This story gave me an excuse to pore over old Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman photos. Their changing power dynamic was always interesting to me. At the beginning, Nicole was happy to follow Tom’s lead. She’d hang behind him as he paraded in front of the cameras. By the end, she learned to stand up on her own two feet. Then Tom mysteriously divorced her.
You’ve probably heard the buzz coming out of Sundance over Going Clear, an adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright’s exposé about Scientology. We talked about the book in several contexts, including John Travolta’s desire to escape the cult in the 1980s. I devoured the book when it came out, and it’s a revealing read (but covers many subjects we’ve discussed here already). The media’s going wild over the film’s coverage of the Kidman-Cruise split, which talks about how the CO$ engineered the divorce and spied on Tom for years to bring him back from a cult hiatus. Going Clear (which will air on HBO) should prove a valuable tool in bringing down the CO$. Here’s the lowdown from Us:
Because of a certain religion, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s marriage never had a prayer. That’s just one of the bombshells revealed in the controversial and riveting new documentary, Going Clear. It premiered Sunday, January 25 at the Sundance Film Festival — and it’s already been renounced by the litigious-happy organization.
It doesn’t take a Thetan-level 8 to see why. For two hours, a slew of high-profile former members — including Crash writer/director Paul Haggis — take aim at the church founded by eccentric author L. Ron Hubbard in the 1953. Their vivid recollections chill to the bone, as they describe physical abuse, blackmail and children taken from their mothers. “I regret the entire experience,” laments one ex-high-ranking officer.
But Tom Cruise is the real star here. Described by one as “The Guy,” the actor appears in event footage praising church head David Miscavige and singing and dancing at a Scientology-sponsored birthday party. But fans will likely be disturbed to learn what’s behind that gleaming, 1,000-watt smile.
As former members tell it, the trouble started after he fell in love with Kidman on the set of 1990’s Days of Thunder. Because her father was a psychiatrist (the church doesn’t believe in the profession), Kidman was seen as an enemy. In Scientology terms, she was labeled a P.T.S. (Potential Trouble Source.) Indeed she was. Cruise “drifted” from the church during the marriage. He was unreachable on the set of the couple’s joint thriller, 1999’s Eyes Wide Shut.
What happened next plays out, well, like a movie. Desperate to get the ambassador back, Miscaviage enacted a plan to “facilitate the break-up.” Step 1: Send officials to “audit” Cruise’s mental state and stir-up his paranoia. Soon, says one member, Cruise requested a wire-tap on Kidman’s phone because he was concerned that she was confiding in non-church members about their problems. (Miscavige’s purported response: “Get it done.”) Members also persuaded the couple’s kids, Isabella and Connor, to turn against their mom to ensure that Cruise would get full custody. By 2001, the nearly 11-year marriage was over.
[From Us Weekly]
Sadly, this isn’t surprising. Tom uses his “church” to audition wives and alter them physically. The CO$ sets up his relationships, and they end them too. That stuff about the CO$ brainwashing Isabella and Connor isn’t new either, but I’m glad the knowledge is going mainstream. People need to hear how the Celebrity Centre’s Tommy Davis sat the kids down and informed them that their mother was a sociopath.
Scientology isn’t happy this movie saw the light. They reportedly sent members to Sundance to spy, and they’re complaining about the movie’s “lies.” They popped off on Twitter: “Free speech is not a free pass to broadcast or publish false information.” That tweet includes a link to a trash-talking site, which includes CO$ “documentaries” about all the celebs who spoke out in this film. They attack former member Jason Beghe by calling him “a raging bully.” Their “proof” consists of clips of him acting in movies. And they have a video about Paul Haggis, who dared to confirm the wife audition story.
The CO$ is crumbling before our eyes. Thanks to their crazy Tom Cruise propaganda videos, they have been unable to find new members for years. It’s only a matter of time.
Photos courtesy of Getty & WENN
Kidman looks so lovely in those pics. That’s all I got.
Tom looked really handsome back then too.
Yeah, he did. He’s a handsome man, the creepy baggage just overwhelms.
Is it the moobs, mimif?
👥
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?”
I know. Her original face was so cute. Her little up-turned nose….Tom looked good as well. And he looked happy. Not crazy happy but just happy.
“Original face”? What does that even mean? She still looks gorgeous IMO. Just 20 years older. She also seems like a really lovely, down-to-earth woman.
erm yeah because today she totally looks like she naturally aged 20 years. no botox or anything. she really seems like a nice person, I liked her with jimmy fallon where they talked about how she was kind of interested in him back in the days and he was just kind of starstruck and didn’t say a word to her or whatever. but during the interview her face wouldn’t move and it hasn’t for years. no natural ageing there.
