Actor Tom Cruise reportedly turned down a Kennedy Center Award from President Donald Trump.
The Mission Impossible star, 63, was offered the award but declined due to ‘scheduling conflicts,’ according to The Washington Post.
Several Kennedy Center employees anonymously reported that the actor chose to distance himself from Trump, despite the president’s active role in choosing him for the event.
The president instead unveiled Sylvester Stallone, rock band KISS, Michael Crawford, Gloria Gaynor, and George Strait as being bestowed with honors.
Tom Cruise, affiliated with the Church of Scientology, typically steers clear of politics. He usually focuses his influence on supporting military personnel, veterans, and his faith.
Instead of the Kennedy Center revealing the names through a press release as usual, Trump announced the honorees himself.
While unveiling the recipients at the Kennedy Center’s Hall of Nations, Trump said he was ‘very involved’ in picking them.
He also said that he would hosting the event later this year, in his first term he didn’t even attend the ceremony.
Anonymous Kennedy Center employees mentioned his decision not to attend the Wednesday event, where Trump was noted to have played a part in his selection.
Instead of the Kennedy Center revealing the names through a press release as usual, Trump announced the honorees himself
Trump said the country was tired of award ceremonies like the Academy Awards because they were too ‘woke.’
‘Consider the Academy Awards; its ratings are poor now. It’s become all about being woke, constantly criticizing Trump, and that doesn’t appeal to people,’ he remarked.
When Trump began his second term, he took charge of the center by naming himself chairman and adding fourteen new board members.
In handing down the awards, he praised Stallone, a supporter of his, as one of the best actors of his generation.
‘No one else could have accomplished what he did. Others attempted but didn’t succeed as well,’ he commented, citing the movies Rambo and Rocky as significant successes.
‘I’ll never forget I was a young guy and I went to see a thing called ‘Rambo,’ he recalled. ‘I said, “This movie is phenomenal. What the heck”.’
Trump praised Crawford as ‘an international sensation’ for playing ‘one of the greatest roles in the history of Broadway’ as the Phantom of the Opera.
Cruise is seen here posing alongside Mary Parent, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Steve Golin, Keith Redmon and Leonardo DiCaprio at the BAFTA awards in 2016
He went on to describe Gaynor as ‘one of the most revered singer of the American disco era,’ praising her song, ‘I Will Survive’ as an ‘unbelievable song.
‘I have heard it, like everyone else here, thousands of times. And it is one of those few that get better every time you hear it,’ he said. ‘And no one can sing it like her.’
He revealed that he always wanted a Kennedy award, calling them one of the ‘most prestigious’ awards in show business.
‘Next year we’ll honor Trump, okay?’ he joked.
Breaking with longtime tradition, none of the honorees was from the fields of dance, jazz or classical music.
