Tom Cruise was reportedly on the shortlist to receive a medal during the 48th Kennedy Center Honors — and allegedly turned down the offer.
Cruise, 63, declined the honor because of “scheduling conflicts,” according to The Washington Post, which spoke with multiple current and former Kennedy Center employees under anonymity.
Cruise has not addressed the reported offer. Us Weekly has reached out for comment.
President Donald Trump, who named himself the chairman of the Kennedy Center earlier this year, revealed on Wednesday, August 13, which celebrities would receive recognition at the 48th annual ceremony.
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“Today, President Donald J. Trump proudly unveiled the honorees of the 48th Kennedy Center Honors, recognizing an extraordinary group of artists whose talents have shaped American culture and entertained generations,” a statement on the White House website reads. “These heroes of arts and culture will be celebrated at the annual Kennedy Center Honors Gala in December.”
The honorees include George Strait, Michael Crawford, Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor and the band Kiss.
In a speech, Trump, 79, said that he was “very involved” in selecting the recipients.
“I would say I was about 98 percent involved. They all went through me,” the current president of the United States told reporters. “I had a couple of wokesters. Now, we have great people. This is very different from it used to be, very different.”
Several of the honorees have since expressed their congratulations on the award.
“Kiss is the embodiment of the American dream,” frontman Gene Simmons told TMZ on Wednesday. “We are deeply honored to receive the Kennedy Center Honor.”
Simmon’s bandmate Paul Stanley was equally pleased, telling TMZ, “From our earliest days, Kiss has embodied the American ideal that all things are possible and that hard work pays off.”
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“The prestige of the Kennedy Center Honors cannot be overstated,” Stanley, 73, added. “I accept this on behalf of the long legacy of Kiss and all of the band members who helped create our iconic band.”
Peter Criss, for his part, told the outlet that it was the “greatest honor of [the band’s] career.”
Trump previously teased the inaugural class of his Kennedy Center honorees.
“We’ll go slightly more conservative, if you don’t mind, with some of the people,” he said during a board meeting in March, per The Washington Post. “There are people out there that would not be considered that are much bigger stars than the ones that were being honored.”
