Tom Cruise's Reason For Declining Trump's Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award Revealed

Tom Cruise was not among the recipients at this year's Kennedy Center Honors, and the reason for his absence has finally been revealed.

President Donald Trump was instrumental in picking out the nominees after seizing control of the center upon his return to office.

Meanwhile, Tom Cruise continues to set tongues wagging with his rumored romance with Ana de Armas, as the pair were seen flaunting PDA during their Vermont trip.

Tom Cruise reportedly rejected a Kennedy Center award from President Donald Trump.

According to The Washington Post, a source said that the "Mission Impossible" star was offered the center's Lifetime Achievement Award, but declined it over "scheduling conflicts."

Trump is understood to be at the center of it all, but Cruise is known to often distance himself from politics, choosing to use his platform to support the military, veterans, and his Scientology beliefs.

Over the years, the 63-year-old actor has picked up multiple awards, including the Golden Globe Award and the PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Motion Pictures.

He's yet to win a competitive Oscar Award after being nominated 4 times, but has been selected to receive an honorary Oscar statuette at the annual Governors Awards later this year.

News of Cruise's decline comes after Trump unveiled the 2025 recipients at the Kennedy Center's Hall of Nations, a list he stated he was "about 98% involved" in selecting.

"I turned down plenty. They were too woke. I had a couple of wokesters," he said, referencing the proposed nominees, per the Daily Mail.

This year's honorees include country music legend George Strait, rock band KISS, disco icon Gloria Gaynor, actor Sylvester Stallone, and Broadway star Michael Crawford.

The billionaire politician also said that he didn't want to host the award ceremony, but was handpicked to do it by the new Kennedy Center board, especially his chief of staff, Susie Wiles.

Trump seized control of the center and appointed himself as chairman while also appointing 14 new members to the board. After naming this year's recipients, he declared that the country is tired of award ceremonies like the Academy Awards because they were too "woke."

"Look at the Academy Awards. It gets lousy rating. Now it's all woke. All they do is talk about how much they hate Trump, but nobody likes that," he said.

In handing out the honor to Stallone, the billionaire politician heaped praises on the actor as one of the best of his generation.

"Nobody else could have done what he did. They tried and it didn't work out too well," he said, referencing Stallone's "Rambo" and "Rocky" as monumental achievements.

"I'll never forget I was a young guy and I went to see a thing called 'Rambo,'" he recalled. "I said, 'This movie is phenomenal. What the heck.'"

Trump praised Crawford as "an international sensation" for playing "one of the greatest roles in the history of Broadway" as the Phantom of the Opera. He then went further to describe Gaynor as "one of the most revered singers of the American disco era," praising her song, "I Will Survive" as an "unbelievable song."

"I have heard it, like everyone else here, thousands of times. And it is one of those few that get better every time you hear it," he said. "And no one can sing it like her."

Trump then shared that he'd always wanted a Kennedy award, calling the institution one of the "most prestigious" awards in showbiz.

"Next year we'll honor Trump, okay?" he joked.

Cruise seemingly has a lot on his mind already, especially as his rumored romance with Ana De Armada heats up.

The pair were recently spotted at an Oasis concert and also enjoyed a Spanish getaway and a Vermont holiday, where they were seen holding hands.

Reports suggest the "Top Gun" actor is ready to take things to the next level in his relationship with the actress.

"Tom micromanages every detail of his life; anyone close to him always has loads of paperwork and NDAs to sign," a source said, per Star Magazine. "Marriage takes it to a new level. Tom has so much to protect."

Insiders also shared that the "Ballerina" actress is quite "confident" she can make Cruise a "happier" man, more than his exes did.

 "Ana's familiar with Tom's history, but it doesn't worry her," a source explained. "It actually annoys her that people judge Tom by his exes, and she's confident she'll be able to keep him happier than they did."

The insider added that de Armas is "on board with a contract," and is "taking Tom at his word that he's just making a safe plan for the future," noting that the pair "will be official soon enough."