Before announcing that she was "a dyke" in 2002, two months before her show The Rosie O'Donnell Show ended, Rosie O'Donnell was one of the many die-hard fans crushing on Tom Cruise. When he made his first appearance in her show in 1996, she even referred to him as "my boyfriend." Sure, the flirting turned out to be all for show and the LGBTQ community called it deceptive. But she remains good friends with the Mission Impossible actor.
"I said I wanted him to mow my lawn and bring me a lemonade. I never said I wanted to blow him," O'Donnell said to her critics at that time. Interestingly, of all the scandals she's faced, her relationship with the controversial actor never contributed to fans turning on her. But like many others, she also has reservations about his involvement in the Church of Scientology. Here's what she really thinks about the Top Gun star.
The Truth About Her 'Pretend' Crush On Cruise
Cruise made a crazy entrance in The Rosie O'Donnell Show in 1996. He gave O'Donnell a bouquet of flowers and kissed her on the lips. "Tom, I don't know if you've been watching the show," the host said. "I've got a little crush on you." The two laughed it off and the flirtatious remarks continued. "It's not like I want the marriage [to Nicole Kidman at that time] break up," added O'Donnell. "I just want you to like live in my house and mow my lawn. That's all I want."
In 2001, during Cruise's final appearance on O'Donnell's show, the host asked the actor about "some Scientology books about kids" which she said she'd read. "That was really good," she said. "A lot of people are weirded out about it — Scientology — but they haven't read it. When you read it, it's just a helpful way sort of to process things."
The two were talking about parenting at that time. Cruise said the books teach "very practical ways to live your life and very helpful tools to live your life." The subject of Scientology wasn't further discussed. In June 2021, talking about the status of her crush on Cruise, O'Donnell said: "I love Tom Cruise and I will always love Tom Cruise."
Inside Their Longtime Friendship
"He is the only person who never misses my birthday," O'Donnell told SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show. "In knowing him for 25 years now, he has never missed my birthday or an event in my life." She aso clarified that she's not that close with the actor. "I don't know him enough to go, 'Hey, Tommy, it’s Ro, the Scientology thing can we chat?' Like, that’s not my relationship with Tom Cruise. I don’t have his home phone number."
"Like I know people think in Hollywood and celebrity, everybody knows each other," she continued. "But I know him in the way that I did in that time 25 years ago. But every year, I think what a classy guy he is that he never has forgotten my birthday. A lot of people say to me, it’s just his secretary, but I don’t believe that. I think he knows in early March, 'Oh, it’s Rosie's birthday coming up.' And he sends me something every single year for 25 years."
What O'Donnell Thinks About Cruise's Scientology Involvement
"I do not understand, uh, you know, the Scientology religion," O'Donnell said about Cruise's involvement in Scientology. "I think it’s a cult and it’s scary. And I think Leah Remini is a hero for doing what she’s done." In another interview with SiriusXM, but this time with Andy Cohen, she said that "since seeing all the documentaries, it does make me worry about him and his life."
She also went on to defend her friend for the criticism of his religious beliefs. "I've always had a little 'ick' factor with Scientology," she said. "[But] he's never brought it up to me. We've never spoken about it. He keeps it very private. It's not like he tries to convert people."
Remini — who's always been outspoken against the actor — wrote a hard "No!" in a 2017 Reddit AMA when asked if Cruise was a "good" person. "Just going to get straight to it, no," she explained. "There is a public persona of the guy who looks at you directly in the eye and shakes your hand and hugs you and is an attentive person to you and there's the person behind the mask who is a completely different person." Maybe we'll know the truth someday...