• 2006 was the lowest point in Cruise's career.
• The public bristled at him talking about Scientology and his relationship with Katie Holmes.
• Here, we chronicle Cruise's downfall and his rise back to stardom thanks to "Mission: Impossible."

In August 2006, it seemed like Tom Cruise's career was over.

In an unprecedented announcement from the head of a major conglomerate, Viacom's then-chairman Sumner Redstone publicly ripped into the star — who for years was one of the most profitable actors and producers at Viacom's movie studio, Paramount Pictures.

"We don't think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot," Redstone told The Wall Street Journal that year. "His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."

It was likely the toughest and strangest time of Cruise's career. The then-43-year-old actor had a lifetime box-office gross of over $1.5 billion, but his flawless transition from young heartthrob to respected dramatic actor to massive action star seemed to self-destruct as quickly as one of the messages his character, Ethan Hunt, received in the "Mission: Impossible" movies.

The studio he'd called home for 14 years was parting ways with him following a string of bizarre outbursts.

In 2025, that all seems hard to imagine.

Cruise is not only the face of one of the biggest action franchises ever, but his 2022 hit, "Top Gun: Maverick," might have saved Hollywood following the pandemic.

On May 23, he's back with another "M:I," Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning," which is being touted as Cruise's final time playing Ethan Hunt.

It's yet another must-see title from one of the last real movie stars the industry has left.

But there was a time the veteran actor's career was at a low point.

The couch jump, 'TomKat,' and Scientology

Cruise's strange downfall and subsequent rebirth as one of the most bankable movie stars all began with a seemingly innocent act of love.

When Cruise agreed to appear on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in May 2005 to promote his film, "War of the Worlds," it was a big deal. Cruise rarely did interviews, especially on daytime TV.

As Cruise walked onto Winfrey's stage, the crowd went wild. Winfrey playfully tousled Cruise's hair, and the actor was clearly in a great mood.

During the interview, Winfrey mentioned Cruise's latest love interest, Katie Holmes, who was off-stage where no one, especially the cameras, could see her. The excitement of talking about his new girlfriend led him to leap up on Winfrey's couch with joy. He did it a second time for good measure.

After the couch-jumping, Winfrey even got Cruise to chase down Holmes and get her to come onstage.

It seemed harmless at the time, but thanks to a very young internet video-posting site called YouTube, the image of Cruise on top of Winfrey's couch became a pop-culture phenomenon. To some critics, Cruise's behavior felt off. 

A month later, Cruise agreed to go on the "Today" show to continue promoting "War of the Worlds" and also talk about his religion, Scientology. When now-disgraced interviewer Matt Lauer spoke about Scientology, and specifically about Cruise not agreeing with psychiatry, the tone changed. Cruise offered his opinion on Brooke Shields' use of antidepressants for postpartum depression.

Here's an excerpt of Cruise and Lauer's uncomfortable exchange:

Cruise: "Do you know what Adderall is? Do you know Ritalin? Do you know Ritalin is a street drug? Do you understand that?"

Lauer: "The difference is — "

Cruise: "No, Matt, I'm asking you a question."

Lauer: "I understand there's abuse of all of these things."

Cruise: "No, you see here's the problem: You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do."

Later in the conversation:

Lauer: "Do you examine the possibility that these things do work for some people? That yes, there are abuses, and yes, maybe they've gone too far in certain areas, maybe there are too many kids on Ritalin, maybe electric shock —"

Cruise: "Too many kids on Ritalin?"

Lauer: "I'm just saying — but aren't there examples where it works?"

Cruise: "Matt, Matt, Matt, you're glib. You don't even know what Ritalin is. If you start talking about chemical imbalance, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, Matt. OK? That's what I've done. You go and you say, 'Where's the medical tests? Where's the blood test that says how much Ritalin you're supposed to get?'"

Lauer: "It's very impressive to listen to you, because clearly you've done the homework and you know the subject."

Cruise: "And you should. And you should do that also, because just knowing people who are on Ritalin isn't enough. You should be a little bit more responsible … "

Minutes later, the exchange was on loop all over the world.

Within a few weeks, Cruise had gone wild on Winfrey and lashed out at Lauer, and by then, the tabloids had gone into overdrive with the Cruise-Holmes relationship, which they called "TomKat."

