A&E
August 9, 1996
Poor Tom Cruise. He just can’t convince everyone how masculine he is. Never mind his marriages, first to Mimi Rogers and then to Nicole Kidman, both high-profile actresses known for their sex appeal. Or his own box office success as a very handsome man. Or his avid participation in the spend-a-lotta-money, make-a-lotta-noise, burn-a-lotta-fossil-fuels sport of NASCAR racing. But two months ago, Bunte, a German magazine, published what was said to be an interview with Cruise, in which he is quoted as saying infertility has ruined his life.
The very miffed and very rich Cruise responded in gentlemanly fashion—with a lawsuit. His lawyers claim that the interview is a total fabrication; Bunte’s parent company stands by their story.
Cruise has had to put up with rumors of infertility for years. He and Rogers had no children in their three years of marriage. Soon after their split, Rogers became pregnant by her new boyfriend.
Although they have adopted two children, Kidman and Cruise haven’t had any of their own. Cruise has steadfastly defended his fertility, but has offered no reason for his lack of progeny.
More interesting in Cruise’s sperm count, however, is the curious reaction imbedded in his lawsuit. The lawsuit points out the Bunte’s reputation and his career, which depends on his fans’ “willingness to believe that he does or could possess the qualities of the characters he plays.”
(Apparently, there was an impregnation scene in the original cut of Mission: Impossible, just before the jumping-from-an-exploding-helicopter-onto-a-moving-train scene. However, it got cut; test audiences screamed “Fake! Fake!” when Cruise’s partner became great with child.)
Trying to be sensitive, however, the lawsuit also points out that “people who are sterile should not be reviled or subjected to ridicule for that condition.” Meaning that there’s nothing wrong with sterility; it’s strictly a medical condition which should have no impact on someone’s masculinity. Just don’t make the mistake of saying that Tom Cruise is sterile; the man’s as virile as a bull-moose.
The reaction curiously mirrors that to the other rumor “besmirching” Cruise’s reputation—that he’s gay. When he married Kidman, Hollywood gossips wondered if the marriage wasn’t actually engineered to make Cruise look as manly as possible. Cruise has responded with lawsuits before, although he’s recently decided to leave that issue alone. But he still told People this year that the “ridiculous” rumor that he’s gay “pisses me off.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that, right, Tom?