Cruise Says He Will Eat Placenta? Not Likely

Tom Cruise has made headlines consistently for the past few months, with everything from allegedly trying to stop a re-run of the Comedy Central series South Park, to his role in converting fiancée Katie Holmes to Scientology, to the silent birth practice of Scientology. With the media frenzy going on over Cruise, the tabloids have taken a few liberties of their own.

According to Life Style Extra, "Dad-to-be Tom Cruise has vowed to eat the placenta of his newborn baby and plans to dine on the umbilical cord too."

MTV UK reports "Tom Cruise is reportedly planning to eat the placenta and umbilical cord after fiancée Katie Holmes gives birth to their child.".

This is London reports "Hollywood actor Tom Cruise is planning to eat his new baby's placenta, it emerged today."

Xinhua, the Chinese News Agency, went so far as to publish a photo of a "fresh placenta" in their article, as well as discussing the pratice. "Placentophagia, eating the placenta, is practised in many cultures, but it is less common in western society. In 1998 a British TV chef fried a placenta and served it to his guests."

All of this stems from a recent interview with GQ Magazine, where Tom discussed his plans. This is London, Cruise said to GQ, "I'm gonna eat the placenta. I thought that would be good. Very nutritious. I'm gonna eat the cord and the placenta right there." What most news agencies leave out, and what Newindpress.com does mention, is the fact that he follows up the quote by saying "OK, maybe I won't."

The interview with GQ is much the same style as the one Tom Cruise had with ABC's Diane Sawyer, where he made a similar joke, before blatantly pointing out that he was kidding. It seems that even though his sarcasm showed in the Diane Sawyer interview, it didn't translate as well in the GQ article. The sad part is that none of the "journalists" out there would pick up on it.

Some websites picked up on the joke. Canada.com published an article, entitled Cruise Was Only Kidding, in which they said "Cruise's comment - a joke he made during an interview with GQ - is being taken out of context and reported as legitimate news. Some sites are going so far as to quote medical experts on the topic of placenta-eating."

Some of the true rumors about Tom Cruise is that he and fianc Katie Holmes are both Scientologists (See Cruise Says Katie Holmes Now A Scientologist) and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes will get married after the birth of their child, and after Cruise's new summer blockbuster, Mission: Impossible 3 is released (See Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes to Marry This Summer). Also, it is believed that the baby might be a girl (See Cruise, Holmes Pick Baby's Name). In the Diane Sawyer interview, Cruise also spelled out that there won't be a Catholic baptism for the child, and that Katie will have an epidural if she needs one.

[Additional Sources: Life Style Extra, MTV UK, This is London, Xinhua, Newindpress.com, Canada.com]

- Doug Pendrell