about his family. I love this family and think they just need to be left alone. ENOUGH is ENOUGH and enough damage has been done to them via the press and lies.
May 3rd, 2008 at 8:35 am
I thought it was great that he didn’t roast Nicole. I feel like she really gets a bad rap and doesn’t deserve to. I think it’s so great when celebs speak kindly (or at least not harshly) about their exes/other parent of their children. Both Tom & Nicole are busy, famous professionals and their jobs unfortunately take them away from their children. Nicole had been filming in Australia for quite a while, and I can understand wanting to give birth near her parents and sister. For all we know, custody is split a little more close to equal and we just don’t see Connor and Bella with their mom and Keith b/c Nicole tends to be more private.
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:19 am
My “love affair” with Tom ended when he publicly berated Brook Shields for using medication to deal with her postpartum depression. It was simply cruel. Apologies are nice, and Brook seems to have forgiven him. And yes, everybody makes mistakes. But sometimes mistakes reveal who the person really is. These guys are pros at creating images and at the damage control. So a highly controlled interview with Oprah isn’t going to change my mind about Tom.
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:22 am
People and the press have gone overboard with attacks on this family for reason’s that come nowhere to that scale. So he said things and has some beliefs that people disagreed with big deal! I don’t form my opinions based on some actor’s thoughts and beliefs.
The interview wasn’t anything special, just ok and probably considered necessary on the PR front. For me there wasn’t anything he had to clear up or atone for, the attacks have just been sad and twisted.
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:00 am
The pictures of Connor, Suri and Isabella are beautiful – thank you so much for including them in this post!
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:42 am
You know what, I have some serious issues with Scientology, and I also thought Tom’s initial comments about Brooke Shields’ PPD were out of line.
But I’ve always believed Tom to be an excellent father regardless of his religion. His devotion to his children has been apparent since the time he first became a parent to Isabella, then Connor and Suri. And like everyone the guy stuck his foot in his mouth when he spoke of Brooke’s specific situation, but he wasn’t totally wrong about the over prescribing of drugs in America (especially for kids). That is a real issue and I think people wouldn’t have raked him over the coals for it if he had stated it in a more general way, and less as a medical professional (which he admittedly isn’t.)
To be honest, I think his repeating that he shares custody with Nicole is for her own benefit. Maybe he doesn’t want people to think she is a bad mother for not being with her kids more so he refused to elaborate on the exact amount of time the kids spend with each parent.
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:43 am
remember people, he is an actor. a good one. he knows just what to say, how to say it, and gets you to believe. I still feel it’s all an elaborate facade. I do hope for Katie & the kids’ sake he’s really as genuine as he came across in the interview. His extreme “religion” still worries me though…
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:03 am
I think this interview was nothing more than damage control. I also think that the kids are so immersed in scientology…that they only “visit” their mother.
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:14 am
Listen, this isn’t about me “hating” Tom Cruise. I don’t hate the guy. But when I watched this interview, certain things didn’t line up with what he had said before. Tom said one thing, I remembered differently. Even in this very thread, Di remembered the same thing I did. So, I went online and tried to find a source where he was directly quoted.
TracyG – The reason I posted all those articles was so that I could back up my arguments with published sources and direct quotes from Tom himself. If I hadn’t, then I’d be accused of spreading “rumors and lies.” Why do I care? Because this interview was supposed to be about “setting the record straight” and “clearing the air”. If Tom wants to apologize for the things he said in the past, then fine. However, he should own up to exactly what he said. In my estimation, he didn’t do that here. He’s backpedaling, and I don’t like having the wool pulled over my eyes. Tom wants the public to care, otherwise he wouldn’t have given such a highly publicized interview. Heck everyone here “cares” about what he said, in one way or another. The only difference is my opinion isn’t the same as yours.