It was time for Cruise to get off the grid, but he couldn't.

Cruise's star power takes a hit

For most of his career, an experienced publicist named Pat Kingsley reportedly kept Cruise's private life out of the tabloids. According to a 2014 LA Weekly story, she even talked Cruise out of being more vocal about Scientology when he did press for his 2003 film "The Last Samurai."

A year later, the LA Weekly story said Cruise let Kingsley go after 14 years and formed a publicity team that included his sister, Lee Anne De Vette, and fellow Scientologists.

Now, in a typhoon of backlash that Cruise had never experienced before, his team may have been too inexperienced to protect him.

Despite all the negative attention, "War of the Worlds" still went to No. 1 at the box office during its opening weekend ($65 million), and ended up with a worldwide take of $592 million.

It would be the last time a film starring Cruise would make over $500 million worldwide for the next six years.

Following the release of "War of the Worlds," TomKat was still daily tabloid fodder, especially with the news that the two were expecting a child. And then, in March 2006, Cruise went global again with the controversial "South Park" episode "Trapped in the Closet."

The episode originally aired in November 2005 and revealed what Scientologists believe is the origin of life, but it also depicted Cruise as an insecure person and played on rumors about his sexuality.

In the episode, one of the main characters on the show, Stan, is thought by Scientology to be the second coming of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. This leads Scientologists, including Cruise, to flock to Stan's house to pay their respects. But when Stan insults his acting ability, Cruise hides in Stan's closet, leading to Stan saying, "Dad, Tom Cruise won't come out of the closet."

Comedy Central delayed re-airing the episode in March 2006 because Cruise reportedly had declared he would not promote "Mission: Impossible 3" unless Viacom (which owns the film's studio, Paramount, and Comedy Central) canceled the rebroadcast.

Cruise's reps denied he ever threatened not to promote the film.

The controversy made headlines all over the world and led "South Park" fans to declare they would boycott "Mission: Impossible 3" until Comedy Central aired the episode.

The episode finally re-aired in July of that year.

"Closetgate," as it would become known, was the last straw.

The constant tabloid coverage of TomKat, plus rumors that Cruise and Holmes' relationship was supposedly arranged by the church, had turned people off. (Cruise and Holmes married in November 2006 and divorced six years later.)

The bad press soon began to affect Cruise's career. "Mission: Impossible 3" opened in theaters in May 2006, and Cruise's Q score — the appeal of a celebrity, brand, or company to the public — was down 40%.

Though the film was No. 1 in the US on its opening weekend ($48 million), it lost appeal as the weeks passed. Ticket sales dropped 47% during its second week in theaters and 53% in its third week.

"Mission: Impossible 3" is the lowest-grossing film in the franchise to date, with a $400 million worldwide gross.

It was at this point that Redstone gave Cruise his wake-up call: "We don't think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot. His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."

The long road back to superstardom

After being kicked off the Paramount lot, Cruise hired a publicist with more experience and buckled down for a comeback. He brought his production company over to MGM and took partial ownership of the iconic United Artists studio.

Cruise also became less vocal about Scientology in public, though he was apparently still very much involved in private. In 2008, a Scientology-produced video went viral on YouTube of the actor explaining what the religion meant to him.

Cruise paused making action movies and turned to dramas like "Lions for Lambs" (2007) and "Valkyrie" (2008).

In between those films, he agreed to star in pal Ben Stiller's 2008 comedy "Tropic Thunder" as the overweight, bigger-than-life movie exec Les Grossman. It was the best move Cruise had made in years. In doing something so out of character, he began to win back fans.

"Tropic Thunder" reunited Cruise with his former studio, Paramount. Although Cruise's production company was kicked off the lot, it didn't mean he couldn't still be cast in the studio's films. The wheels were now in motion for Cruise to get back on Paramount's good side so he could make more "Mission: Impossible" movies.

Being a hit in "Tropic Thunder," Paramount's biggest comedy of the year for Paramount, was a good starting point.

Director J.J. Abrams, who directed Cruise in "Mission: Impossible 3" and was in Paramount's good graces after directing the studio's hit "Star Trek Into Darkness," was also working to get Cruise back in the franchise.

In the summer of 2010, news broke that Cruise would be starring in "Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol," with Abrams as producer. But this installment in the franchise would not be titled "Mission: Impossible 4," because the idea was that the film would be a refresh on the franchise, with Cruise stepping aside as the lead and giving way to rising star Jeremy Renner.

