David Letterman has called out Tom Cruise for not attending the Oscars, saying the actor’s excuse was ‘nonsense’.
The veteran talk show host vented his frustration as he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and the pair spoke about the awards snub.
Letterman went on to make several demeaning comments about the iconic actor - called him ‘a little sensitive’ after Top Gun: Maverick failed to scoop any of the top prizes.
Although the film grossed over $1.49 billion (£1.23bn) and had been nominated for six awards at the lavish ceremony, its lead actor failed to attend on Sunday night.
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Rumours about him missing the star-studded event had begun to swirl earlier that week, with many speculating that he would be too busy filming the latest instalment of the Mission Impossible franchise in Italy.
Just two days later though, Cruise was pictured at Sir Michael Caine’s 90th birthday in a viral video showing him laughing alongside British actress Denise Welch.
The Last Samurai star had also previously appeared at an Oscars luncheon, which was held back in February.
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Letterman took shots at the Rain Man actor, calling the reported production issues ‘nonsense’.
He also said that Cruise should have attended to celebrate ‘his big jet pack Maverick show’.
Kimmel agreed, telling the talk show host: “Yeah. It seems like he should’ve been there, but he was not there.
"Maybe he feels like he wasn’t going to win so he didn’t want to come.”
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It was then that Letterman thanked Kimmel for ridiculing Cruise during his opening monologue of the Oscars.
He added: “If Mr. Big Shot was not there, the show was still never more successful. Nice going, Jimmy.”
As Kimmel opened the ceremony, the host made light of the actor’s link to Scientology and joked: “Tom Cruise with his shirt off in that beach football scene? L. Ron Hubba Hubba, you know what I’m saying?”
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He also poked fun at other big names who were absent, including Avatar director James Cameron.
Referring to the pairs' comment over the 2020 pandemic, Kimmel told the audience: “You know, Tom and James Cameron didn’t show up tonight.
"The two guys who insisted we go to the theatre didn’t come the theatre.”
Kimmel's wife told Variety that the opening monologue would have been vastly different if Cruise had decided to attend.
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Molly McNearney, who also co-produced the awards show, said: “We were so disappointed when we learned a few days before the Oscars that he wouldn’t be there.
"Jimmy loves him and really wanted to celebrate him.”
Topics: Film and TV, Tom Cruise, Celebrity
Katherine Sidnell