Tom Cruise Defends Viral Rant On 'Mission: Impossible 7' Set

Tom Cruise has defended his viral rant in which he yelled at crew members for not following the safety protocols on the set of his upcoming movie "Mission: Impossible 7."

"All those emotions were going through my mind. I was thinking about the people I work with, and my industry," the 58-year-old actor told Empire Magazine Monday.

"And for the whole crew to know that we'd started rolling on a movie was just a huge relief," he explained. "It was very emotional, I gotta tell you."

It was in December 2020 when an audio recording of Cruise's rant was leaked. In the said clip, Cruise could be heard threatening to fire a crew member for breaching COVID-19 protocols.

"If I see you do it again, you're f***ing gone. And if anyone in this crew does it, that's it — and you too and you too. And you, don't you ever f***ing do it again." the actor said.

According to various sources, the actor also said, "They're back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us. We are creating thousands of jobs, you motherf***ers. That's it. No apologies. You can tell it to the people that are losing their f***ing homes because our industry is shut down."

"We are not shutting this f***ing movie down. Is it understood? If I see it again, you're f***ing gone," he ended the rant. "Mission: Impossible 7" was delayed after 12 people were tested positive for COVID-19 in October while they were filming in Italy. The production resumed after a week's gap.

While many people praised Cruise for being concerned about safety protocols, some netizens criticized him for his lack of humility at the time.

"Another situation where one guy is mentioning other folks paying their bills, paying for their college, creating jobs for tons of folks mid pandemic while millions are out of work," a netizen tweeted in December. "Mind you I've signed 100 contracts and I'm f*****g no one! Calling out a couple to protect the things we love!"

"This guy didn't mention anything other than that!" the netizen said further. "We want our fucking lives back, we want our jobs back, we want to go back to normal! He did not mention his fucking religion once! He did not mention politics once! He didn't mention anything."

The release date of "Mission: Impossible 7" has been moved from November 19, 2021, to May 27, 2022.