Twitter Divided Over Tom Cruise’s COVID-19 Rant On ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ Set

Tom Cruise’s expletive-filled rant at employees on the set of “Mission: Impossible 7” has left fans and fellow celebrities torn between praising the actor and criticizing him.

An audio recording released by The Sun Tuesday captured the 58-year-old star yelling at two of the crew members of "Mission: Impossible 7" after spotting them standing close to each other and not following COVID-19 social distancing norms.

The audio clip went viral on social media, garnering both praise and scorn from netizens. While some praised Cruise for taking charge of the situation, others thought the actor had gone too far.

"THIS. IS. GODDAMN. BEAUTIFUL," John Rocha, the YouTuber who founded The Outlaw Nation, tweeted. "I wish MORE people in charge would react like this to people who violate protocols or not wearing masks. If only more people saw the bigger picture that Tom is highlighting here. Good on @TomCruise. Thanks for setting an example on this, sir!"

Another Twitter user wrote: “Tom Cruise ain't wrong. Now he just needs to come back to America and yell at every single anti-masker."

“Those who are not following Covid guidelines are the toxic people on the planet. Gambling with everyone's life and business is not acceptable. Trust me he was soft on them. If I were him they were already gone,” a third user wrote.

Others, however, said Cruise could have reprimanded the crew members without screaming at them.

“This was over the top. Sorry, chastising then for being unsafe was right, but he sounds like a maniac. There are better ways to handle addressing such a serious thing. Screaming and threatening to fire people isn’t one of them. This berating lasted for over 2 minutes,” wrote one netizen.

One user was extremely critical of Cruise, posting, “Despite the good reason behind the rant, there's no place for abuse in a work setting. Screaming, name calling and swearing about reinforcing required protocols is unprofessional. Hard working or not, he was caught abusing people. It's 2020. @TomCruise be a better person.”

There were also a few who thought that Cruise’s rant was nothing but a PR stunt. “Is it me or does anyone else think his rant was a great bit of PR for #MissionImpossible7,” questioned one user.

The pandemic has caused numerous delays since day 1 of the "Mission: Impossible 7" production. Cruise, who is producing the film apart from reprising his role as Ethan Hunt, has put in a huge amount of money into COVID-19 protective measures, including hiring a cruise ship for crew members to isolate, for which he reportedly paid $671,207.

Cruise’s rant over the violation of coronavirus safety protocols received mixed responses from celebrities as well. While Whoopi Goldberg defended the actor, Leah Remini cited several instances where Cruise was extremely rude and abusive.

George Clooney also thought Cruise did not overreact but acknowledged that he would have handled things differently.

If everything goes as planned, "Mission: Impossible 7," directed by Christopher McQuarrie, will hit theaters on Nov. 19, 2021.