Tom Cruise Splashes Fortune on Chopper Rides for New Actress Gal Pal: ‘He Loves Her Bravery in Face of Disability’
Tom Cruise is living up to his Top Gun image by splashing a fortune choppering his new female “best pal” around Britain – after he “fell in love” with the way she has overcome her disability.
July 18 2024, Published 2:43 p.m. ET
Tom Cruise is living up to his Top Gun image by splashing a fortune choppering his new female “best pal” around Britain – after he “fell in love” with the way she's overcome her disability.
The flying fanatic, 62, has been giving actress and musician Victoria Canal, 25, VIP treatment after he met the 25-year-old singer-songwriter at Glastonbury festival near the end of June.
Tom Cruise helps one-armed Victoria Canal zip up at London’s Battersea Power Station Heliport
Our pictures show the pair landing at Battersea Power Station heliport in London – with Cruise helping one-armed Canal do up the zip of her furry coat once they jumped off his chopper.
A source said: “Victoria sang with Coldplay at Glasto, and Tom fell in love with her tenacity and talent.
“She’s had to overcome a lot in her life as she was born without her right forearm, and Tom loves how she’s so happy and has got on with her life.”
Victoria Canal was born without a right forearm due to amniotic band syndrome.
There is no suggestion Victoria is linked to Tom’s Scientology religion, but the insider added: “Scientologists talk a lot about how they help people overcome difficulties and trauma, and they have a lot of admiration for those who can do that, so Victoria certainly fits the bill that way.”
Canal was also born without a right forearm and hand due to a condition called amniotic band syndrome.
She refers to her disability as a “limb difference”, and uses her short right arm to pick out melodies on the piano over her left-hand accompaniments – and for strumming on the guitar.
A source said Tom Cruise was impressed with the singer-songwriter for overcoming her disability.
Cruise is said to have choppered Canal twice in recent weeks, with our source adding: “Tom might own his own helicopter, but it costs thousands and thousands of pounds to fly in and out of Battersea heliport.”
Cruise first gave Canal a lift on July 9 – choppering the actress into the UK premiere of Twisters.
The actress shared a video of him in the pilot’s seat on her Instagram account, with the caption: “Not Tom Cruise flying me and my brother in a heli to the @twistersmovie premiere!!!! Lolol.”
Victoria Canal and Tom Cruise attended the premiere of 'Twisters' together on July 9 in London – which she boasted about on her Instagram, below.
In a clip taken by Canal from the backseat of the helicopter, Cruise could be seen wearing a headset and his trademark aviator sunglasses as they travelled over an empty green field.
She also shared a selfie of herself sitting in the backseat of the chopper while wearing a headset – as well as selfies with the Top Gun star and her brother, Nick Canal, at the Twisters premiere.
Canal gushes about her movie ‘date’ with Cruise on social media.
When fans flooded the comments section of her post with questions about her links to Cruise she replied: “We met backstage at (Glastonbury Festival) and talked aboutt the upcoming premiere we were both going to and he said, ‘Roll with me! I’ll take you guys in the heli!’ lol.”
Canal made a surprise appearance on stage with Coldplay during their June 29 headline set at Glasto – playing Paradise with the group on piano.
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This is the pair’s second chopper ride together.
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She’s worked with frontman Chris Martin, 47, before, and said after the gig: “He Facetimed me and said, ‘Hey Vic, do you know the song Paradise by Coldplay?’
“And I was like, ‘Yes, I do know that song.’
“And he was like, ‘Would you want to sit in at Glastonbury?’
“And I was like, ‘Sure!’
“I had to check with my friend in the morning if it was actually a dream.
“I literally blacked out. I literally cannot tell you what happened. All I remember before getting onstage, I was jumping up and down to all their other songs, and looking around and Paul McCartney was backstage, Tom Cruise is in the balcony, and all these crazy A-listers... it just felt so fast.”
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