David Letterman visited “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and had a burning question for the host, who recently earned great reviews for his stint hosting the 2023 Oscars. “Here’s something that’s a little sensitive: Tom Cruise,” Letterman said. “Where was Tom Cruise?”
Despite “Top Gun: Maverick” earning six Academy Award nominations and Cruise being a nominee for best picture as one of the film’s producers, the A-list star skipped the 2023 ceremony. Reports surfaced ahead of the show that Cruise was too busy shooting the “Mission: Impossible” sequel in Italy to attend, but the actor popped up in London two days after the Oscars to attend Michael Caine’s 90th birthday party. Cruise also showed up at the Oscars Nominees Luncheon in February.
“We don’t know where Tom Cruise was,” Kimmel answered Letterman. “We heard production issues.”
“What does that mean?” Letterman asked. “That’s nonsense.”
“Exactly. It’s very non-specific,” Kimmel said. “But we have no idea what happened.”
Letterman proceeded to say that Cruise “should’ve been” at the Oscars “celebrating his big jet pack Maverick show,” to which Kimmel responded, “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.”
“But between you and me, he should have been there right?” Letterman then asked Kimmel.
“Yeah of course,” Kimmel answered. “He’s the prince of Hollywood.”
“More to the power of your success,” Letterman added. “If Mr. Big Shot was not there, the show was still never more successful. Nice going, Jimmy.”
Because Cruise skipped the Oscars, Kimmel and his writing team decided to throw a soft Scientology joke into his Oscars monologue. The host joked, “Tom Cruise with his shirt off in that beach football scene? L. Ron Hubba Hubba, you know what I’m saying?”
Cruise was not the only big name to skip the Oscars. “Avatar: The Way of Water” director James Cameron was also a no-show, prompting Kimmel to say during his monologue, “You know, Tom and James Cameron didn’t show up tonight. The two guys who insisted we go to the theater didn’t come the theater.”
Molly McNearney, who co-produced the 2023 Oscars and is also Kimmel’s wife, told PvNew the day after the ceremony that no Scientology jokes would’ve been made had Cruise attended the show.
“No. We had about a three minute chunk of the monologue dedicated to Tom Cruise, honoring him and his role in reviving the movie industry,” she 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.”
Watch Letterman’s full appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in the video below.
