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A representative for Tom Cruise denied a Vanity Fair story that accused the Church of Scientology, of which Cruise is a member, of secretly “auditioning†actresses following his 2001 split from Nicole Kidman in order to secure his next girlfriend. “Vanity Fair’s story is essentially a rehash of tired old lies previously run in the supermarket tabloids, quoting the same bogus ‘sources,’†said Cruise’s attorney Bert Fields, according to CNN. “It’s long, boring and false.â€
The story, written by Maureen Orth and appearing in the magazine’s October issue, claims that the wife of Scientology leader David Miscavige supervised a series of interviews where actresses were led to believe they were auditioning for a Scientology training film when, really, they were being vetted as possible Cruise companions. According to Orth, Iranian-born actress Nazanin Boniadi, who dated Cruise for a few months in 2004, was one of the woman who auditioned.
In its statement, the Church of Scientology said, “there was no project, secret or otherwise, ever conducted by the church to find a bride (via audition or otherwise) for any member of the church. Never. “
The Church claimed that Orth relied on a small group of “anti-Scientologists†for her research, “a handful of self-promoting apostates who are admitted liars and suborners of perjury. … Indeed, the article fails to quote a single source who is not a vociferous anti-Scientologist.â€
The church also questioned whether Vanity Fair paid disgruntled ex-Scientologists for their cooperation. Vanity Fair denied that assertion: “We absolutely stand by Maureen Orth’s story,†spokeswoman Beth Kseniak said. “Vanity Fair has never paid sources and never would.â€
This morning on the Today Show, Orth defended her story, telling Matt Lauer, “Scientology does not know everybody I talked to. … All of my sources in my article, with very few exceptions, are on the record.â€
Watch her interview with Lauer below:
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