A professional Tom Cruise lookalike says he was kicked off Instagram because ?pretending to be someone? breaks the site?s rules. Lookalike Jerome LeBlanc claims being removed from the social media platform for breaking ?community guidelines? which forbid people impersonating others has destroyed his business. He had 30,000 Instagram followers to help drive his business of video messages and in-person meet and greets as the Top Gun star. Jerome says he built up his business over six years but his sudden removal from Instagram caused a sharp drop in business. He was first banned from Instagram in June last year, was reinstated on appeal before being struck off for good. Jerome, who lives in San Diego, California, told DailyMail.com: ?It was a pretty big blow for someone self-employed like me to lose an account that brought me so much business.? Instagram rules says: ?Creating an account to impersonate someone is against the Community Guideline and could result in the removal of your account.? It also states: ?Don?t pretend to be the real individual or brand. This includes: Speaking in the voice or portraying yourself as the individual, brand, or organization. Misrepresenting your relationship to the individual, brand, or organization.? Jerome argues he doesn?t pretend to be Tom Cruise but rather the Hollywood superstar's fictional character Pete ?Maverick? Mitchell from Top Gun. He says he spent thousands of dollars on a lawyer fighting to regain his account, but without success. Jerome began impersonating Maverick on LA?s famous Hollywood Boulevard before branching out to in-person appearances at parties and events for fees of thousands of dollars. He also charges about $80 (USD) of personal video greetings. Jerome has now focused his business on his website aliforniatomcruise.com, TikTok and Cameo - and already has more than 500,000 TikTok followers. *BYLINE: Jerome LeBlanc/Mega. 21 Jan 2022 Pictured: Professional Tom Cruise lookalike Jerome LeBlanc, who says he was kicked off Instagram because "pretending to be someone" breaks the site's rules. *BYLINE: Jerome LeBlanc/Mega. Photo credit: Jerome LeBlanc/Maverick / MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342