LONDON — A recording has emerged apparently capturing Tom Cruise delivering an expletive-laden rant to the crew of "Mission: Impossible 7".
The British newspaper The Sun published leaked audio Wednesday that it said captured Cruise, 58, shouting on set. While the cause of the outburst is unclear, The Sun reports Cruise was addressing two crew members who he believed had breached Covid-19 protocols while filming near London.
NBC News has not confirmed the authenticity of the audio nor its context, but has reached out to Cruise's representatives, his lawyers and Paramount Pictures.
The New York Times and Variety both cited unnamed sources close to the film confirming the authenticity of the recording.
In it, the man identified as Cruise is heard shouting: "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."
Cruise is starring in the movie, reprising his all-action role as Ethan Hunt, and is also a producer. In the audio he appears to tell the crew that Hollywood is relying on films like theirs to keep the beleaguered industry going.
"We want the gold standard. They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us. Because they believe in us and what we’re doing," he said, according to the audio tape.
Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics
"You can tell it to the people who are losing their f---ing homes because our industry is shut down. It's not going to put food on their table or pay for their college education."
"Mission: Impossible 7" was one of the first productions to halt because of the coronavirus when it abandoned filming in Venice in February.
In July, Cruise personally appealed to Norway's prime minister to shoot parts of the film in Norway under modified quarantine rules. It is scheduled for release in November 2021.
Reuters contributed to this report.
