Watch Out, Balki: It's Risky Business to Accuse Tom Cruise of Homophobia

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Watch Out, Balki: It's Risky Business to Accuse Tom Cruise of Homophobia

Wed., Oct. 21, 2009 6:30 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

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Turns out Balki Bartokomous is kinda bitter.

Tom Cruise was not only the "biggest bore on the face of the Earth" on the set of Risky Business, according to Bronson Pinchot, but Cruise, who was then pre-superstar status, also "made constant, constant unrelated homophobic comments" to him.

"It was like, 'It's a nice day, I'm glad there are no gay people standing here.' Very, very strange," said Pinchot in a lengthy interview with The A.V. Club. The 50-year-old actor made his feature-film debut in Risky Business but is far better known for playing goat-herder Balki on the sitcom Perfect Strangers and gallery receptionist Serge in Beverly Hills Cop—and, of course, for his stint on The Surreal Life.

Pinchot also had singular memories of Denzel Washington ("one of the most unpleasant human beings I’ve ever met in my life"), Eddie Murphy ("very low-spirited, low-energy" on the set of Beverly Hills Cop III) and Bette Midler (she was a "such a bitch" to First Wives Club director Hugh Wilson).

Tom Hanks, however, is "a wonderful and genuine and lovely and down-to-earth person." (A likely story.)

But did Cruise, who if not always the picture of gravitas is at least reputed to be a real salt-of-the-earth type, really make nasty comments to his costar 26 years ago?

"Obviously this is so far removed from who Tom Cruise is as a person, this must have been said in jest," rep Cheryl Maisel told TVGuide.com when asked about the alleged verbal gaffes in his past.

Reps for Washington and Murphy had no comment, and Midler's rep could not immediately be reached.

Hanks' rep must be off wondering why no one ever calls her.

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Whether unkind words were exchanged or not, this sounds like a job for The Awful Truth, which is where we turn to get to the bottom of celebrity feuds.