& Tom's War of the Words ....as she tries weaning herself off PAXIL

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& Tom's War of the Words By Hall

1 hour, 35 minutes ago

Shields has officially engaged with Tom Cruise in what is

fast becoming a celebrity war of the words.

After Cruise criticized Shields' use of antidepressants

as " irresponsible " during an interview with Access Hollywood last

week, Shields has suggested the leading man keep his opinions to

himself.

" Tom Cruise's comments are irresponsible and dangerous, " Shields

said in London last week. " Tom should stick to saving the world from

aliens and let women who are experiencing postpartum depression

decide what treatment options are best for them. "

Shields recently published Down Came the Rain, a personal chronicle

of her struggle with depression following the 2003 birth of her

daughter, Rowan. The memoir delves into the actress' use of Paxil as

a form of treatment for her condition and is meant to inspire other

women to seek help.

" Don't be ashamed, and don't disregard what you are feeling, "

Shields writes in the book. " I recovered only because I got help. "

The actress has said she is currently in the process of weaning

herself from the drug in order to try for a second child with

husband Henchy.

However, as a dedicated follower of Scientology, Cruise is of the

belief that mind-altering medications of any kind are " dangerous "

and that women should treat conditions such as postpartum depression

with " vitamins. " Hence his stamp of disapproval on Shields' choice

to use Paxil and to discuss that choice in her memoir.

" When you talk about postpartum, you can take people today, women,

and what you do is you use vitamins. There is a hormonal thing that

is going on, scientifically, you can prove that. But when you talk

about emotional, chemical imbalances in people, there is no science

behind that, " the actor told Access Hollywood.

" When someone says [medication] has helped them, it is to cope, it

didn't cure anything. There is no science. There is nothing that can

cure them whatsoever, " Cruise said.

Cruise went on to make a not-so-subtle jab at the former Suddenly

star's professional life.

" I care about Shields because I think she is an incredibly

talented women, [but] look at where her career has gone. "

Ouch. True, Shields' latest pilot, New Car Smell, was recently

passed over by Fox, but the actress has been earning positive

reviews in the role of Roxie Hart in the London theater production

of Chicago.

Meanwhile, as anyone not living under a rock knows by now, Cruise's

latest project, Spielberg's War of the Worlds, is scheduled

to open June 29.

Though one would expect Cruise to become increasingly visible as the

film's premiere date approaches, it turns out the public may

actually see less of the actor than in recent weeks.

Paramount and DreamWorks have cut out the usual promotional press

junket in favor of a smaller number of " preselected interview

sessions, " DreamWorks exec Levy told the New York Times in an

article published Thursday.

Speculation exists that Cruise's increasing passion for discussing

both his religious beliefs and his feelings for new girlfriend

Holmes led to the decision to cut back on his promotional

appearances.

Meanwhile, there's talk that Paramount is also considering pulling

the plug on Mission: Impossible 3 due to the project's swelling

budget.

Levy admitted that studio executives had expressed concern over

Cruise's well-publicized, erratic May 23 appearance on The Oprah

Winfrey Show, during which Cruise bounced around the room, on and

off furniture, sank to the floor and repeatedly announced his love

for Holmes. (At least we can rule out mind-altering drugs.)

" You can have so much attention on a particular issue that maybe the

movie doesn't get as much attention as it might, " Levy told the

Times of the appearance. " It's the topic of conversation for many

reasons. "

However, Levy denied that the choice to scrap the press junket had

anything to do with Cruise, rather it was made because the movie had

already received sufficient promotion.

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