Cruise didn't get the message.

Back in the Ethan Hunt role, Cruise cemented his place in the franchise by scaling the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, without a stunt double.

That, and the other impressive stunts featured in the film, led to "Ghost Protocol" earning the biggest worldwide box office in the franchise's history — $695 million. It was also the second-highest earning film for Paramount in 2011, just behind "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

It wasn't all box-office wins for Cruise following "Ghost Protocol." "Knight and Day" and the "Jack Reacher" franchise didn't do as well as expected. And he could not help Universal's Dark Universe get off the ground as 2017's "The Mummy" bombed at the box office.

However, he laid the seeds of what could be another profitable franchise with 2014's "Edge of Tomorrow, which — even with a slow start when it opened — ended up passing the domestic $100 million mark (the first time in nine years that a non-"Mission: Impossible" Cruise film hit that landmark number) and only grew in popularity when it got onto home video and streaming.

And then there are the "M: I" movies.

In 2015, "Rogue Nation," with its eye-popping stunt in which Cruise hung from the side of a plane as it took off, earned over $682.7 million worldwide and was the top-grossing film for Paramount that year. And 2018's "Fallout" did even better, taking in over $791 million worldwide.

Cruise took a break from the "M:I" movies to single-handedly get audiences back in theaters after the pandemic when "Top Gun: Maverick" opened in May of 2022. It would go on to earn over $1 billion at the worldwide box office.

Just over a year later, "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning" opened and brought in a respectable $570 million-plus worldwide as it teed up the final chapter in Cruise's "M:I" journey with yet another stunning stunt.

Despite Alex Gibney's explosive 2015 HBO Scientology documentary "Going Clear," in which Cruise is criticized for being the face of the controversial religion, Cruise remains one of the world's top movie stars. 

And with "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning" out this month, it doesn't seem likely that he'll be knocked off that mantel anytime soon.

This story was originally published in 2022. It has been updated to reflect recent events.

NBA fans are reacting to a shocking transformation from San Antonio Spurs superstar young big man Victor Wembanyama, who is entering his second NBA season.

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• Elon Musk won't be dissuaded from his fight against OpenAI.
• Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, has accused the AI company of abandoning its nonprofit mission.
• OpenAI has said it will keep its nonprofit control, dismissing Musk's lawsuit as bad-faith.

Elon Musk is charging ahead with his legal fight against OpenAI, extending his long-running feud with its CEO Sam Altman.

During a video interview at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha on Tuesday, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO once again said OpenAI has fundamentally changed from its original intent — which was to be an open-source, nonprofit that produced AI for the good of humanity.

"And now they're trying to change that for their own financial benefit, into a for-profit company that is closed source," Musk said.

Musk, who left OpenAI in 2018 and later went on to start his own competing AI company, xAI, says he invested around $50 million in OpenAI when he co-founded it with Altman in 2015.

"So this would be like, let's say you funded a nonprofit to help preserve the Amazon rainforest, but instead of doing that, they became a lumber company, chopped down the forest, and sold the wood," Musk added. "You'd be like, wait a second, that's not what I funded. That's OpenAI."

Musk first filed a lawsuit against OpenAI last year, before withdrawing it and replacing it with another suit claiming the company had "betrayed" its mission when it created a for-profit arm in 2019 and expanded its partnership with Microsoft in 2023. And in September of last year, OpenAI announced that it would be transitioning from a nonprofit into a for-profit company.

The ChatGPT maker then abandoned that commitment earlier this month, announcing that its nonprofit would stay in control of its for-profit division.

But, Musk and his legal team remain unconvinced by that pivot. His lawyers said in a filing earlier this month that OpenAI's turnabout is "a façade that changes nothing," arguing that it does little to restore the nonprofit's original goal to serve the public.

An OpenAI spokesperson told BI in a statement that, "Elon continuing with his baseless lawsuit only proves that it was always a bad-faith attempt to slow us down."

xAI and a lawyer for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Collin Morikawa never got going at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, and he didn't hold back about his play after the tournament.

"I think the chance of inflation going up and stagflation is a little higher than other people think," Jamie Dimon said on Monday.

