Matt Lauer recreated his infamous 2005 interview with Tom Cruise, in which they got into a heated discussion about Scientology, psychiatry and prescription drugs.
The longtime Today show host, 59, appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on Thursday, June 22, to discuss his most controversial and headline-making celebrity interviews ever. Cohen, 49, brought up the contentious conversation with Cruise, in which The Mummy actor called Lauer glib.”
“Can i just say before we do this, I like Tom Cruise,” Lauer prefaced before they reenacted the sit-down. “We have a good relationship, we have a good friendship. It was just one little moment.”
Lauer put on a brunette wig to play Cruise, while Cohen played the NBC journalist. “I’ve never agreed to psychiatry ever,” Lauer as Cruise says, reading from an interview transcript. “Do you know what Adderall is? Do you know what Ritalin is? Do you know now Ritalin is a street drug? Do you understand that?”
Lauer as the Top Gun actor continues: “See here’s the problem. You don’t know the history of psychiatry. I do. There’s no such thing as chemical imbalance.”
Cohen as Lauer challenges him by pointing to postpartum depression as an example of a chemical imbalance. “That’s not what I’m saying,” the fake Cruise replies. “What I’m saying is, that’s an alteration of what I’m saying. I’m saying drugs aren’t the answer. You are extraordinarily handsome. You really are!”
After the hilarious recreation, Lauer revealed that Cruise, now 54, apologized to him at the time. “I think he got such a bum rap for that,” Lauer said. “And to be honest, he was a real mensch after that. He came and apologized, we had a great time.”
