In audio leaked Tuesday, Tom Cruise reportedly went on a profanity-laced tirade on the set of "Mission: Impossible 7" in London after crew members allegedly broke strict COVID-19 safety protocols. Cruise's concern was it could cost the jobs of thousands of people in an industry that is struggling during the pandemic.
"They are back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us!" Cruise yelled in audio obtained by the U.K. paper The Sun. "We are creating thousands of jobs, you (expletive)! That's it! No apologies! You can tell it to the people that are losing their (expletive) homes because our industry is shut down!"
The Sun reports the tirade happened after two crew members stood less than three feet from each other at a computer screen. Cruise threatened to fire the crew members if he saw it happen again.
Variety says it confirmed the incident.
Deadline reports that Cruise, who is the film's star and producer, has also been heavily involved in implementing the production's COVID-19 safety plan. He even rented out two cruise ships to isolate the cast and crew at the cost of more than $500,000 per month, according to Travel and Leisure.
The film had to halt production in Italy earlier this year during the pandemic's early days as that country was overrun with cases.
The motion picture industry has been one of the hardest hit during the pandemic. Movie theaters across the U.S. have been shuttered for most of it, in large part due to local restrictions. This has led studios to delay the release of big budget films, which also hurts theaters.
Warner Bros. announced this month that its entire slate of 2021 movies will be released simultaneously in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service, including "Wonder Woman 1984" this Christmas.
"Mission: Impossible 7" is currently slated for a November 2021 release.