Tom Cruise v. Brooke Shields Round 2

By: Shannon Gossage

After the war of the words broke out between former friends Tom Cruise and Brooke Shields it seemed as if they might call a truce, but now it seems otherwise. Cruise initially sparked the "war" when he criticized Shields’ use of anti-depressants to cope with postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, Rowan. As was reported recently, Cruise appeared on the Today show and battled it out with Matt Lauer over the use of prescription drugs to cure depression and once again criticized Shields.

So Shields responded by writing a 715-word essay that appeared on Friday’s New York Times op-ed page. In the essay, Shields writes: "I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but after Tom Cruise’s interview with Matt Lauer on the NBC show Today last week, I feel compelled to speak not just for myself but also for the hundreds of thousands of women who have suffered from postpartum depression." Just recently New Jersey’s acting governor, Richard J. Codey, has come to Shields defense. Said Codey, "Tom Cruise knows as much about postpartum depression as I do about acting. He should stick to acting and not talk about women who need help." Codey’s wife, Mary Jo, has struggled with the illness.

And fellow Scientology believer Kelly Preston has begun a small campaign for Cruise. First she did say during an interview last week that Shields also has a responsibility. Said Preston, "If you’re going to be advocating drugs, which [Shields] does in her book, you need to be responsible for also telling the people of the potential risks." In another interview, Preston applauded Cruise for bringing the beliefs of Scientology to the public by saying, "He’s creating awareness. Good for Tom Cruise for bringing it to the forefront." With all of his crazy antics of late, surely he would be the best spokesperson for the job!