Simon Pegg has clarified comments he made about Tom Cruise never accepting responsibility for his mistakes, claiming it’s a running joke between them.

In an interview with The Times published on Saturday (June 11), Pegg told a story about how his Mission: Impossible co-star “maintains his authority” on set.

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“If something goes wrong and it’s his fault, he’ll flatly deny it,” Pegg said. “And then if someone corrects him, instead of saying sorry, he’ll just say, ‘Yeah,’ and wink at me.”

He added: “I admitted fucking up once, and he said – with a wry smile, I hasten to add – ‘Simon, don’t do that.’ He maintains his authority by never being to blame for anything.”

His comments were widely shared on social media, with Pegg addressing the negative attention they received during an Instagram live video.

#simonpegg #tomcruise #thetimes #saturdaytimes pic.twitter.com/iUDaQOfjWG

— Pegg News (@simonpegg) June 11, 2022

“I’m currently trending on Twitter for something I said in The Times interview about Tom Cruise never accepting responsibility for his mistakes, like it isn’t just a fucking running joke that we have. Stop being so fucking literal.”

He also responded to a Guardian article titled ‘Did Simon Pegg really reveal Tom Cruise’s darkest secret?’ on his Instagram Stories, writing in a caption: “Oh fuuuuuuck off!!!”

Pegg will star alongside Cruise in the next Mission: Impossible film titled Dead Reckoning Part One, set to be released on July 14, 2023. The sequel also stars Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham and Esai Morales.

The follow-up instalment, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, is set to be released the following year on June 28, 2024.