Depression / Treatment

BG: Maybe Fintan is right about Big Pharma? Look how negatively Tom Cruise is portrayed...

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Cruise Down on Brooke's Anti-Depressants

Tom rails against drugs, pushes vitamins; plus, news on Renée, Gwyneth & Chris, Angelina & Brad and more ...



May 23, 2005

Has Tom Cruise received a medical degree in his spare time? The megastar is openly questioning the treatment Brooke Shields received for her crippling postpartum depression, a struggle she details in her new memoir, "Down Came the Rain."

Tom, sticking close to Scientology's anti-psychiatry party line, believes Shields, despite experiencing what she has described as suicidal thoughts, should have avoided taking the anti-depressant drug Paxil following the birth of her daughter, Rowan, in 2003.

"These drugs are dangerous. I have actually helped people come off," Cruise proselytizes, er, says, in an interview with Access Hollywood set to air Thursday (via the New York Daily News). "When you talk about postpartum, you can take people today, women, and what you do is you use vitamins."

According to Dr. Tom, "There is a hormonal thing that is going on, scientifically, you can prove that. But when you talk about emotional, chemical imbalances in people, there is no science behind that. You can use vitamins to help a woman through those things."

(And somewhere, a "War of the Worlds" marketing exec smacks his forehead and tries to convince himself that moms really won't comprise too much of the movie's opening weekend audience.)

The actor, who made his film debut in the 1981 Shields clunker "Endless Love," adds, "Here is a woman, and I care about Brooke Shields because I think she is an incredibly talented woman -- you look at, where has her career gone?"

Ouch.

When he's not dissing the "Suddenly Susan" star's B-list status and medical choices, Cruise, 42, has been out promoting his ardor for girlfriend-of-about-a-month Katie Holmes, 26, to major media outlets.

But was the actress, who has had a difficult few weeks, what with the tabloids gleefully analyzing her facial blemishes and allegedly bunion-filled feet, a runner-up for toothy Tom's affections?

According to the Daily News, the A-lister originally hoped to woo the once and possibly future flame of Orlando Bloom.

"Before Katie, he was interested in Kate Bosworth," a mole tattles to the paper. But it appears the 22-year-old actress, currently Down Under filming the blockbuster-to-be "Superman Returns," was able to resist the all-consuming Cruise charisma.

While Kate's rep is mum, Tom's sister-turned-mouthpiece LeeAnn Devett pooh-poohs the rumor, insisting to the Daily News, "That is completely and utterly false information."

Either way, he seems perfectly content in his current choice, with his admiration now bordering on hysteria.

"I love this woman," Cruise enthuses to Access. "I've got to tell you something, I'm not going to hide it. I am so happy and I am not going to pretend or hide it or be shy. This woman is magnificent ... I'm really, really happy and I can't contain it. I'm not going to pretend."

He's equally effusive on Monday's Oprah, pumping his fists and falling to one knee in excitement, and racing backstage in an attempt to bring out a skittish Holmes, who tries to scamper away (go with that feeling, sweetie).

"I've known Tom a long time, and he has always been so private," marvels Oprah. "I've never seen him like this before -- he's gone."

When MTV News asked him why he's going so public with his amour, he explains, "When I make a move like that, I'm saying, 'This is my woman.'" (No word on whether that statement was followed by a grunt and some chest-beating.)

Says the star, "People are going to do what they are going to do. Here's the thing: You can't think in terms of what are people going to do or say. [Stepping out with her publicly is] saying, 'I want to share my life with this woman; this woman is exceptional, she is special, she is extraordinary and I have great respect for her.' And it's saying, 'I got nothing to hide. I'm happy.' I'm happy, man ... she is something else."

So what does Cruise look for in a woman, besides the ability to reciprocate his immediate and intense passion? "I'm concerned about whether or not someone can keep up with me," he tells MTV. "I got a fast life. I got a lot going on."

Including the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, which he seems to be introducing to Holmes. The couple, who recently enjoyed a Mexican holiday with Tom's two kids, reportedly visited a Scientology-affiliated school in Los Angeles two weeks ago.

And just in case you've been in a cave ... on Mars ... with your fingers in your ears, Cruise hits theaters in "War of the Worlds" on June 29, while Holmes plays second banana to Christian Bale's Caped Crusader in "Batman Begins" starting on June 15.