Fans have been reacting to an extremely awkward clip of Tom Cruise being squirted in the face with water by a prankster.
The infamous moment happened while the Top Gun actor was promoting War of The Worlds in London back in 2005.
Although it happened nearly two decades ago, the clip has resurfaced on Twitter and fans have been shocked by Cruise’s response.
The skit was part of a programme called Balls of Steel, which was known for pulling pranks on celebrities.
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Made by Channel 4, the series aired in the noughties and regularly caused controversy over its outrageous stunts – often performed by special guests, including presenter Alex Zane.
One segment, called ‘The F**ers’, even got actors to simulate sex acts in inappropriate locations such as a car showroom and a house viewing.
It nearly resulted in the arrest of two performers after they were stopped by police as they pretended to have sex on a boat on the River Thames.
Despite this, the show ran for three seasons and went on to target one of the biggest actors in Hollywood.
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At the time, Cruise had been attending the War of The Worlds premiere in London’s Leicester Square when the awkward prank occurred.
Producer Michael Livingstone posed as a journalist and waited for the unsuspecting actor with a water pistol disguised as a microphone.
As the actor approached and began the fake interview, he was promptly doused with water.
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Whilst most of us would have been outraged, Cruise remained relatively calm and told off the producer and called him a ‘jerk’.
Grabbing the microphone, the Mission Impossible actor asked the producer repeatedly ‘why would you do that’.
Though Livingstone tried to leave, Cruise continued saying: “I’m here giving you an interview, answering your questions and you do something really nasty … you’re a jerk.”
Understandably, fans have been siding with the Last Samurai star after discovering the clip on Twitter.
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Since it was posted on Wednesday, the short video has gained over 6.7 million views on the platform, with many fans shocked by the incident.
One wrote: “And just like that I like Tom Cruise all over again. Handled it pretty well and calmly yet firmly”
Others agreed, with another fan stating that celebrities shouldn’t have to deal with this kind of behaviour.
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They wrote: “honestly, I find his behaviour top notch here. Celebrities aren't our toys who have to just endure people's BS with a smile. He set boundaries, he was calm but very firm. He handled it very well imo.”
Though Channel 4 did apologise for the prank and Cruise didn’t press charges, some celebrities didn’t react so kindly to the prank show.
Unlike the Cocktail actor, Sharon Osbourne threw a champagne bucket filled with water over a cameraman after a similar stunt on Balls of Steel.
Topics: Tom Cruise, Celebrity, Film and TV
Katherine Sidnell