Yes she was so breathtakingly beautiful. It’s a shame she messed with her face. They looked happy too.
That’s what I was thinking too! They both looked so happy together.
She is still breathtakingly beautiful. Just 20 years older. And she looks far more relaxed and happier now.
Don’t know about the marriage but wow she looked so much better when she was with Tom Cruise.
Well, she was young then. 100% of why she looks absolutely nuts these days is she refuses to let go of her youth and does botox/fillers/etc like crazy!
Such a beautiful woman. Would have loved to see her age naturally.
What?! She looks EXACTLY the same! Don’t you know that’s the magic of plastic surgery? You don’t age AT ALL. #sarcasm
And yet, she definitely began her transformation while she was with him – nose job, teeth, lips. Can’t help but wonder if he encouraged her in the direction or if Hollywood would have made it inevitable anyway.
I think she looks better now. Far more confident and relaxed. But I thought this article was about Scientology. It’s quite funny that people here only seem interested in criticizing Kidman’s looks and insulting her. It says so much about those people. Superficial, shallow, nasty, jealous people…
I simply can’t understand why an organization- church or not- that acts criminally and has multiple first-person accounts of a wide range of law-breaking activities (slave labor, stalking, kidnapping, extorting, threathening, and blackmailing members) hasn’t been shut down by the government. Or at least, how in the world has this cult managed to retain *any* members?
They are so incredibly litigious (think filing hundreds of lawsuits to just drown th government in paperwork) that the government most likely wants to have an airtight case when they move forward. Scuttlebutt was that when Going Clear came out it may have accidentally compromised the ongoing FBI investigation.
And they have the money to litigate people into surrendering. They make boatloads of money on the “auditing” and “classes” and ‘Dianetics’ is, oddly enough, still a best-seller. Plus, members are strong-armed into giving money to the “church” in many other ways. As a ‘religion’ none of this money is taxed.
Here in Germany they are recognized as a cult and not a church and they are under constant surveillance. But they still manage to brainwash thausends of people.
All of the auditing they do means very valuable information that CoS frequently uses against its members. I think i read once that the reason why higher ranking people like Travolta and Cruise are still in Scientologists is because the CoS have a crap ton of dirt – DIRT – on them. For non-famous people, they also use intimidation tactics.
Adding to the above, they buy off anyone they can. Lawyers, judges, all types in government and business to spy and do their bidding.
That book is truly terrifying. I hope this cult gets disbanded.
I seriously doubt they’ll disband. They’ve been around for over 60 years. Even if they did disband I’d bet any amount of money they would back under another name.
They’re just so damn loony. There’s not another word I can think of after reading that book. If they don’t disband, I hope they go far underground and fade into super obscurity.
The occulticism influence, mind control & abuse, it was scary. Not surprised the documentry shocked people because the book was shocking.
*shudder* I’m not sure that I’ll be able to stand watching this movie, but I’m glad it’s out there. If we really do see the fall of CO$, I will be very relieved.
CO$ scares the sh*t out of me!! I don’t know their appeal and don’t know why they’re still running. The human rights violations alone is so scary.
Everything that is describing Tom makes anyone with a brain want to run for the hills. Why in the Hell would you sign up for that!?
No one signs up for that. It’s a trap. They lovebomb you, tell you they can solve all your problems (and save the world too) and gradually become more and more controlling (while getting as much money as they can). TC was a young, insecure unknown when he joined and the dark stuff wasn’t well known then.
Doing a happy dance with a happy clap over here!!! Glad this doc was made and seeing the light of day!
It makes me sad to look at old Nicole pics when she looked so pretty and natural and compare them to what she looks like now – so plastic and plumped up with botox and fillers.
Have you seen her in “Paddington”? She doesn’t look “plastic” at all. She’s an absolutely stunning 47 years old woman. That apparently bothers you a lot.
I’d be interesting to see what happens if this “church” does indeed go kaput. This supposed faith seems ill-suited to be practiced alone, in the privacy of your own home among family. That’s not how a cult works. It’s such a terrifying organization, I hope their days are numbered.
Oh Nicole. Sigh. What a lovely face she had. I sigh more when I see her sister Antonia’s face and see what Nicole’s face might look like if she’d never tampered with it.
Nicole is far more beautiful than Antonia.