CelebBabyLover & Hea- The problem I have is that he doesn’t own up to what he said in the Barbara Walters interview. He doesn’t say anything about any comments being taken the wrong way, as he did on the Matt Lauer issue. He tried to make it seem like the info about the sonogram was somehow leaked to the media, when in reality he volunteered that information completely on his own. There was nothing said in the press about any sonogram machine beforehand. The tabloids didn’t report it, and the gossip blogs didn’t report it. THAT’S the point I’m trying to make here guys. Tom broke this story himself.
“Probably because it’s nobody’s damn business but theirs.
Well then, why talk about it at all, especially on national television? If there had been no rumors beforehand of a sonogram machine, then they were doing a pretty good job of keeping it under wraps. Is everyone here saying that people are wrong for talking about what a public figure says in an interview, especially when it pertains to his/her private life? Again, Tom WILLINGLY told that story. If he didn’t want people to talk about it or speculate, then he shouldn’t have said anything to begin with.
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:26 am
I love the picture of Connor and Suri so cute
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:56 am
Oprah also cleared up rumors jokingly regarding Tom and John Travolta apparently trying to convinve her to join Scientology. Is that damage control as well?
I don’t get some people. There are interviews like this where is it obviously heartfelt, and people will still go out of the way to call the interview a lie.
If you have that many problems, why not try to contact their PR people yourself and talk to them about it instead of posting pic and choose articles to prove points. There are so many sites and photos doctored up regarding Kate’s pregnancy and all sorts of Tom and Kate issues it’s ridiculous.
The part about in the interview where they talked about Suri being compared to Rosemary’s baby or being deformed was sad. You may have problems with a celeb or whoever, but insulting their new baby just because of what they believe in or whatever is just plain cruel.
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:50 pm
I agree with Jen. It doesn’t matter what your opinions are of Tom, but to talk about Suri and make judgments the way the media has done about his family to make a dollar is just plain WRONG!. Nobody deserves that!
May 3rd, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Tom did come across as someone who was carefully answering the questions presented. That doesn’t mean he was lying per se but it does indicate that he was probably censoring himself, which is understandable. I had more of an issue with Oprah than Tom, as some of the other posters discussed.
Overall Tom strikes me as very sincere, probably controlling, and somewhat naive. But he seems to be a devoted and caring father who wants the best for his family. I don’t agree with his religious views but I don’t have to.
May 3rd, 2008 at 1:38 pm
“They seem like they just want to be left alone to live their life and raise their kids.
I wish Tom all the best, I loved seeing his face light up when he talked about his family. I love this family and think they just need to be left alone.”
A little difficult with a two day interview on Oprah, one of if not the most popular and most watched day time talk shows on television. Showing personal pictures, telling personal stories, and opening up your home and life to millions of people shows they clearly don’t want to be left alone. They have to accept that they can’t always control all of the media, and if they open themselves up like that, they are opening themselves up to rumors and speculation as well. Its a part of the game, it always has been and it always will be, whether its right or not.
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:25 pm
“since Nicole has made of point of not living in the same state let alone continent as her children. Literally speaking, Tom is right, if he has the kids 70-85%of the time and she has the 15% of the time”
Why are people judging Nicole? How do we know she does or doesn’t see the kids? The paparrazi aren’t the source for this information and just because we don’t see pcitures of her with her kids as well as we see them rarely with Tom doesn’t mean they aren’t with either of them.
And if I am allowed to say this I think Nicole is actually buying a house near Tom, so it will be easier for the kids.
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Everyone should realize that he defintely planned on what to say. There were reasons why this interview was done at his house instead of on Oprah’s set. It is trying to do some damage control. I thought it was weird when he called his children “good people” because it made it sound like they worked for him.
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:49 pm
“And if I am allowed to say this I think Nicole is actually buying a house near Tom, so it will be easier for the kids.”
Why wouldn’t you be able to say that? She’s publicly said she was looking for a house in L.A., I’m pretty sure it was at the same time she said they don’t call her mom.
