Actor Tom Cruise walked off “The View” television talk show after being questioned by host Joy Behar about Scientology.
In early July 2025, claims circulated online alleging that actor Tom Cruise walked off ABC’s “The View” following aggressive questioning by host Joy Behar about his Scientology beliefs. The alleged incident was said to involve Behar making accusations about the Church of Scientology engaging in abuse and human rights violations, leading to Cruise’s dramatic exit from the show.
(The Narrator/YouTube)
For example, one YouTube account posted a video (archived) on July 3, 2025. The narration began:
What happens when one of Hollywood’s biggest stars sits down for what should be a routine interview only to find himself facing off against a host determined to ambush him with personal attacks? Well, you’re about to witness one of the most explosive celebrity interviews ever recorded where diplomatic answers turn into heated exchanges and professional courtesy gets thrown out the window faster than you can say. Action. This is the story of how Tom Cruise went from promotional guest to walking controversy in less than 20 minutes and why Joy Behar’s aggressive tactics backfired spectacularly. But before we dive into this incredible confrontation, make sure you hit that subscribe button and drop a comment below because this story has more twists than a Mission Impossible plot.
According to the narrative, Behar confronted Cruise about Scientology, accusing him of promoting a “dangerous cult” and being complicit in harassment and abuse. The account described an alleged escalating argument where Cruise defended his religious beliefs, Behar pressed her accusations, and the exchange became increasingly heated. The narration concluded with Cruise removing his microphone and walking off the set while denouncing Behar’s approach as “religious bigotry” and “a witch hunt.”
The video had exceeded 77,000 views as of this writing. Videos with almost identical content were seen elsewhere on YouTube(archived and archived), though our research found YouTube channel The Narrator was the first to post it.
However, we have rated this claim false. While Tom Cruise did appear (archived) on “The View” in 2009, there was no evidence of any incident in 2025 where he walked off the show after being questioned by Behar about Scientology. Searches (archived) of “The View” episode databases revealed no documentation of any Cruise appearance on the show in 2025. Had such an incident occurred involving a celebrity walking off a television program, it would have generated media coverage across entertainment news outlets.
Tom Cruise’s actual 2009 ‘The View’ appearance
Cruise did appear on “The View” in 2009 to promote his film “Valkyrie.” During that interview, it was Barbara Walters who briefly questioned him about Scientology in the context of discussing the death of the son of his friends and fellow Scientologists John Travolta and Kelly Preston. However, Cruise did not walk off the show and completed the interview.
Pattern of AI-generated content
Analysis of the video revealed multiple indicators that the audio narration was generated by artificial intelligence rather than recorded by a human speaker and was therefore not a real interview during a TV show.
The narration included promotional language and calls-to-action typical of YouTube content creators, such as “make sure you hit that subscribe button,” “drop a comment below,” and “this story has more twists than a mission impossible plot.” The narration also followed a uniform sentence structure and showed limited variation in tone or pacing. These features, along with the consistent delivery and lack of natural speech patterns, are commonly associated with AI-generated audio. Resemble AI, an audio deepfake detection tool, classified it as “fake.”
Additionally, the transcript exhibited characteristics typical of AI-generated content including overly dramatic dialogues and narrative formatting with detailed stage directions about characters’ emotional states — elements more suited to fictional storytelling.
Furthermore, the YouTube channel that posted the video, The Narrator, has often posted videos featuring fabricated TV show stories using similar AI-generated audio formats.