Tom & Katie’s Divorce Gives The Press One More Excuse To Scrutinize Suri Cruise

Just in case you hadn’t heard the sad news today, let me break it to you. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are getting divorced after five years of marriage. Holmes’ lawyer confirmed the choice to People, saying, “This is a personal and private matter for Katie and her family. Katie’s primary concern remains, as it always has been, her daughter’s best interest.”

And honestly, I wish Katie the very best of luck protecting her child from the circus that is about to descend upon them. From the minute she was born, Suri Cruise has attracted an insane level of media coverage, often completely over-the-top. The media has been happy to take any normal childhood moment and turn it into a sensational story. The way this child has been characterized as spoiled and bratty is completely inappropriate.

Now that her famous parents have split, I can already imagine the way Suri will be portrayed in the media. Every child pout, of which my daughter pulls at least once a day, will be a product of her “broken home.” Any time she receives a present, someone will remark on her parents “buying her affection.” Every tired old trope of divorced parents and their children will br drug out and applied to a situation that no one will has the right to judge.

I have to admit, from the very beginning I’ve been pulling for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Maybe it’s the masochist in me, but I always hope that the couples who are hounded by the media the most can stick it out and prove it to everyone. That, and I just find divorce to be sad, in almost every circumstance. When I heard that they were divorcing today, I felt a bit of disappointment, and of course some sympathy for a couple who is obviously going through a very difficult experience.

Then almost immediately, I just had to think about their daughter. This poor little girl has spent enough of her young life being critiqued in the media. Grown adults look at things like “Suri’s Burn Book” and just think it’s hysterical. They love the character of Suri that the press has created. But behind that there’s an actual little girl, a real life human being who is now going through a traumatic experience. And she has to do it all with a running commentary from people who have never met her.

I really wish the best for Katie Holmes, her little daughter, and even Mr. Cruise.

(Photo: Michael Carpenter/WENN.com)