Brooke Shields Opens Up About Her Encounter with Tom Cruise Following His Notorious Outburst on Her and Postpartum Depression

Brooke Shields shared the details of what transpired with Tom Cruise after his infamous 2005 rant directed at her.

To give some background, in the mid-2000s, Brooke published a memoir titled Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression. In this book, she revealed her experience with taking an antidepressant after the birth of her first child, Rowan.

In response, Tom criticized Brooke's use of an SSRI during an appearance on The Today Show. Describing psychiatry as "a pseudo-science," he claimed that Brooke lacked an understanding of its history and accused her of endorsing "dangerous" drugs. He suggested that exercise and vitamins should be the alternatives, in line with Scientology's teachings.

Later, Brooke penned an op-ed for the New York Times where she cleverly wrote, "I’m going to take a wild guess and say that Mr. Cruise has never experienced postpartum depression." The next year, she shared that Tom "came over to my house and gave me a sincere apology."

In her latest memoir, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman, Brooke reportedly mentioned the apology, "It wasn’t the world’s best apology, but it’s what he was capable of, and I accepted it."

"Had Tom criticized me publicly before I became a mother, I likely would have remained silent. I would have dismissed his absurd rant," she said, according to Rolling Stone.

"I might have been content to stay quiet while this well-known man took over my experience to further his own misguided agenda. I would have believed his actions would reveal everything," Brooke continued. "A decade ago, I might have even felt guilty for sharing my story or been insecure, thinking my career was on hold while a dominant male movie star singled me out, confident I wouldn’t stand a chance in that fight."

Thankfully, writing the op-ed gave Brooke the opportunity to speak against “irrational and dangerous comments from an unschooled actor who was speaking way out of his depth," as well as furthering "discussions on the reality and prevalence of postpartum depression.”

Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman is now available.