- In 2005, Tom Cruise criticized Brooke Shields’ use of antidepressants for postpartum depression.
- At the 2024 PHM Health Front, Brooke Shields said her comments “backfired.”
- She said the controversy had broadened public awareness about postpartum and mental health.
One of the most controversial moments in Tom Cruise’s career, Tom Cruise criticized Brooke Shields for talking about using antidepressants to treat postpartum depression.
Nearly 20 years later, Shields said Cruz inadvertently raised awareness about the problem and inspired people to fight for better treatments.
In 2005, Shields had just published her memoir, Down Came the Rain, in which she described taking Paxil, an SSRI, after the birth of her first daughter, Rowan. “I went crazy and got really scared because I wanted a baby,” Shields, 58, said Wednesday at the 2024 PHM HealthFront, a two-day event for healthcare marketers and health media. Told. She said: “She went through IVF seven times so the journey was very difficult.”
Cruise initially criticized Brooke Shields’ use of antidepressants, calling her “irresponsible.” 2005 “Access Hollywood” Interview. When he was asked to elaborate on these comments, Interview on the Today Show in 2005. Cruz told Matt Lauer that “psychiatry is a pseudoscience” and “drugs are not the answer.”
Cruise promoted Scientology and opposed taking any “mind-altering antipsychotic drugs.” against religion.
He accused Shields of spreading “misinformation” and said “she doesn’t understand the history of psychiatry” when it comes to drug use.
Shields said Cruz’s comments offended many women.
Reflecting on the incident, Shields said Cruz’s comments ended up helping that cause.
“You gave women in particular a reason to fight for something that made them so angry, but that they didn’t even want to fight for,” Shields told PHM. She spoke and pointed out that the women were not just doing their best for her. But also for yourself.
“So, ironically, it actually helped the platform because everyone was talking about it,” Shields said. “It backfired in a way. It’s a way to incorporate it into pop culture.”
Mr. Cruz later apologized to Mr. Shields.
A year after his comments, Shields said: Mr. Cruz offered Mr. Shields a “heartfelt” apology. I even came to her house and mailed her an annual Christmas cake for many years.
Almost 20 years later, the conversation around postpartum and depression treatment has changed dramatically. Shields isn’t the only celebrity to be open about her own PPD, but she has played an important role in advocating for her raising awareness about this condition.
In 2007, she testified before Congress on a bill that would require prenatal testing for new mothers.
“I’m not an expert,” Shields told PHM. “I am a woman who went through something like that and wanted to help other women get the help they deserve.”
