George Clooney Supports Tom Cruise After His COVID-19 Tirade

Actor George Clooney has Tom Cruise’s back after audio was released of Cruise’s rant against a crew member who violated COVID-19 protocols on “Mission: Impossible 7.”

While promoting his film “The Midnight Sky,” Clooney shared his take on the leaked audio. During an interview with Howard Stern, he said, “He didn't overreact because it is a problem. I have a friend who's an AD on another TV show who just had the almost exact same thing happen with not quite as far-out a response."

In the leaked audio, Cruise yelled, “I don't ever want to see it again, ever! And if you don't do it, you're fired. If I see you do it again, you're f**king gone. And if anyone in this crew does it — that's it, and you, too, and you, too.”

“We are the gold standard. They're back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us! Because they believe in us and what we're doing," Cruise told the crew. "We are creating thousands of jobs, you m*therf**kers. I don't ever want to see it again!"

Tom put the focus on the people who have lost their jobs during the pandemic, which has halted production of countless projects since March, screaming, “You can tell it to the people who are losing their f**king homes because our industry is shut down. It's not going to put food on their table or pay for their college education. That's what I sleep with every night — the future of this f**king industry!"

George noted that he would have done things differently if he was in the same situation. He explained, “I wouldn't have done it that big. I wouldn't have, you know, pulled people out. You're in a position of power and it's tricky, right? You do have a responsibility for everybody else and he's absolutely right about that. And, you know, if the production goes down, a lot of people lose their jobs. People have to understand that and have to be responsible. It's just not my style to, you know, to take everybody to task that way."

Despite having different approaches, Clooney understood Tom’s reaction. He shared, “I understand why he did it. He's not wrong at all about that. You know, I just, I don't know that I would have done it quite that personally, but I don't know all the circumstances, so maybe he had it 10 or 15 times before."

Other celebrities to show their support for Tom include Whoopi Goldberg, Josh Gad and Hilarie Burton.

On "The View," Goldberg said, "You know, some people don’t understand why he would get so angry. I get it."

Gad tweeted, "Tom Cruise is correct here FYI. Sorry/Not sorry."

Burton tweeted, "I’ve never liked him more! Can I just blast this at the supermarket?"

“Mission: Impossible 7” has been plagued by several delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to several media outlets, 12 members on the set tested positive for COVID-19 in October.

There have been rumors that Cruise even paid over $600,000 for a ship on which the cast and crew could isolate during production of the movie.

A source told The Sun UK, “Tom has taken it upon himself, along with the health and safety department, to try to force the safety precautions, with a view to keeping the film running.”

“Everyone was wearing masks. It was purely that these people were standing under a meter away from each other,” the insider added. “It isn’t known whether he saw those guys breaking the rules before, or whether this was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Another source said, “He’s upset others aren’t taking it as seriously as him. In the end, he’s the one who carries the can.”