Is this viral story fabricated?

The internet has a habit of taking real images and injecting them into entirely fictional stories, and few examples illustrate this better than the now-infamous "Tom Cruise in the Bushes" meme.

The viral post, originating from an anonymous 4chan user, tells a bizarre and unsettling tale: a person, engaged in an inappropriate act in a public park, turns around to find none other than Tom Cruise watching. Instead of reacting with shock or disgust, Cruise allegedly utters a single word: "Proceed." The storyteller, disturbed, takes a picture and flees.

While the story itself is obviously fake, the image attached to it is very real.

Where the Real Photo Comes From

The actual image of Tom Cruise leaning against a tree comes from a real-life sighting of him in Munich, Germany, near the Eisbach River. In this original context, Cruise was watching surfers ride the famous Eisbachwelle, a standing wave in the river that attracts skilled surfers from around the world.

Cruise, fascinated by the scene, was reportedly deep in conversation with locals about river surfing and the water quality of the Isar River. His expression and stance—casually observing while standing near a tree—was later taken out of context and repurposed into the absurd meme.