While calling into The Howard Stern Show, George Clooney voiced his support for Tom Cruise’s tirade after the actor was recorded berating Mission: Impossible crew members for not socially distancing. As someone who takes COVID precautions very seriously and understands the ramifications of productions being shut down for not following safety protocols, Clooney told Stern that Cruise was definitely in the right even if Clooney would’ve maybe handled things a bit differently. Via E! News:
“I wouldn’t have done it that big. I wouldn’t have, you know, pulled people out,” he elaborated. “You’re in a position of power and it’s tricky, right? You do have a responsibility for everybody else and he’s absolutely right about that. And, you know, if the production goes down, a lot of people lose their jobs. People have to understand that and have to be responsible. It’s just not my style to, you know, to take everybody to task that way.”
While Clooney would’ve taken a different approach, he also stressed that he doesn’t know the full context of the Cruise situation. “I don’t know that I would have done it quite that personally, but I don’t know all the circumstances so maybe he had it 10 or 15 times before.” However, Mediaite reports that Clooney did have choice profanities for COVID deniers who thinking wearing a mask goes against their freedom. “That’s not how this sh*t works, dumbass,” Clooney said before offering some blunt instructions to the “freedom” crowd. “Put on a f*cking mask and we’ll get through this,” he said. “We’ve got vaccines coming — let’s save another 60,000 lives before the vaccines.”
