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When a rumor takes flight, especially in the digital age, it can quickly become the talk of the town. This time, the spotlight is on Tom Cruise, whose brush with internet folklore has left fans amused and bewildered. The absurdity of the alleged ‘fish scandal’ has drawn the attention of TikTok creators, sparking a flurry of reactions and interpretations that have taken on a life of their own.
This viral conspiracy theory began in 2020 when an anonymous figure dropped a blind item on the celebrity gossip site Crazy Days & Nights. This intriguing post described an unnamed star who, it was claimed, purchased a raw sea bass at an Italian market, made a mysterious trip to the bathroom with it, and emerged empty-handed a mere ten minutes later.
Fast forward a few years, and the internet is still talking about this strange anecdote—one that has gained traction on platforms like TikTok, much to the amusement (and confusion) of social media users.
How Tom Cruise Got Linked to This Viral Fish Story
The origins of this rumor can be traced back to 2020, when an anonymous entertainment lawyer known as Enty posted a blind item on the celebrity gossip blog Crazy Days & Nights (viaDistractify).
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This post describes a bizarre encounter involving a famous actor and a raw sea bass at a grocery store in Italy. According to the account, Tom Cruise bought the unwrapped fish, disappeared into a bathroom, and emerged ten minutes later without it. The observer noted:
He was wearing his mask [actually two, one on top of the other] but I knew it was him because he had security with him and because I heard he was filming in the city.
Readers quickly speculated that the mystery actor was none other than Cruise, who had been spotted in Rome at that time, donning a double-layered mask. The conspiracy didn’t stop there. A few months later, another tip arrived at Enty’s desk, recounting a similar incident from 2016 in Los Angeles.
According to the eyewitness, they saw a celebrity scrutinizing various fish before finally selecting one, specifically asking for it to remain unwrapped:
Our actor was taking a while … because he was carefully examining every fish that the guy placed on the scale. Finally, he settled on one … The actor requested the man not wrap it up, so that’s actually the only reason why I followed him. I thought maybe they were filming a movie or something and they had an emergency need for a new prop.
The witness discovered later that the actor had gone into the men’s room with the fish and emerged without it. Curious, the former ventured inside and found the discarded fish in the trash, wrapped in paper towels.
More Fishy Tales Linking Tom Cruise to These Rumors?
As if that weren’t enough, just a week later, another tip came in from a meat market employee in Beijing, who shared a story from around 2013 or 2014. This employee recounted watching a well-dressed man—accompanied by two bodyguards—meticulously choose a pompano fish, which is notable for having no teeth. They shared (per Distractify):
Your previous blind item [reminded] me of what I saw in my Beijing supermarket … many years ago. One day, maybe in 2013 or maybe 2014, I see man go to [the] fresh fish counter and order one fish. He had two black-[clothed] men by his side and had sunglasses over his eyes. He [spent] many minutes looking at the fish selection, and then he [ordered] one whole fish called pompano.
At the end of the day, the supervisor found the pompano in the bathroom garbage. The connection toTom Cruisewas made once again. Since then, more blind items have appeared on the Crazy Days & Nights website, adding to the ongoing lore. However, none of these allegations have been confirmed, and as of now, Cruise has not addressed the swirling rumors.
One can only wonder how he might respond if he chose to set the record straight.
Reactions on TikTok: The Hilarious Fallout from the Tom Cruise Fish Scandal
As the gossip circulated, it caught the eye of internet users who couldn’t help but see the humor and absurdity in the situation. NumerousTikTokcreators jumped on the bandwagon, sharing their takes and reactions to the alleged fish scandal, which only fueled its popularity and ingrained it into pop culture conversations.
Let’s see some of the comments:
How does he do it? How? Doesn’t fish have tiny mouth or hole???-@user6369484035187Sea bass can get pretty big.. so it was probably the mouth.-@JellyMy question… WHY a FISH?@!Bishop!Who the hell goes into a bathroom with a fish 😭 and does that to it.-@𝐹𝒾𝒻𝒾Not sure why someone of his celebrity status would be going to a fish store himself, then taking care of business in their bathroom. He seems way too bougie for this.-@user3152107758853Remember Troy McClure from The Simpsons? A Fish Called Selma, from March 1996. It Was about Tom Cruise. -@Colonel AngusThey use code lenguages right? like pizza means child…? could this be a code word also.@ChanelleMakes no sense to do this in public rather than just having a fish ordered and doing whatever to it in the privacy of his own home.-@GoditsMeAgainI remember that sea bass was on the menu at his wedding to Katie Holmes.-@Alex_Smith09
While some stories drift away, others, like this one, cling tenaciously to the public imagination. Whether it’s an urban legend or an extraordinary coincidence, this fishlore surrounding Tom Cruise is sure to keep people talking for years to come.
Beyond the rumors, his film career is nothing short of remarkable. From his breakout role inRisky Businessto his iconic portrayal of Ethan Hunt in theMission: Impossibleseries, Cruise has consistently pushed the envelope in action cinema.
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Looking ahead, his untitled eighthMission: Impossiblefilm is set to continue the thrilling saga. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen, this film serves as a direct sequel toMission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Oneand promises to keep audiences on the edge of their seats.
Mission: Impossible 8is scheduled to be released on August 23, 2025, by Paramount Pictures.
Siddhika Prajapati
Senior Journalist & Content Head
Articles Published :3310
With over 3,300 articles carved into the digital walls of FandomWire, Siddhika Prajapati excels at creating, curating, and elevating engaging stories. She takes pride in giving these stories a home and, of course, she’s got a Google Knowledge Panel to prove it!Whether it’s reviewing the latest drop on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Apple TV+, or analyzing the cultural echoes of a streaming hit on Paramount+ or Max, Siddhika is always writing three steps ahead of the discourse.