I’ve always thought Nicole got such a rough and unfair ride over ‘abandoning’ her kids. Glad that this is finally getting a wide airing And if it leads to the end of any remaining bit of scientology credibility and Cruise’s career, that’ll be a nice bonus.
I don’t know about that. If she really cared about those kids, she would still be fighting for them and including them when she talks about her children, neither of which she does.
I don’t know what to think about it, either. I think it’s so odd that she never mentions them. I don’t know how hard she tried to get them, (not saying she didn’t, I just don’t know) but it’s too bad she couldn’t prove in court that the COS was a cult or something. It’s very sad.
I read somewhere that they asked her not to talk about them. Having a child turn against you is very painful for a parent. It’s not a matter of fighting for them – sometimes nothing you do is right to them and you make it worse the more you say or chase them. I’ve seen people blame Nicole for favoring her younger children but I’m happy for her she finally is getting to experience a normal parenting situation.
I think it’s far from clear cut. Anyone familiar with scientology will know how brutally low they can go and until precisely the details of exactly what happened are known, it’s very unfair to judge, imo. No one knows what she went through to get away from Cruisecontrol.
Also, both Isabella and Conor are practicing scientologists, practically adults, and live with their sci-bot father so I’m not sure what it is Nicole is supposed to do to ‘fight’ for them? And she does talk about them, and has done in glowing terms.
ETA: A quote in 2014 re Isabella and Conor:
“They are generous, kind and hardworking. And these are traits that I love to see in my children,”
It’s one thing to not mention the kids. It’s another thing to completely erase the older kids from her life. I’ve seen interviews where she refers to her daughter Sunday as “my oldest daughter” as if her daughter Isabella does not exist. I try to give Nicole the benefit of the doubt, because I do believe that Tom and Scientology made it difficult for her to have a relationship with her kids, but some of her interviews do make me side-eye her a bit.
@Guesto, I saw that 2014 quote, but to me it seemed like damage control. She only made those comments shortly after some media outlets criticized her for referring to Sunday as her oldest daughter. It was nice to hear her acknowledge her older kids, though.
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I don’t know. The so-called church turned them against her and there really is nothing she can do if they won’t let her contact them. I had something like that happen in a more minor way when an aunt who was also a very good friend got mad at the entire family and wouldn’t speak to any of us for over 10 years; and we had no idea why. Her daughter, my cousin stayed angry even after we made up with my aunt. I tried contacting the cousin through FB a couple of times and instead of responding she blocked me. Even my aunt is puzzled by it and has no explanation because she admits now that we never did anything to either of them.
All I’m saying is if her kids are acting like that there is nothing she can do. I feel for her.
Perhaps with all Scio’s scare tactics and other practices, they were threatening her immediate family or something if she tried to have any contact with or spoke about Isabella and Connor. IDK, just a guess, but I wouldn’t put it past them.
Cruise’s career won’t end if it didn’t in the last ten years. Love him or hate him his box office stats are still the top of any of his generation and has an awesome 30 year career.
Regardless, Bella and Connor both talked about their mom within the last year. There is no proof to them having been estranged from her. Even Radaronline (who hates Tom) had an article on her social media posting about her mom being awesome. You can google it for reference. I also personally saw a pic of Nicole on one of Bella’s friends page and it was pretty clear they met her through Bella.
I don’t what she could have done if her kids rejected her. Everyone has to remember that he basically left her flatfooted. He ambushed her with the divorce. Whereas Katie had her attorney father and he made sure he got the best deal for his daughter. There’s a difference. Plus, public opinion on Cruise was high during the Nicole divorce. Not so now.
Exactly, it was a total ambush, right after she miscarried. He just left and never returned, and released thatw eird statment saying “Nicole knows what she did,” heavily implying she cheated on him or something.
It was so sudden, she was left all alone, and her mom couldn’t get over for a couple days, so Naomi Watts stayed with her. I think partially to protect her — they were friends from Aussie days. I have always liked Watts’ acting so much, even since Brides of Christ, but I’ve liked HER since I read that about Kidman.
I heard scuttlebutt that she cheated with Baz Lurhmann and it was his baby, hence the divorce. Apparently Baz’s wife left him for a time around then as well but it was all very hush hush why. No idea if the timeline fits but it was floating around back then.
Ange, perhaps that gossip was started by CO$ as part of their anti-Kidman, make Cruise paranoid campaign. Anything is possible from this group, anything but recognizing how cracked they all are that is.
Neither child was at their grandfather’s funeral a few months ago. He was the SP/psychiatrist. Nor was any statement made by either of them I don’t believe.
