Tom Cruise Defends Viral, Expletive-Filled Covid Tirade on Mission: Impossible Set: ‘I Said What I Said’

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Tom Cruise has no apologies to make over his now-infamous rant on the set of Mission: Impossible 7.

In December, shocking audio leaked of the movie star going on an expletive-filled tirade against crew members who broke COVID-19 safety protocols.

Cruise has finally broken his silence on the controversy, which divided the Internet over whether or not he overreacted.

“I said what I said,” Cruise told Empire magazine in a new interview. “There was a lot at stake at that point. But it wasn’t my entire crew. I had the crew leave the set, and it was just select people.”

Production on Mission: Impossible 7 had already been delayed twice prior to Cruise’s rant – once when COVID-19 first hit Europe and again after filming resumed due to an outbreak on set.

“All those emotions were going through my mind. I was thinking about the people I work with, and my industry,” Cruise told Empire. “And for the whole crew to know that we’d started rolling on a movie was just a huge relief. It was very emotional, I gotta tell you. And here we are, continuing to film.”

In the audio, Cruise can be heard threatening to fire crew members who reportedly broke social distancing guidelines by gathering around a monitor on set, telling them he expected to be the “gold standard” when it comes to safely filming in the age of the coronavirus.

“If I see you do it again, you’re fucking gone!” he screamed on tape at the staffers, whom he also referred to as “motherfuckers.” Cruise added during his lengthy tirade, “We are not shutting this fucking movie down, is it understood?”

Five crew members reportedly quit the film following Cruise’s rant.