This may be the only time Scoop will defend Tom Cruise.

During a talk at a screening of his movie “Lone Survivor,” in which he plays a Navy SEAL, Mark Wahlberg blasted actors for comparing themselves to soldiers in Afghanistan; New York Post’s website has photos of Wahlberg and Cruise with the headline: “How dare you?”

Apparently, in a deposition for his libel suit against magazine publishers, a lawyer asked Cruise if his job was “analogous” with a soldier’s. He responded with a short laugh and an off the cuff, “This last movie, it was brutal.” OK — that’s not cool.

But when the lawyer pressed him, he was appalled. Snopes.com published the rest of the exchange. Lawyer: “Do you believe the situations are the same?” Cruise: “Oh, come on!” Ergo, he refutes the idea.

The media has misquoted him on this one, at least partially.