If it was truly false information, they would file suit. But then they’d have to open themselves up to testimony and investigation.
True. Remember the Cruise deposition transcripts when he was suing some tabloid. So awful and embarrassing. And that didn’t even touch real COS practices/crimes, just Cruise’s craziness.
So, instead they have a twitter account and have fanned out across the internet making claims in the comments sections. They provide links to prove the movie is false, but links are to COS sourced sham publications like Freedom Magazine or liked reference here, videos they produced.
And it makes me sad because I get the sense that the members spambotting really think these sources are credible… maybe because all real sources are blocked to them.
I am of mixed thought on CoS. I don’t have issues with whatever beliefs they have or want to have. I see them like all religions, in terms of suspension of disbelief, it’s not something I’m invested in, but I am agnostic, atheist-leaning anyway.
However, if there are systemic institutionalized abuses in any religion, those abuses or injustices should see the light of day.
Kiddo: there are a lot of folks who left the C$S that still believe in the teachings, but have wholly rejected Miscavige’s institution as a cult. Because we’re not discussing whether or not their beliefs are valid – it’s about the fact that the organized Church of $cientology is a cult.. they make participants pay exorbitant amounts of money to practice the religion (which is a pyramid scheme, not a tithe), they separate members from non-believing friendsand family, they make non-celebrity believers work as indentured servants, and they threaten, strong arm, assault, and even ‘disappear’ members that try to leave. Why do you think Katie Holmes had to leave in one big, public swoop the way she did?
We weren’t having that conversation. As to whether it is a cult or religion, I have a difficult time, personally, separating the two since there is indoctrination, reinforcement and money or labor is paid toward the practice in religion, although the amounts may vary. I think the passage of time and different cultural influences actually sometimes separates the distinction. I also think that within CoS, there may be people who are more insulated (celebrities) from the abuses and see it as something different than those who suffered on the inside.
Many religions were guilty of different atrocities and some are committed in the name of religion even present day.
Again, I was not condoning an abuse or injustice. Those things should always come to light.
I disagree, I think it’s quite pertinent. Because for one thing, the COS folks like to hide behind “religious persecution” when faced with their cult’s practices, and I think it’s incredibly important that we make the distinction that this is not a religion, its a cult.
And they’ve always given preferential treatment to their celebrity members. It’s why they have their “Celebrity Center” in LA. And I have sympathy for individuals that are caught up in a cult until they themselves start recruiting others to join that cult and ruin their lives.
Bridget, Lots of religions cry persecution, some who are even trying to legislate dogma. The way not to get caught up in that argument is to not to have a pissing match over whose beliefs are crazier. On that level, with people criticizing how “loony their beliefs are”, they are being persecuted. That is not to say that abusive practices should not be investigated in ANY religion. If people are committing crimes, then there should be justice for crimes, no matter who perpetrates them.
FWIW, I think the time has come to remove tax exemption from all religions.
Kiddo…
I see exactly where you’re coming from. I wonder if, in a few years, we’ll see the same investigations into the CoS regarding any/all abuse, as we finally did with the Catholic church’s child abuse horrors? It took decades of people speaking out before it was even recognised, much less attended to.
Did they ever find out what happened to Miscavige’s wife? Is she still missing?
She’s likely being held in a high security C0$ facility near Hemet, CA doing preservation work on LRH’s legacy documents. She was sent there for having the gall to work on David Miscavige’s “Org Board” job roster and move some of his office stuff to another location while it underwent renovations, without his permission. She’s so brainwashed that I’m sure she truly believes she did something horribly wrong and deserves to be there.
I think if that crazy cult didn’t interfare they would still be married.
I wonder how both of them would’ve ended up if they’d stayed together and Tom dumped the CO$ crap…….
To go one more step back, I wonder how things would have gone if he had not married his first wife, who allegedly introduced him to it.
For someone who supposedly likes to be in control, he certainly seems to let them run his personal life. Those ‘auditing’ sessions must give them the information to push a person’s buttons.
Mimi Rogers DID introduce him to it, she probably married him on purpose. Her father was first gen CoS, and very high up. After Cruise divorced her, she and her family were basically excommunicated from CoS.
I think it would still have crazily derailed. Remember, as a teenager he was in seminary school and wanted to become a priest.
I am more and more seing Cruise as one of their victim catched and helped too young by the cult. So much that he CAN’T leave it. I am not even sure he CAN live without it. He will probably not survive its demise.
His chances were lost after divorcing with Kidman who seems to have been the only successfully keeping him away from the cult.
He is too far in it right now, brainwashed to the tea.
