Tom Cruise turns down Trump’s Kennedy Center Honors invite: report
‘Mission: Impossible’ star reportedly declined the prestigious arts award invitation from the president due to ‘scheduling conflicts’
Tom Cruise reportedly turned down an opportunity to receive one of the nation’s highest arts honors from President Donald Trump.
The “Mission: Impossible” star, 63, was offered the prestigious award but declined due to “scheduling conflicts,” according to multiple Kennedy Center employees who spoke to The Washington Post.
Reps for Cruise and the Kennedy Center Honors did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Tom Cruise declined a Kennedy Center Honor from President Donald Trump due to scheduling conflicts with his film projects. (Getty Images)
Cruise’s reported rejection comes after Trump announced the stars set to be honored at the highly anticipated ceremony in December earlier this week.
The honorees this year are country legend George Strait, Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone, rock band KISS, English actor Michael Crawford and iconic singer Gloria Gaynor, known for hits like “I Will Survive.”
“I am beyond blessed and honored to be receiving this award. My hope is that in accepting this honor, I can continue with the inspirational phenomenon that began with ‘I Will Survive.’ Sharing my music and art on a global level to provide encouragement, hope, empowerment, inspiration, understanding, and unity is the core of my purpose,” Gaynor shared with Fox News Digital.
Sylvester Stallone and George Strait are among those being honored this year by Trump. (Getty Images)
“I’ve always focused on a creative path that will help others and I hope that being awarded the Kennedy Center honor will help me continue this legacy.”
Trump, now chairman of the Kennedy Center, is ramping up efforts to reshape the honors program — pushing for a glitzier, star-studded celebration.
President Donald Trump at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
“The 48th Kennedy Center Honorees are outstanding people, incredible, we can’t wait… in a few short months since I became chairman of the board, the Kennedy Center, we’ve completely reversed the decline of this cherished national institution,” he said in his speech Wednesday.
When reporters asked Trump how involved he was in selecting the 2025 honorees, he didn’t hold back.
“I was about 98% involved… they all came through me,” he said.
Trump explained he personally greenlit each honoree, and made it known that some didn’t make the cut.
“I turned down plenty, they were too woke… I had a couple of wokesters. No, we have great people. This is very different than it used to be.”
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President Donald Trump (C) leads a board meeting at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on March 17, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)
While taking aim at the state of Hollywood awards shows, Trump didn’t miss the chance to swipe at the Oscars.
“Look at the Academy Awards — it gets lousy ratings now, it’s all woke. All they do is talk about how much they hate Trump, but nobody likes that. They don’t watch anymore…”
The president previously told Fox News Digital, “The Kennedy Center is coming back. It was not properly taken care of and we are taking it back and we are going to turn it back into something great.”
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Cruise’s latest project was “Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning.” He’s confirmed this would be his last time portraying the fictional IMF agent Ethan Hunt. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
Sources told Fox News Digital that the president is committed to revitalizing the Kennedy Center, with some suggesting it should eventually be renamed “the Trump–Kennedy Center.”
Meanwhile, Cruise’s latest project was “Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning” – his last time portraying the fictional IMF agent Ethan Hunt.
“It’s the final! It’s not called ‘final’ for nothing,” Cruise told The Hollywood Reporter.
Cruise first appeared on-screen as Hunt in 1996, reprising the role in seven additional films, with “Final Reckoning” being the last one.