Wyndham Clark apologized to the golf world after his dangerous outburst in the final round of the 2025 PGA Championship.

JCPenney will permanently close seven mall-based stores on May 25.

"Omg so happy for you! you totally deserve the hype!," commented one TikTok user after the internet solved the mystery.

"Ruth López collaborated in the theft of funds from state coffers," the Attorney General's Office said in its post on X.

"That's it, you're his mom!!!!" one user commented, while another viewer added: "NO DNA TEST NEEDED."

Legislation was introduced after a 62-year-old Putnam County mail carrier was mauled to death by five dogs in 2022.

• More than 2,500 ships pass through the Freeport of Riga every year.
• The port is rolling out a private 5G network to power technology like autonomous sea drones.
• This article is part of "Build IT: Connectivity," a series about tech powering better business.

In the Middle Ages, seafarers would sail down the Daugava River to take refuge from the harsh winds and waves of the Baltic Sea. They'd anchor their ships, which carried goods like corn, hide, and flax, in a small natural harbor in the city of Riga.

Today, the harbor in the Latvian capital is still a bustling port, although cargo ships and autonomous drones have replaced the sails and oars. It was designated a freeport, or free trade zone, in 2001, which means that businesses using the port may be exempt from certain taxes and tariffs. More than 2,500 ships passed through the harbor in 2024.

Ansis Zeltins, the CEO of the Freeport of Riga Authority and the chairman of the European Sea Ports Organization, said automation is one of the biggest areas of innovation in the shipping industry. For instance, uncrewed surface vehicles, sometimes known as sea drones, can perform routine tasks like ship inspections and monitor water pollution levels.

But remote and autonomous technology requires a fast, reliable connection.

"The amount of data that needs to be processed in today's ports is immense and continuously growing," Zetlins said. "Modern logistics, as well as port and maritime security solutions, require the secure exchange of data between all stakeholders in real time."

But that's not easy when connecting ships, drones, and the port across the ocean.

"Ships are moving objects," Zeltins said. "That means, technologically, there's a challenge with the signal."

The port used to rely on WiFi and 4G to connect ships and drones to the mainland, but in 2020, it teamed up with LMT, a Latvian telecoms company, to roll out 5G connections across the port.

More devices, faster speeds

5G is a wireless technology that uses radio waves to transmit data.

"For the majority of people like you and me, 5G is not that big of an upgrade from 4G or WiFi," Chris Karaplis, the CEO of Simply Embedded, a technology consulting firm, told Business Insider. "While speeds can be slightly faster, the biggest differentiator is its ability to support more devices, so your connection won't slow down when more people are on the network."

5G can support as many as 2.6 million devices per square mile.

"For industrial applications in sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, and smart cities, 5G can be a game changer," Karaplis said. "Being able to send large packets of data more reliably and faster, ultimately improving efficiencies, is a huge benefit for infrastructure or logistics-critical businesses."

At the start of the 5G rollout, LMT and Freeport of Riga built a private 5G network within the Baltic Container Terminal on the mainland. They replaced 22 WiFi access points with just one central control system and two outdoor antennas.

Under the new 5G system, Vilciņš said data transmission speeds became more than 10 times faster. This resulted in the use of other technology in port operations, such as replacing handheld radio communications with push-to-talk, a solution that allows the transmission of images and videos as well as sound.

"There were immediate improvements in business processes," Kārlis Vilciņš, the head of system integration business at LMT, told BI in an email. Vilciņš said before the switch, container reach stackers, or vehicles used to transport containers within the port, idled and waited for a stable connection to handle containers, which often caused delays.

'Multi-hop' connections

The real challenge was connecting the ships in transit. They used a "multi-hop" method, where ships serve as floating telecom base stations. One vessel connects to the mainland's 5G antenna, then passes that connection to the next ship, and so on.

LVR Flote, a port services provider based in Riga, first successfully tested the method in November 2023 using LĪVA, the first 5G-equipped ship on the Baltic Sea. This past July, the company carried out a more complex test, connecting two ships with an airborne drone that transmitted real-time seabed surveys and video footage back to the port. These hydrographic measurements are critical for safe navigation and port operations.

"5G provides an option for real-time controls," Zeltins said. "It's much safer and more responsive."

Ships using the multi-hop technique can connect up to 18 miles apart. Up to five ships can be linked up in this way, extending the total network range at sea to more than 100 miles.

