Ever since HBO released "Going Clear," which is a documentary that exposed the dark secrets of the Church of Scientology, Tom Cruise remained quiet about the issue.
During the press tour for "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation," journalists had a chance to ask the actor about the organization but no one dared to bring up that topic.
Award-winning director Paul Haggis, who is known for his work on "Crash" and "Million Dollar Baby," was disappointed about the press tour but he didn't blame Tom Cruise for it.
"Well, that's not his fault," the 62-year-old filmmaker told The Daily Beast. "His PR people are very smart. But I don't know how journalists can continue to call themselves journalists if they aren't brave enough to ask a question. I mean, how big does the elephant in the room have to be before you ask about it?"
According to The Wrap, programs and outlets had to agree not to ask Tom Cruise about Scientology during the press tour if they want to land an interview with the Hollywood superstar.
Apart from religion, the press people are also not allowed to ask him personal questions like dating and his daughter.
Paul Haggis understands the whole deal, but he believes that a real journalist should ask real questions.
"Well, fine, but there are things called journalistic integrity, and there are things more important than promoting a movie sometimes," he said. "It was so glaringly obvious. There was this huge elephant there, and every journalist agreed not to address it. Why? You're just a PR person at that point. Shame on you."
Almost everyone seems to be scared of talking about the Church of Scientology including Tom Cruise's ex-wife Nicole Kidman. During an interview with Vogue, the 48-year-old actress refused to talk about the documentary "Going Clear."
"Kidman passed on the opportunity to speak to the makers of the film and has consistently turned away requests to comment out of respect for her children with Cruise," reporter Jason Gray said.
