Almost twenty years after he was criticized by Tom Cross For her ‘irresponsible’ approach to treating postpartum depression, Brooke Shields opens up about the apology she ‘eventually’ received from the Golden Globe-winning actor.
In her new memoir, “Brooke Shields Shouldn’t Grow Old: Thoughts on Growing Older as a Woman,” Golden Globe nominee detailed apology from Cruise after his explosive interview with former “Today” host Matt Lauer in 2005, in which he said the “Top Gun” actor attacked her “because he could.”
During his interview, Cruise claimed that Shields’ prescription for postpartum depression “cured nothing.”
Brooke Shields says Tom Cruise has “eventually” apologized for his comments about her postpartum depression treatment. (Getty Images)
“There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance. What I’m saying about Brooke is that there is misinformation,” Cruise told Lauer at the time. “She doesn’t understand the history of psychiatry.”
In response, Shields wrote an op-ed The New York Timescalling Cruise’s comments a “disservice to mothers everywhere.”
“I couldn’t bear the sound of daughter Rowan crying, and I dreaded the moments when my husband would bring her to me,” Shields wrote at the time. “I wanted her to disappear. I wanted to disappear. At my lowest point, I thought about swallowing a bottle of pills or jumping out of my apartment window.”
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“I couldn’t believe it when my doctor told me I was suffering from postpartum depression and gave me a prescription for the antidepressant Paxil. I wasn’t happy that I was using drugs. In fact, I quit early and had a relapse that almost caused me to drive my car into a wall with Rowan in the backseat. But the medication, along with the weekly therapy sessions, saved me – and my family.”
“Eventually Tom Cruise apologized to me… said he was sorry, and that he felt cornered by Matt Lauer and that he basically attacked me because he could.”
Shields wrote an op-ed for “The New York Times” after Cruise’s explosive 2005 interview. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Shields said Cruise’s comments showed a clear “lack of understanding” about postpartum depression.
“Comments like Tom Cruise’s are a disservice to mothers everywhere,” she added. “To suggest that it was wrong to take medication to deal with my depression, and that I should have taken vitamins and exercise instead shows a complete lack of understanding about postpartum depression and childbirth in in general. If anything good can come from Mr. Cruise’s ridiculous comments let’s hope it brings some much-needed attention to a serious illness.”
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In her book, Shields admitted that if the comments had been made before she became a mother, she “would have stayed silent.”
“I would have ignored his ridiculous rant,” she wrote per Entertainment weekly. “Perhaps I would have been content to sit back while this very famous man hijacked my experience to further his own (failed) agenda. I would have been content if his behavior spoke for itself.”
Brooke Shields says she spoke out against Cruise’s comments for herself and for other women facing criticism. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
But Shields insisted on fighting back for herself and “women who were bothered by irrational and dangerous comments from an untrained actor who spoke way out of his depth.”
“Tom Cruise ultimately apologized to me,” she wrote. “Not publicly, which would have been the right thing to do, but he came to my house and said he was sorry, and that he felt cornered by Matt Lauer and that he basically attacked me because he could. It was not the intention of the world.” best apology, but that’s what he was capable of, and I accepted it.
A representative for Cruise did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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