Tom Cruise apologized to Brooke Shields for disparaging 'rant,' memoir says

Remember that Tom Cruise "Today" show rant about Brooke Shields’ use of antidepressants for postpartum depression?

It turns out he did eventually apologize to her, Shields writes in her new memoir “Brooke Shields is Not Allowed to Get Old.”

In a 2005 interview with Matt Lauer, Cruise commented on Shields’ memoir “Down Came the Rain,” which she wrote so parents struggling with postpartum depression wouldn’t feel “faulty or broken or bad or less than as a mother,” she recalls in her 2025 memoir.

What started as a promotion for the movie “War of Worlds” turned into a heated conversation between Cruise and Lauer, with Cruise berating Shields for taking antidepressants, saying she was spreading “misinformation” and falsely claiming, “There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance.”

Tom Cruise apologized to Brooke Shields for comments on postpartum depression

The ordeal left Shields "gobsmacked," she writes in her new memoir, adding Cruise's take was “an interesting opinion, coming from someone without ovaries."

The interview prompted Shields to write an op-ed in The New York Times, “War of Words.” Now, two decades later, Shields recalls when Cruise showed up at her doorstep to apologize.

“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 attacked me, basically, because he could,” she writes. “It wasn’t the world’s best apology, but it’s what he was capable of, and I accepted it.”

Shields also reflects on the silver lining of what she dubs “Cruise-gate”: In 2007, she testified before Congress in support of “The Mothers Act,” a bill committed to combating postpartum depression through research and support programs.

“His ignorance on the issue inspired women to get on their pedestals and scream for their rights and their bodies,” she writes.

Shields’ latest memoir also tackles confidence and joy in aging, encouraging self-advocacy in medical settings and open conversation about menopause.

5 lessons from Brooke Shields' memoir: 'Clarity is a perk of aging'

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, check out her recent articles or tell her what you’re reading at cmulroy@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brooke Shields says Tom Cruise apologized after 'ridiculous rant'