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:47 pm
When I said that Nicole had the kids 15% of the time I was obviously guessing. No one knows the exact custody arrangment between Tom and Nicole but one can assume that if she lives in Nashville/Australia and the kids live in LA with Tom she probably does not see them as much as if she lived in the same city. I know Nicole said in an interview that she was thinking about buying a home in LA so that she and Tom “could share more” custody I presume but so far I have not heard that she bought a house in LA and the last time I saw Nicole, she was at the CMT awards and was later in NY for something having to do with the UN.
I understand why Nicole would want to be in Austrailia because her family is there but her children should come first. If my children want to live in LA then I’m going to live in LA too just so that I can be close to them. I honestly do not know how she deals with being a part from them for extended periods of time. And come to find out that the kids call Katie “mom” that would be too much for me to handle.
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Di- We don’t know exactly what “shared custody” means and we don’t know how welcome Nicole actually is in her childrens lives, by her childrens’ choices or other influences around them…
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I saw sadness in his eyes during the interview … and he seemed more guarded and reserved than usual. What I noticed was he never directly answered Oprah when she asked him if Suri was his biological child. In fact, he didn’t answer it at all. He just said that it upset him when people maligned his children, etc. For Katie’s sake – and the children – I hope they are all as truly happy as he portrays in the interview.
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I still don’t understand people who could move hell to prove anything Tom says is either false or PR. I know his beliefs are unconventional but it is sad when someone who cannot forgive a guy for things he did three years ago and apologised for takes a moral high ground. To each their own. I think he is a nice guy, he has a right to defend himself against sick allegations. PR is part of showbiz. Image is everything in this industry, it odesn’t make Tom a bad guy masquerading as a nice guy.
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Good gosh – some of you need to really move on. =/ Tom has done nothing to you; if Brooke Shields of all people can forgive him and become friends with him, so should you: people who have absolutely nothing to do with him aside from spending time – that could be put to much better use – coming up with reasons to hate him! LOL Seriously, move on already and drop all the hatred!
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:06 pm
As to the custody arrangements with Nicole, she has said in interviews that the choice was given to the children as to where they wanted to live (at their age, they’re obviously old enough to have a say). The kids chose to live in Los Angeles (as Nicole said, “it’s a pretty big draw”) so they are living with their father for the time being. They have their school and lives set up there. But they still see Nicole much more than we would know, I think, and there’s no reason they couldn’t talk with her on the phone every day if they wanted. Occasionally photos surface, usually of Nicole with Isabella, but the children wouldn’t want to fly across two continents unless they were on school holidays or had the chance for a break.
May 3rd, 2008 at 8:13 pm
“A little difficult with a two day interview on Oprah, one of if not the most popular and most watched day time talk shows on television. Showing personal pictures, telling personal stories, and opening up your home and life to millions of people shows they clearly don’t want to be left alone. They have to accept that they can’t always control all of the media, and if they open themselves up like that, they are opening themselves up to rumors and speculation as well. Its a part of the game, it always has been and it always will be, whether its right or not.”
The reason for doing this interview is because they want to set the record straight. If the paparrazzi and the media hadn’t spun lies and half truths, then yes, I believe that Tom and Katie would have stayed quiet. They didn’t want to introduce Suri to the world, yet HAD to when the media once again spun their own versions of her birth, whether or not she was deformed or worse, not even real.
The media goes crazy over this couple (and others) and doesn’t care whether they destroy families lives. Yes they are celebs and in the public eye, but that doesn’t give ANYONE the right to invade their privacy or their family. When will it all end, when somoeone dies at the hand of the media because of their negligence and stalking?
OH WAIT….that already happened…to Princess Diana….:P
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Sheri, I don’t understand your comment of: “What I noticed was he never directly answered Oprah when she asked him if Suri was his biological child. In fact, he didn’t answer it at all.”
Suri looks exactly like Tom. I don’t think he needed to answer that question.
It bothers me that the media is just waiting for people to fail. They don’t want to see people happy. When Tom jumped on Oprah’s couch because he was so in love with Katie, I thought it was sweet. He seemed so in love with her. No one has ever jumped on a couch for me before. Has anyone for any of you??
