Previously a Theodore Roosevelt crew member revealed that Tom Cruise told the crew members on the aircraft carrier not to look at or touch him.
As we have reported, Scientology Money Project claimed that USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) crew had been ordered to not look at Tom Cruise or to talk to him while filming Top Gun Sequel aboard the US Navy Nimitz Class aircraft carrier.
Actor’s allegedly arrogant behavior apparently sparked anger among TR crew members: in fact posts on social media, such as Twitter, also have TR Crew Members alleging other incidents with the Cruise.
But now it seems that accusations about Tom Cruise disrespecting crewmembers aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt were unfounded, U.S. Navy officials told NBC 7.
“Tom Cruise and the cast were nothing but gracious and professional during filming to all of the sailors,” the official pointed out. At the captain’s “all hands on deck” call Friday, Cruise took the microphone and personally thanked the crew for their support of the film, the official said.
“Some sailors may have misinterpreted guidance from the Navy that told sailors to not approach actors while filming and not use cell phones on the set,” the official said.
Noteworthy a Theodore Roosevelt crew member revealed that Tom Cruise told the crew members on the aircraft carrier not to look at or touch him. However, the person asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
“He angered USS Theodore crew while filming [the ‘Top Gun’ sequel],” the crew member pointed out on Feb. 17, 2019. They said that Cruise was acting “very arrogant.”
Nevertheless, the claim was disputed by Officials with Naval Air Forces.
A U.S. Navy master chief in fact explained that the aircraft carrier crew was directed to “respect” Cruise and his crew during the movie’s filming. The master chief added that he doesn’t believe this was an issue.
However, he pointed out that his service “does not tolerate any disrespect to its members” and the Navy “wouldn’t allow” Cruise to treat staff poorly.
Navy escorts who accompanied Cruise during the shoot said, “At no time did Tom Cruise say to a sailor, ‘Do not look at me. Do not touch me.’”
No official response on the matter has been made by Tom Cruise or the production behind Top Gun: Maverick.
On Feb. 14, 2019, F-14A Tomcat BuNo 159631 was lifted aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) aircraft carrier in San Diego for Top Gun: Maverick production.
Besides the F-14 Tomcat, Top Gun: Maverick will likely feature the Navy’s new Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters alongside older Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.
The movie was assigned a theatrical release date of Jul. 12, 2019, last year, but in September Paramount announced that had delayed the sequel nearly an entire year, assigning it a new release date of Jun. 26, 2020.
Maverick’s rides for the Top Gun sequel will be a cool special painted F/A-18F Super Hornet (which experienced a mid-air issue while it was flying with Tom Cruise onboard in September) and a new motorcycle that Tom Cruise already drove around the airfield (as he did on a Kawasaki Ninja in 1986 original) as shown in first pictures from Top Gun: Maverick set.
Tom Cruise teased the start of filming on the long-awaited Top Gun sequel on May 31, 2018with a tweet featuring an image of an older Capt. Pete Mitchell standing in a flight suit with his famous HGU-33 helmet (that wore to fly his F-14A Tomcat) in hand.