"This is a major improvement because such technology has not been deployed at sea before," Arturs Lindenbergs, the head of the innovation development division at LMT, said in an email.

Looking ahead, Zeltins wants to harness the faster connection to bring new technology to the Freeport of Riga. For instance, the port is testing a Remote Operations Center platform for autonomous maritime systems.

"Our collaborative efforts have the potential to make the port of Riga a unique test bed for next-generation maritime technologies, increase high-value-added activity at the port, and attract high-value investments and new revenue streams," he said.

• Elon Musk said that it's up to the government to take its advice on federal cost-cutting.
• Musk praised DOGE's work while at the Qatar Economic Forum, but said it couldn't act alone.
• "We're not the dictators of the government — we are the advisors," he said.

Elon Musk on Tuesday said White House DOGE office staffers aren't "dictators of the government" and that progress made by DOGE is tied to its support from Congress and the executive branch.

Musk, the public face of DOGE's cost-cutting efforts, told the Qatar Economic Forum that DOGE has performed "incredible" work but that it couldn't make changes alone.

"The ability of DOGE to operate is a function of whether the government — and this includes the Congress — is willing to take our advice," he said. "We're not the dictators of the government — we are the advisors. And the progress we've made thus far is incredible."

"The DOGE team has done incredible work, but the magnitude of the savings is proportionate to the support we get from Congress and from the executive branch of the government in general," he added.

DOGE's work to downsize federal departments and agencies, including its efforts to probe sensitive information that's raised alarm bells for many lawmakers, has, in part, defined President Donald Trump's second term.

Before the official launch of DOGE, Musk said that $2 trillion in savings was a "best-case outcome" for the initiative, which delighted conservatives who had long railed against the size of the federal deficit. The tech titan recently said DOGE has saved $160 billion so far through its efforts to weed out waste and abuse.

The Trump administration is seeking to codify DOGE's cuts into law, but it has run into snags from a swath of GOP lawmakers who have resisted some of the more drastic initiatives.

At the forum, Musk continued to praise DOGE while also emphasizing its limitations.

"DOGE is an advisory group. I don't think any advisory group has done better in the history of advisory groups of the government," he said.

"We do not make the laws, nor do we control the judiciary, nor do we control the executive branch," he continued. "We are simply advisors. In that context, we are doing very well."

In April, Musk said he was stepping back from his work with DOGE in order to focus on Tesla.

• Small mining towns flourished at the start of the 1900s.
• Up until the 1930s, horse-drawn carriages and automobiles could still be seen on the same streets.
• Today, many of these towns lean on their history as tourist attractions.

Rural small towns that are today shaped by Dollar General stores and rusty industrial plants were once lively brick-paved main streets where domestic manufacturing and tight-knit communities flourished.

While some of America's small towns have grown in recent years, with young people moving in, others that prospered a century ago now lie abandoned.

First, mining prospects dried up. By the mid-century, declining industries began shaping what is now known as the Rust Belt, where once-booming iron, steel, and automobile plants were abandoned as manufacturing industries moved overseas.

Before this economic turmoil, small towns across the US were home to close communities, quaint main streets, and the first automobiles.

In some villages and small towns, like Normal, Nebraska, the bank was a building smaller than a house. In Hugo, Oregon, the high school was the size of a midsize church.

Take a look at what small towns looked like 100 years ago.

• Warning: Spoilers ahead for the second seasons of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" and "Vanderpump Villa."
• Demi from "Mormon Wives" is accused of cheating with Marciano from "Vanderpump Villa."
• Demi said Marciano assaulted her, while Marciano claimed he slept with Jessi.

"The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" season two ended on a major cliffhanger when Marciano from "Vanderpump Villa" accused the MomToker Jessi of cheating on her husband with him.

The drama then spilled over onto social media, where Demi called Marciano a "sexual predator" after he said he wasn't let into a Hulu event for reality stars.

Here's what to know about the drama involving Jessi, Marciano, and, Demi.

Marciano flirted unashamedly with Demi on "Vanderpump Villa."

Season two of "Vanderpump Villa," where reality stars work in luxurious hotel pop-ups owned by Lisa Vanderpump of "Vanderpump Rules," sees Jessi, Demi, Jen, Layla, and Mikayla of "Mormon Wives" staying in one of the hotels in Italy.