I think he may have started off as an innocent victim but he has crossed over to the dark side. He willingly agreed to alienate his children from their mother, benefits from slave labor, and have you heard the Nazinin Boniadi story? The way that he (allegedly) treated her made me sick. Sorry, but I can’t really see him as a victim anymore. However, I would be supportive of him if he publicly renounced CO$. Unfortunately, I don’t think that will ever happen.
Cruise was targeted by CO$ specifically for his personality traits that allowed him to be groomed and manipulated. He had an outsized ego that they were willing and eager to stroke. Just as David MIscavige was hand-picked by Hubbard because he was one of the few megalomaniacs that could scare his followers into blind submission–not unlike Hitler and Stalin. Certain people are ripe for the picking by cults and they exploit those people because it’s easy to do so.
Decloo:
“Certain people are ripe for the picking by cults and they exploit those people because it’s easy to do so.”
Clearly, my younger sister and I, awkward teenagers at the time, weren’t as vulnerable/gullible as I once might have thought. It was the 1970s, and Scientology was really working hard to become entrenched in Australia. Four late-teens or early 20s people buttonholed us at a little suburban bus stop one Summer evening, and tag-teamed us with the hard sell to join their “wonderful, positive, supportive group, which would show us the way to a brilliant life”. They didn’t specifically say the name “Scientology”, of course. It wasn’t until about three years later, when several media did exposès on the cult, that we realised who these people had been, since the reports quoted, almost word for word, the patter used to “encourage” people to join. That was yet another example for our gratitude in being born into a family of skeptics and cynics…
How sad and scary. Normally, I leave people to believe/worship whatever, however, whoever, or nothing if they choose. But this reads to me like a vicious,scheming cult. I feels sorry for its members/victims.This is sick, and I believe it all.
Yes, to each their own.
And, I believe you shouldn’t have to pay to learn about the religion you are choosing to practice, and that religion shouldn’t engage in practices of kidnapping, suppression, threats, imprisonment, blackmail, etc.
I realize people give to their religious organizations, but it isn’t held over their head that they have to to advance to the next step to salvation/enlightenment like CO$ does.
Actually I know of two instances where the Catholic Church basically demanded money. My friend was sending her daughter to Catholic school, paying full tuition, but they threatened to expel her if they didn’t donate more at mass on Sundays. She left. And another friend had her kids in religious ed, paying full tuition, and the parish (different church than my first example) said that the kids whose families didn’t donate enough on Sundays wouldn’t make their first communions — sounds like paying to get to the next level.
Esmom- the weird experiences you describe with a Catholic Church threatening parochial school status if the parents don’t donate more at church sounds like a rogue parish. If the parochial school needs more money, it deals with that problem directly via tuition (which can vary depending on the family income when needed). Many kids today in parochial schools aren’t even Catholic, it’s a more financially accessible alternative to public schools. It really is nothing like Co$. Long long ago, the church was intimately linked with the state because it was a state religion, and that’s what all state religions do. That’s not the same as people pushing for government policies in line with their beliefs, which is what all citizens of a democracy do. The Catholic Church today really only has clout through the numbers of its members, which are substantial (giving the illusion that they have more trouble with corruption and perversion than any other institution, including families themselves) and eventually the bishops and pope catch up to what the members really believe. Just takes time. Lazy people will claim they “have to” do such-and-such because the Church says so, but that’s really not true. Catholics follow their own conscience like everybody else, including on matters of birth control and abortion.
Co$ is a whole different animal. Hubbard was a mentally unstable science fiction writer whose mental illness became worse over time and that is reflected in the increasingly bizarre practices and control measures we see in Co$. He had mentioned long before that the way to get rich was to found a religion, and that’s what he eventually did. His own instability attracted unstable and cruel people like Miscavige. This is a common pattern in cults and governments- birds of a feather etc.
Co$ will probably just more or less quietly dwindle to nothingness since they don’t seem as successful in recruiting and keeping new people now. Their special recruitment of Hollywood types makes them seem more successful than they are. Many governments have refused them church status, the U.S. government is a curious exception. The tax exempt status of churches here really needs to be removed from Co$ in particular, it wouldn’t last long after that because the appeal would be gone for those who profit the most. Actually, people in real churches have suggested that tax exempt status is more of a curse than a blessing for those who think religion should be a counterweight to excesses of government. The desire to maintain that status can make it difficult to effectively “speak truth to Power”. But it has been useful in benign churches as a way to give members a tax break when they donate for legitimate activities (including a lot of charity work within their communities) that do benefit a lot of people. But tax exempt status is also highly attractive to mobsters like Co$, so maybe it’s time to let it go.
