Action Star Mocked for Posing Shirtless at 64
One person called for the immediate firing of “whoever picked this as the cover.”
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Tom Cruise bared his chest in a photoshoot, but not everyone was impressed.
The 64-year-old actor was the star of GQ’s October issue, marking his first cover for the men’s magazine in 20 years. In the black-and-white photo snapped by photographer Mario Sorrenti, Cruise poses with his shirt unbuttoned, giving a sultry look into the camera, with one hand behind his head and the other looped into the belt of his vintage jeans.
While many were impressed by the Top Gun actor’s physique, others found the image unpleasing.
“Whoever picked this as a cover needs to be fired immediately,” one person commented on GQ’s Instagram.
Tom Cruise posed for the October 2026 GQ cover with his shirt unbuttoned.
Courtesy of Mario Sorrenti/GQ
When the Pop Base account posted the cover on X, opinions quickly rolled in, with many saying the actor was “trying too hard.”
“He needs to stop embarrassing himself like this. Times have changed. And that’s ok,” one person wrote.
Sign up to receive news and updates from The Looker
By clicking “Sign Up” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Another added, “Put some clothes on Tom, we don’t wanna see this.”
Many commenters were not pleased with Tom Cruise’s GQ cover.
Instagram/GQ
“How do I unsee this?” a third person quipped. Another chimed in, “I like that we all collectively are not into this.”
One particularly brutal commenter slammed the image, writing, “same sex appeal as the water in yogurts.”
“TOP GONE,” another said.
Tom Cruise and his daughter Suri in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2009.
James Devaney/WireImage
Many also criticized Cruise for his involvement in Scientology. He joined the religion in 1984 and is one of the church’s most recognizable members.
“Not Mr. Scientology trying to be sexy,” one person wrote.
Several social media users speculated on why the interview did not mention his daughter.
It was confirmed in July that Cruise’s youngest daughter Suri, 20, had dropped her father’s last name after over a decade of rumors about estrangement between the two. She now goes by Suri Noelle, after her mother, actress Katie Holmes’s middle name.
Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise at the 2012 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in West Hollywood, California.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Holmes was Cruise’s third wife. The couple was married from 2006 until 2012.
In 2013, Cruise denied accusations that he had “abandoned” Suri Noelle.
“The assertion that I ‘abandoned’ Suri after my divorce is patently false,” he said in a defamation lawsuit. “I have in no way cut Suri out of my life—whether physically, emotionally, financially or otherwise.”
Cruise has not discussed his youngest daughter in interviews.
Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise with their children, Connor and Isabella, in 1996.
Newspix/Newspix via Getty Images
Cruise is also the father of Isabella Cruise, 33, and Connor Cruise, 31, whom he adopted with his second wife, actress Nicole Kidman.
The couple met on the set of the 1990 action film Days of Thunder. They married in 1990 and divorced in 2001.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Looker and The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in
Login dialog
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…