Olympics viewers took to social media in droves to make some truly brutal remarks about the 62-year-old movie star.

Tom Cruise wowed fans with his stunt at the Olympics closing ceremony, but some viewers found themselves distracted by the actor’s appearance.

During Sunday night’s LA28 segment of the Paris Olympics‘ Closing Ceremony, the stunt-loving Mission Impossible star jumped off the Stade du France in real-time.

While much of social media went wild for the stunt, Cruise also faced a barrage of remarks commenting on his appearance, with many suggesting the star appeared barely recognisable to them.

Tom Cruise shared a selfie from the Olympics closing ceremony that sparked a wave of comments on social media from those who watched the show. Picture: Instagram.
Tom Cruise shared a selfie from the Olympics closing ceremony that sparked a wave of comments on social media from those who watched the show. Picture: Instagram.

“The only thing more stretched out than this closing ceremony is Tom Cruise’s unrecognisable new face,” commented one fan.

“Tom Cruise looked like he was wearing a mask of his face,” remarked another.

A third viewer tweeted: “I wondered how long it would take Tom Cruise to resort to extreme plastic surgery. I got my answer.”

While another added: “It almost looks like he’s wearing prosthetics to make him look older. What happened?”

“Did Tom Cruise have work done on his face?” questioned a fifth. “At 1st glance, he resembled Don Johnson. Asking for a friend.”

Cruise was seen waving the Olympic flag during the Closing Ceremony. Photo: Fabrizio Bensch- Pool/Getty Images.
Cruise was seen waving the Olympic flag during the Closing Ceremony. Photo: Fabrizio Bensch- Pool/Getty Images.

Meanwhile, the original plan for the stunt was for a balaclava-clad stunt person to do most of the heavy lifting, but Cruise would have none of it.

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It comes after anti-cult activists condemned the appearance of the well-known Scientologist at the ceremony.

“The simple fact that we are talking about his presence is an insult to victims,” said Catherine Katz, a former French judge who heads UNADFI, a group dedicated to defending victims of cults. “It really is a bad message.”

Cruise is gearing up for the release of the next Mission Impossible movie. Photo: Jun Sato/WireImage.
Cruise is gearing up for the release of the next Mission Impossible movie. Photo: Jun Sato/WireImage.

Charline Delporte, the president of victims’ association Caffes, called it “a disgrace”.

Anti-cult activists like Katz and Delporte accused Scientologists of recruiting outside Olympic venues, including the Stade de France north of Paris, which will host the closing ceremony.

The movement describes itself as a religion but is considered a cult in France.

The Church of Scientology, which was founded by American writer L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1950s and counts Cruise and John Travolta among its members, is well-established in Hollywood and Los Angeles, where it owns multiple sprawling properties. It claims between 40,000 and 45,000 members in France, but one expert estimated the figure was more likely to be in the hundreds.