They always seemed like a genuine couple in love – he seemed to be v happy with her. I like to think she was the love of his life. Makes you wonder what they have on him.
If COS goes down his career and sanity won’t survive – shame thou as he’s a decent actor.
The thing about their divorce that always seemed curious to me was this: Nicole was finally pregnant with their biological child (supposedly) and Tom still went ahead with the divorce. Given how gaga Tom was when Katie got pregnant with Suri, Tom CLEARLY wanted a biological child of his own. So I’m guessing he either thought the baby Nicole was carrying wasn’t his OR he thought she wasn’t really pregnant. Does anyone else remember the rumors that Nicole had the tissue saved so she could prove the miscarriage was Tom’s baby?
Yes I remember the awful smear campaign that went on with the nasty gossip going around that it was Ewan McGregors. I guess the shock of him suddenly leaving her caused her to lose it and for the record I do think it was Tom’s, she did seem to be in love with him.
I don’t remember the tissue part, but I do remember the stories at the time claiming she miscarried right after he announced the split. The timing of it being right at the 10-year anniversary was also mentioned a lot.
I would not be surprised if she wanted to prove it was his, because the stories at the time suggested she might be straying.
I remember the 10-year anniversary brouhaha… they apparently had some kind of prenup that would only kick in after 10 years together, so he dumped her just before that contract elapsed so he wouldn’t have to pay out.
In CA 10 years is a benchmark for a marriage and the spouse gets a much bigger payout. Chris Rock came close to divorcing his wife before they hit 10 years for this very reason.
I never got around to reading the book, but I am going to watch this as soon as it’s released.
I feel badly for Nicole, I imagine she was put through hell with all of that, and then had people accusing her of abandoning her kids too. I also feel bad for the people born into CO$, who don’t know any differently, and would be cut off from their whole family if they leave.
Beyond that, I hope this cult comes crashing down, sooner the better.
And now all the secret well planned escape for Katie and Suri makes sense…secret phones, secret apartment, secret meetings with her family. I still think she has something on him as he gave in way too easy. Don’t hear much about his life with Suri either. That is really strange as well as he treated her like she was his everything.
I’m still convinced Katie found out that Suri’s biological father is Tommy Davis (turkey baster conception with what she thought was Tom Cruise’s sperm) due to some alleged congenital condition Cruise may have that can result in miscarriage or facial deformities if the fetus goes full term. Remember he insisted they have their own ultrasound machine so he could monitor her pregnancy? The resemblance is uncanny. Davis and his wife were apparently banished after Katie left Tom and eventually washed up in Arizona where he’s working in real estate. From Co$ Head of PR and Communications to real estate agent? What Katie has on Cruise and Co$ ensures she will never be bothered by them again.
Nicole has said she had two miscarriages while married to Tom. Give it a rest on the Miscaviage baby.
I think Suri looks a lot like Chris Klein.
@Jayna….what ‘Miscavige’ baby are you talking about…..? And “give it a rest” is a bit rude, there is plenty of circumstantial evidence that Tommy Davis could have been a sperm donor. Just read some of Tony Ortega’s older columns from Village Voice.
Jason Beghe has stated that the cult refuses to turn over his personal “audit” tapes. But Kason has gone on record against those maniacs. Good for him!
If that’s true, I feel sad for Tom Cruise. They looked good and I am sure they loved each other too. Tom needs to wake up and very soon before it’s too late for him. I am glad Nicole is happy and have great family now, away from that crazy cult.
What happened to Nicole in the marriage, the divorce and even post divorce is horrific. I think the only reason she keeps quiet about all of it is her children. For this I have immense respect for her. I also admire Katie for getting out while she could. I haven’t read this particular book but I did read the one by Jenna Miscavige Hill, “Beyond Belief…” It’s a revelation.
If Nicole talks about it, what little connection and communication she still has with her children will be gone. I understand.
I agree with this. Some people think she gave up. It looks like she had a bigger battle than she could realistically win, and even to speak out now could dissolve whatever is left of her relationship with the children.
What the church did to those children was unforgivable….they should file charges against the church…
Nicole got half custody and they had some kind of agreement where like three months with each parent. That way they did movies. And she was seen with her children for several years and then it fell apart and they wanted to live with Tom. Tom had his sister and her kids and mom living in the family home. I have no doubt Scientology had a big part in that. Then he married himself a Stepford wife to become the new surrogate mommy to really make it a big family home compared to Nicole. Funny how they called Katy mom and she bragged about it in an interview and now they don’t talk to her either.
