Tom Cruise Got Banned By Bugatti After Awkward Red Carpet Incident
If you think that Hollywood A-listers are powerful people who can get whatever they want think again. Tom Cruise, for instance has been blacklisted by Bugatti and can't buy himself a Bugatti sports car due to one red carpet incident.
Back in 2005 it was all fine, the actor bought a Bugatti Veyron. In 2006 he drove it to the premiere of Mission Impossible 3. His €1 million 16-cylinder 1001 horsepower Bugatti should have become the focus and it certainly did - but for a wrong reason.
Cruise stopped on the red carpet, got out and tried several times to open the passenger door for his then wife Katie Holmes. The awkward moment lasted for almost a minute while journalists were busy making pictures and shooting videos, which quickly became viral. The posh car manufacturer got offended and allegedly said no more Bugatti cars for Cruise.
But it does not seem to be a huge problem for him though. Remember recent Cruise's epic red carpet entrance for the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick sequel? The actor arrived in a helicopter aboard the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier. Tom Cruise actually could fly this helicopter himself but he chose not to be at the controls on that day. It is certainly up to you to decide which red carpet entrance is better but the helicopter one does look impressive.
It is no secret that some luxurious car brands have their black lists. Cruise is not alone, it's been reported that Bugatti has a black list of other celebrities banned from buying their sports cars such as Lloyd Mayweather, F1 driver Jenson Button and music producer Simon Cowell. In most cases it is because these people did something which the company believes was bad publicity for the brand.
Justin Bieber has recently been banned by Ferrari because he changed the color of his 458 Italia from white to electric blue and then sold it for over $400k. The Canadian pop idol made substantial modifications and failed to notify the manufacturer of his intention to sell the car during the first year of ownership and these are serious offences by the Ferrari standards. Although the Italian car manufacturer said in a statement that Bieber could no longer buy exclusive models and special editions. If he wants to have a Ferrari again he will be able to choose one from the available series production models.
If the same rule applies to Tom Cruise remains a mystery. When a celebrity purchases an expensive sports car no one is surprised and it is unlikely to cause a stir among the fans. But banning a celebrity from buying certain products seems to generate more publicity for the brand which makes it to the headlines.