Who else is receiving Kennedy Center Honors as Tom Cruise turns down Trump's invite

Tom Cruise declined the Kennedy Center Honors invitation this year, reportedly due to his busy schedule. However, other big names are receiving them.

Tom Cruise will not be among the recipients of this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, after declining President Donald Trump’s invitation, per The Washington Post.

Tom Cruise will not receive a Kennedy Center Honor this year after declining the invitation. (AFP)

On Wednesday, Trump announced the 2025 honorees for the prestigious Washington, D.C. event, which “recognizes and celebrates individuals whose unique artistic contributions have shaped our world,” according to the Kennedy Center.

Who will receive Kennedy Center Honors?

The five names on the list span music, film, and theater: country legend George Strait, rock icons KISS, Broadway star Michael Crawford, disco queen Gloria Gaynor, and Hollywood veteran Sylvester Stallone.

Cruise, known for his action-packed roles in the Mission Impossible and Top Gun franchises was reportedly offered the award this year but turned it down. The Washington Post, citing current and former Kennedy Center employees, reported that the actor’s packed schedule was to blame.

Indeed a busy year for Cruise

In November, the Top Gun star is set to receive an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards, alongside production designer Wynn Thomas and choreographer-actress Debbie Allen, announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences back in June.

Meanwhile, Trump himself hinted that he could take center stage at the Honors in the future. “I waited and waited and waited, and I said, ‘The hell with it, I’ll become chairman and I’ll give myself an honor,’” the president quipped. “Next year, we’ll honor Trump, okay?”

Trump also revealed he will be stepping in as the emcee for this year’s ceremony, a role previously held by television legend Walter Cronkite from 1981 to 2002, and later by Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, from 2003 to 2012.

Initially, the president said the Kennedy Center’s board had chosen “a truly exceptional class of honorees.”

But pressed by reporters, he admitted,“I would say I was about 98 percent involved ... they all went through me,” Trump said. “I turned down plenty who were too woke.”