I guess that is why Nicole says she remembers back fondly on the marriage. She got Tom pulled away from COS early on and they had a relatively normal marriage. Katy married the egomaniacal second-in-command, it seems, of COS, the crazy Tom.
@Janya
“And she was seen with her children for several years and then it fell apart and they wanted to live with Tom. Tom had his sister and her kids and mom living in the family home. I have no doubt Scientology had a big part in that”
Exactly. Just, exactly. Anyone laying the blame for the kids’ estrangement at Nicole’s feet is just failing to take the prevailing circumstances into account.
Does anyone know if Anne Archer is still involved in CO$? She is Tommy Davis’s mom and was a total pitbull about defending him when he was the mouthpiece of the cult.
Yes. Big time.
Really? So I wonder if she’s banned from talking to him as he would be labelled a suppressive person I am sure. Or if she’s so brainwashed she’s cool with being estranged from her son. Very interesting. And sad.
Never mind, I googled him. He’s still neck deep in CO$. Just not their mouthpiece anymore (and he was terrible at it, anyhow).
Yes, she’s one of the ones who attacked Paul Haggis and, I believe, Leah Remini in face-to-face “interventions.”
“It doesn’t take a Thetan-level 8 to see why.” AHAHAHAHA. Whoever wrote this is very , very amusing.
Google Bella Cruise with Radaronline and a recent article has her taking about Nicole being Supermom on a social media site.
The cult is f’d up in many ways but I don’t think Nicole doesn’t see those kids. Both kids have expressed otherwise as adults.
I think CO$ makes sure they say good things about her to the press. There is no doubt that they are estranged from Nicole, and have been for years. Must have been utterly heartbreaking for Nicole.
no doubt? You mean because you don’t see pictures? LOL. Bella’s comments were on a friends instagram. She didn’t speak to the press about it. Radar just follows the kids and their friends to get info.
There was actually some talk that Bella Cruise was trying to separate herself from the cult a year or two ago. If that was true it would make sense that she contact her mom more. Connor Cruise, on the other hand, is still in it up to his eyeballs.
I saw the radar story that you’re referring to, but there was no real evidence that Isabella is still in contact with her mother. To me it just read as a typical gossip story. It’d be nice if it were true, but personally, I do believe that both kids are disconnected from her.
The sad thing is that it’s hard to know if the kids are in contact with their mom because they want to be or if they are being engaged as spies and reminders for her to keep quiet. The cult is that weird. Connor is Tom’s heir apparent and is in a different situation. But Isabella may be feeling the need for her mom more now that she’s probably disconnected from Katie. Or maybe she is indeed a Co$ spy… Really awful what happens with families in Co$. Multiplies the dysfunction in dysfunctional families many-fold.
Do you have a link for this? Would love to see it!
Tom’s first wife Mimi Rogers pretty much said publicly that Tom was unable to function sexually so that brings up all sorts of fascinating questions. What would cause a man who was so careful about his image to divorce his pregnant wife? Who was the bio father of Nicole’s baby? Is that why Tom abruptly divorced her…she was pregnant and he knew it wasn’t by him? Who is Suri’s father really? Does he even see Suri anymore? I am dying to hear the truth of what went on in those marriages but sadly never will due to those pesky confidentiality agreements.
Oh, a dumped wife saying that. Surprise surprise.. And when men or women lose interest in their spouse, they stop having sex. They are uninterested but don’t just walk out on the marriage right away. But sex is often the first thing to go when a person is pulling away and emotionally out before they physically leave the marriage.
Cher said Tom was one in the top five list of her best lovers, and Cher is not a bullshitter. She’s a straightshooter.
I hardly think Penelope Cruz would spend two years with Tom if the sex was bad. She’s a very independent, gorgeous woman who keeps her relationships pretty private, so definitely wasn’t seeing him for the publicity. And she never got into Scientology, so an independent thinker.
Did he want sex all the time? I don’t know. Maybe not. But I certainly don’t think he had a problem functionally performing.
In the divorce Nicole proved it was his baby. Someone may remember the specifics. Maybe because they were fighting about the date they split, which was important in the financial settlement, and she provided proof the baby was his so not separated at the time he says they separated which would put him under the ten year mark and save him a boatload of money in the divorce.. I think also Tom wanted people to think it was someone else’s baby she miscarried so he didn’t look like such a smuck in the way he divorced her and was moving on to Penelope, who he did a movie with. So Tom had to acknowledge it was his baby she miscarried.
