Cuba Gooding Jr.'s dad to Tom Cruise: 'Are you gay or not?'

During an interview on The Graham Norton Show, Cuba Gooding Jr. reminisced about a jaw-dropping event that occurred on the Jerry Maguire set in 1996. His father came for an innocent visit and little did Gooding know things were about to get extremely awkward. While introducing him to costar Tom Cruise, his father questioned the actor’s sexual orientation.

“He gave Tom Cruise a hug and said, ‘I love you man. Now seriously, are you gay or not?” Gooding, 45, recalled, “I almost fainted. And I thought, ‘Please Lord, let me disappear.'”

Luckily, the 49-year-old did not take Gooding’s father’s unexpected comment as an insult. According to the actor, Cruise laughed and simply responded, “No.” It is a good thing Cruise is so down-to-earth or else the rest of production would have been painfully uncomfortable for the two actors.

At the time of this incident, Cruise was still happily married to actress Nicole Kidman. After the two went their separate ways and divorced in 2001, he found love just a few years later with current wife Katie Holmes. I think it is safe to say that Cruise prefers women.

Jerry Maguire is known for a collection of one-liners from its famous cast. Gooding, known for the line “Show me the money!”, admitted to Norton that he is tired of reciting the line for fans.

“It doesn’t go away. I get it all the time. I wish I had a wand that would make people disappear whenever they say it. It’s hard especially when some drunk guy in a bar asks and finally you say it and he says ‘No, say it like you said it in the movie!” Gooding vented.

At least the man’s honest!