Brooke Shields recently opened up about her past feud with Tom Cruise in her new memoir, Brooke Shields is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman, recalling his controversial remarks about her postpartum depression and the private apology he later offered.
According to Shields, Tom Cruise later showed up at her home to apologize. He explained that he felt cornered during a heated interview and lashed out at her because he could. While she acknowledged that the apology was not ideal, she chose to accept it.
Tom Cruise criticized Brooke Shields for getting postpartum depression treatment
In 2005, Cruise dismissed Shields’ use of medication for postpartum depression, claiming it did not address the root cause and was, therefore, ineffective. He argued there was no such thing as a chemical imbalance and suggested that Shields had fallen victim to misinformation.
Cruise further criticized her understanding of psychiatry, calling her treatment choices misguided. His comments were not only dismissive of Shields’ personal experience but also undermined the struggles of countless women facing postpartum depression.
Brooke Shields became an advocate for postpartum depression awareness
Shields did not hold back when replying to Cruise, as she highlighted the dangers of his statements. She emphasized that dismissing medical treatment for postpartum depression did a disservice to mothers everywhere. Shields noted that recommending vitamins and exercise as an alternative showed a lack of understanding about the realities of childbirth and mental health.
In her memoir, Shields admitted that she may have ignored such comments before motherhood, however, experiencing postpartum depression first hand gave her the courage to speak up. Shields also shared her journey in her book, Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression, which shed more light on the condition and encouraged other affected women to seek help without shame.