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:57 pm
I can’t speak for anyone else but what bothers me about Tom Cruise are his views on psychiatry, medication, etc – not his love for Katie and his children or the fact that he jumped on a couch.
The view that there is no such thing as mental illness is a rather controversial one, you might say, and to hold that belief privately is one thing, but for a public figure to espouse it is quite another and very dangerous in my mind. Although as a psychology major I suppose I am probably biased.
May 4th, 2008 at 1:31 am
Elementa- Nicole had a miscarriage right as she and Tom were splitting, and, well, let’s just say that Tom made some pretty nasty comments denying paternity of that baby. For all I know, he may have actually made those comments a few years or even several years after he and Nicole split.
I actually just found out about them a few months ago, when I was going through the CBB archives (someone brought the topic up in a Tom and Katie post for some reason), as I didn’t really pay that much attention to celebs and celeb news until discovering CBB (I am now an avid reader of People magazine as well). Therefore, I have no idea when Tom actually made those comments.
Di- What’s wrong with Nicole wanting to give birth in Australia, where her parents and sister are?
Sadie- Nicole DID techincally say that Bella and Connor don’t call her “mom”….But she said it jokingly. The reason being that they in fact call her “mum”, which is the term people in the UK, some other parts of Europe, and Australia use for “mom”. In otherwords, Nicole was saying that techincally they don’t call her “mom”, but use the Australian term for “mom” instead. Unfourtnately for Nicole, Bella, and Connor, the media took those comments and took them completely out of context (just as they did with Angelina and the “blob” comment).
All of that said , ITA with Erin, Jen, TraciG, SG, Jasmine C, Hea, Hilda, and Maria. If Tom DID seem sad in his interview (I haven’t actually watched it), I’m guessing it was probably because he was adressing all the rumors the media has spread about them. What the media doesn’t seem to realize or care about is that celebs have feelings just like the rest of us, and the rumors they spread are often very hurtful.
I am also glad that SG shared her opinion on the couch-jumping. Like her, I have never understood what the big fuss was all about (and yes, I did eventually see the clip of him jumping on the couch).
Also, I am one of the few people who actually understands where Tom was coming from when he made his comments about physicatric drugs. They can be and often are a very wonderful thing, but they can also be dangerous.
May 4th, 2008 at 3:34 am
All the criticism of Nicole really bothers me. She NEVER said the kids don’t call her mom. Go to YouTube and search out the interview. The printed quotes are way paraphrased. She has also said before in interviews that she goes out of her way to NOT be photographed with the children.
I am not a Tom Cruise fan, but I will give him credit because he uses his private jet to fly the kids to Australia to see Nicole when she is there.
May 4th, 2008 at 5:59 am
SG – I don’t understand your confusion – did you watch the interview? Of course, Tom doesn’t owe anyone an explanation – but I’m just commenting on the fact that he did not answer Oprah’s question when she asked him about Suri’s parentage point blank. If he has nothing to evade, why didn’t he just answer it – or tell her it’s no one’s business. By ignoring and skirting the question it just adds to speculation.
May 4th, 2008 at 9:40 am
I hope they leave him alone once for all, he’s drown out, he appears very sad to me.
Suri totally looks like him, what a cruel insult. Even to read and beleive this crap for people, it’s insulting to him.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Oprah didn’t actually ask him if Suri was his daughter she just asked how did he feel about the rumors that she was not his. i wouldn’t dignify a rumor like that by having to say ‘yes she is my daughter’, would you? it’s just weird that any of you think he should have said that.
also Sophie the date on that article anouncing the pregnancy is october as you said ,which means she was already 3 months pregnant at least! and he said that the rumors started when they had just found out (12 hours after they found out) because of the leak … so the anouncement really was made months after when , i suposse there was no denying it because she would have had a bump already as you can see in the other pics after the anouncement.