I wonder about Suri, too, how much he sees her since Suri is not a Scientologist nor is Katy.
She provided a DNA analysis from a bit of the baby that had been saved just for that reason. She was smart enough to know she would need to prove the baby’s parentage.
That’s not what Mimi Rogers said.
In response to a question as to who ended the marriage, this is what she told playboy 1993,
“Is that the story? That I was bored with the child and threw him over? Chewed him up and spit him out? Well here’s the real story. Tom was seriously thinking of becoming a monk. Marriage didn’t fit into his overall spiritual need. He thought he had to be celibate to maintain the purity of his instrument. My instrument needed tuning.”
That doesn’t say he was bad at sex, only that he avoided it.
It seems odd that she would speak so about Tom – she’s the one who got him into CO$ in the first place.
Crumpet: I think it speaks to his religious devotion. Don’t forget he attended a seminary as a teen, and Mimi got him when he was relatively young.
CO$ answered whatever calling he had for the spiritual life.
And by the way, Mimi left CO$ soon after their divorce.
I think he was a young disciple when she was married to him, drifted away when he was married to Kidman, and became seriously devote towards the end of the marriage through to the time he met Katie and has remained devout.
And another thing about his second marriage (I hate myself for knowing this), there is a transcript online of a leaked phonecall between Tom and Nicole, and he really seems to want to spend time with her, pamper her whilst she thinks she’s neglected and isn’t happy with his level of attention or even quality and frequency of presents he gives her. He sounds, by turns, exasperated, exhausted and lonely with this woman that he can’t satisfy. She doesn’t give an inch no matter what he says. And he seems to have (or make) all the childcare arrangements too. She’s only concerned with herself and how she feels. Doesn’t seem overly concerned with the children, is quite dismissive of them.
As much as I dislike him, especially the CO$ stuff, and understanding that a phonecall isn’t an entire marriage, this phonecall really made me dislike her.
Wow, you really followed this story LAK. That’s interesting. I know that most on this site love Kidman, but I can’t really comment on her since I am aware that I used to have an irrational dislike for her. Her appearance, although objectively I can agree that it was attractive, has always bugged me, as well as her persona. I read it as ‘snooty’. But since I don’t know her, I have no real basis in which to not like her. I also realize that she is a decent actress, but I never boarded the fan train. Now, I neither like or dislike her and feel pretty meh. Although I think she does way too many procedures or treatments on her face.
@LAK,
Is this the phone call in question?
http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/410793-leaked-tanscript-of-tom-cruise-and-nicole-kidman-phone-conversation
Vanity Fair’s expose of Anthony Pellicano
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2006/06/pellicano200606
…..but where is Shelley?
I posted this above so I’ll just do a copy and paste.
She’s likely being held in a high security C0$ facility near Hemet, CA doing preservation work on LRH’s legacy documents. She was banished there for having the gall to work on David Miscavige’s “Org Board” job roster and move some of his office stuff to another location while it underwent renovations, without his permission. She’s so brainwashed that I’m sure she truly believes she did something horribly wrong and deserves to be there.
I didn’t even follow gossip at the time, the internet wasn’t a big thing in daily life, and yet this was a huge deal when it happened. Everyone believed (knew) the following:
1) Scientology was the reason Tom and Nicole split.
2) Tom was utterly cruel to Nicole during the split, terrible in word and deed. The stress he caused her was widely blamed for her miscarriage.
3) The cult turned Nicole’s children against her.
4) I was one of many people I knew who vowed never to see another Tom Cruise movie again, solely because of the way he treated Nicole. The more that comes out about what a completely horrible person he is, the happier I am with this decision.
It’s stuff we’ve always known — it’s interesting how ephemeral public memory is. And it’s sad how badly a man can treat the women in his life and yet get away with it over and over again. Speaking of… where’s Shelley?
This is the transcript of the conversation between Tom and NK. Wow. Made me feel really sorry for the guy.
http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/410793-leaked-tanscript-of-tom-cruise-and-nicole-kidman-phone-conversation
I can’t get a feel from that. It’s like a continuation of a previous conversation with issues being left out because they are aware that others are listening. It’s a clip in time. A lot of it makes no sense to me. I feel like a jerk having read it.
Kidman could have played the victim card but have chosen not to. Gotta respect that.
Just a few words, without violating the confidentiality agreement, and her image would have been greatly improved. Instead she’s still got that icy- public persona.
I am looking forward to this documentary and respect Kidman for not publicly commenting.