Marciano, one of the servers, tries to flirt with Demi and kisses her on the side of her head as they hug in episode four.

Referring to the hotel, in the season two reunion Marciano says he and Demi "had a strong attraction in the castle that led to something outside the hotel" but that "Demi was not the only person that I was interested in."

Hannah from "Vanderpump Villa" responds: "so then you went for her best friend."

Marciano declines to explain further, saying the truth will be revealed on "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives."

Marciano says on "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" season two that he had sex with Jessi.

Whether Demi and Bret cheated on each other is a key storyline in "Mormon Wives" season two, which premiered on May 15 and was filmed after "Vanderpump Villa."

In episode two, Jen accuses Demi of cheating by flirting with Marciano on the crossover show. And in episode three, Mayci says someone anonymously contacted her on Instagram to claim that they slept with Bret.

Demi and Bret deny the accusations, but their costars begin to doubt them by the end of the season.

In episode seven, Zac, Jen's husband, tells Whitney, another MomToker, that Demi threatened to get a cease-and-desist order to stop Jen and others from talking about what happened on the "Vanderpump Villa" trip.

Demi denied this in an interview with Entertainment Tonight published May 16.

In the final scene of season two, Marciano tells Layla that he misinterpreted Demi's flirting, thinking she was attracted to him.

Then Marciano drops the bombshell that he kissed and had sex with Jessi, and says that her husband, Jordan, doesn't know the full extent of the alleged affair.

"It was not just a one-time hookup thing," Marciano says.

The season three teaser shows that Jessi will discuss the scandal with Layla and her husband in future episodes.

The revelation seemingly comes out of nowhere, but in episode six, the MomTokers ask Jessi about rumors that she kissed Marciano at a party at a bar in Hollywood, which she denies.

On May 16, a day after season two was released, Jessi shared a post on Instagram and TikTok captioned: "I'll speak when I can."

The next day, Layla wrote on TikTok and Instagram: "can't wait for more, lots left out after editing. Lots of truth to come out."

Demi called Marciano a "sexual predator," sparking a new argument on social media.

Ahead of the season, fans began noticing the tension between the MomTokers and Marciano.

On April 22, Marciano posted a video on Instagram captioned: "Uninvited to the function cus a 30yo Mormon wife's scared I'll tell the husband the truth."

That was the night that Hulu hosted its "Get Real" event for reality show contestants in LA.

Fans thought Marciano was referring to Demi, who responded in the comment section of a "Mormon Wives" fan account: "Grown men acting like a child cause they couldn't bag a woman that was beyond out of their league and MARRIED 🤮 <<< the clout chasing is on another level."

She later wrote: "Also he got uninvited by @hulu because he's a s3xual pr3dator that can't keep his hands to himself, not because I'm hiding anything from my husband. He's a lying clout chaser. @marcianob hope your 15 min of fame is worth it, you're pathetic."

In the comment section of a separate post by "Mormon Wives" fan account, Zac wrote: "I like this seat much better @jenniferlaffleck."

Jen added: "S3xual pr3dator?? It's interesting considering she was FaceTiming him a week later, inviting him to dinner."

Vulture reported in April that Jessi wrote in a since-deleted comment under a post by the same fan account that "the truth will always come out" and that the assault allegation was "not true."

Vulture reported that Demi posted on her Instagram story on April 25 that any unwanted physical touch is assault and criticized her costars for calling her a liar, saying they were aware of what happened.

Appearing on the Viall Files podcast on May 15, Demi said she told her costars that she got "groped, sexually assaulted" while filming "Vanderpump Villa" after they left the hotel.

Demi said she asked them to swear not to tell anyone about the alleged assault and let her handle it. She added that Jessi broke her trust by telling Scheana from "Vanderpump Rules" about the alleged assault two weeks later.

The drama could explain why Demi no longer following her costars Taylor, Layla, Jessi, and Jen on Instagram. Layla, Taylor, and Jen follow Demi, but Jessi follows all the members of MomTok except for Demi.

Demi said on the "Viall Files" podcast that Jessi blocked her.

A representative for Hulu, Demi, Marciano, Jessi, Layla, and Jen did not immediately respond to a comment request from Business Insider.

High temperatures are expected in a portion of southwestern California on Wednesday and Thursday.