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In 2006, there was a lot of buzz over the fact that private investigator Anthony Pellicano was facing charges on federal racketeering and wiretapping charges. Pellicano represented high profile celebrity clients like Michael Jackson, O.J. Simpson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also did work for Tom Cruise during his divorce from Nicole Kidman, allegedly tapping Kidman’s phones like all of his other targets. People wondered if we were about to hear the sordid details in the Cruise/Kidman divorce, but the most salacious details we heard during Pellicano’s 2008 trial involved comedian Chris Rock and a fake rape charge. (I truly believe that charge was false, you can read more about it in these two stories.)
Pellicano regularly scammed celebrities by planting stories in the tabloids and then contacting the celebrities directly to offer his services at a steep fee. He had contacts in the police and phone departments who helped him run illegal wiretaps and background searches. In 2008, he was convicted of wiretapping and conspiracy to commit wiretapping and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Tom Cruise, his lawyer Betram Fields, and Anthony Pellicano are now being sued by a magazine editor who claims his phone was illegally tapped by Pellicano at Cruise’s request. The former editor of Bold Magazine, Michael Davis Sapir, claimed in 2001 that he had a tape of Tom Cruise engaged in some same-sex lovin. (I don’t think the gay rumors have much merit, although I initially believed them. I think Pellicano duped Cruise with earlier gay rumors so he would hire him. You can read these three stories in order for background, with attention to the last update on the last story.)
Cruise sued the editor and they settled for an undisclosed amount, with Sapir stating that the tape never existed. Cruise also allegedly hired Anthony Pellicano to run some counter intelligence on Sapir. Now Sapir is suing back for the alleged surveillance. He wants $5 million, or $5,000 for each one of the 1,000-something conversations he claims were taped without his knowledge.
Anthony Pellicano’s misdeeds are the gift that keeps on giving to the Hollywood elite.
Tom Cruise is the latest—and biggest—name to be sucked into the fray. The star was sued Friday for $5 million by a real mensch who claims that he was spied on by Cruise and his attorney with the help of Pellicano, years before the celebrity detective was convicted of numerous counts of racketeering, wiretapping and other abuses of P.I. power.
The reason the plaintiff believes he was targeted: his ultimately discredited claim that he had a tape of Cruise engaged in some same-sex action.
Michael Davis Sapir, the former editor of Bold magazine, was tagged in a $100 million defamation suit in June 2001 by the Mission: Impossible star over the alleged video, which Bold says it got a hold of after pubbing a $500,000 reward offer for “videotape evidence that Cruise was gay.”The case was settled that November for an undisclosed amount, with both parties stating that Cruise was not on any tape in Bold’s possession.
But now Sapir claims that Pellicano, acting on orders from Cruise and his major-player attorney, Bert Fields, wiretapped his phone while the suit was still active.
His allegations include invasion of privacy, disclosure of confidential information and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
[From E! Online]
I read through the lawsuit (on E! Online and TMZ) and the best detail is the password that Pellicano allegedly used to access the encrypted digital recordings of Sapir, which were kept on an iMac: “Bold c*cksucker omerta.”
I love how Cruise’s heavy-handed ways just keep coming back to remind us about the gay rumors. After digging into the allegations a few years ago, I really don’t think Cruise is gay or that he had gay encounters. Pellicano probably set Cruise up with fake gay allegations so he could secure his business, as he often did with his clients. Cruise’s lawyer Fields denies hiring Pellicano for this case, though, and says “We did not even hire Pellicano to work on the Sapir case.” The lawsuit claims a file was found by the FBI in Pellicano’s office called “Michael Davis,” however. I wouldn’t doubt that Cruise hired Pellicano and went for the jugular. If he didn’t, he probably sicced some Scientology goons on the case. I’d love to see Cruise pony up a million or two for Sapir’s trouble.
In related Tom Cruise news, the trailer for his upcoming film Knight & Day with Cameron Diaz has come out. It’s not out until July, and shooting just wrapped last week, but there’s a trailer already. It looks like a pretty solid action movie and I actually laughed in spots.
Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz are shown on 12/17/09, “posing for pictures before preparing to leave Spain after filming their new movie ‘Knight and Day’” on 12/17/09. Credit: WENN.com. Tom is also shown partying at an Irish bar with wife Katie Holmes and Cameron Diaz in Seville, Spain for Katie’s 31st birthday later that night. (Katie’s birthday is 12/18/09.) Credit: Target/Fame Pictures
Written by Celebitchy
Posted in Lawsuits, Tom Cruise
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20 Responses to “Tom Cruise sued for illegal wiretapping by magazine editor”
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For such an “enlightened” being, Tom sure does play in the muck with sleazy characters sometimes, doesn’t he?
I’ll accept that those particular stories about him were planted by Pellicano – but that’s certainly not the only time I’ve heard such rumors about him. And he’s always a little too quick to file a lawsuit rather than just shrugging it off if it’s not true.
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He may or may not be gay. He is however, one creepy son of a beeyatch. Can’t believe he used to be one of my favorite actors.
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One of my old high school buddies worked on M.I. and according to him/her (I don’t want to specify), Tom and Nicole lived ‘their own lives – separately (with different romantic interests)’ as MI was being filmed. She was seeing a previous Aussie actor boyfriend (MI was filmed in Sydney) and Tom was doing his ‘thing’. I was shocked when I was told, and laughed it off, but my source was adamant.
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I basically heard the same thing years ago when they were still married, that it was a marriage of convenience, she was his beard. I heard it from someone who’s cousin was in the business, so certainly not first hand or anything, but the rumors have been out there for a long time.
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This is a well-written piece… I enjoy your levelheadedness, Celebitchy.
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Don’t believe, eh? Then Google “Big Red” and “Tom Cruise”, read the sordid tales you get.
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Leave Tom Cruise alone. He’s only the most beautiful man on this planet. Jealousy is not attractive!!
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Jealousy?
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I totally believe Tom’s gay.
Going back to the days of Risky Business and what “Balki” said, going through the 90′s when Tom started to become immersed in crafting his public persona as scripted as a movie role, his clandestine involvement with Scientology (think Eyes Wide Shut), the men who came out about having sexual relationships, Tom’s paranoia over it all and overcompensation, his casting audition (courtship) of Katie Holmes, his adopted children, his odd marriage to Kidman and the secrecy he paid to keep her mouth shut.
Cruise is nothing but a plastic front who’s taking great pains to hide his own truth – one that he obviously feels would tank his marketability.
This is why, no doubt, Tom went well beyond Pelicano and Co., because Tom knew/knows this Sapir has the goods on him.
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@! – I am very familiar with the Big Red story and I think the guy was a plant by Anthony Pellicano to extort money from Cruise. -Edit- a plant to “secure Cruise’s business,” which worked.
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@ Linda – Are you being serious? Why would you think that I’m jealous of Tom? I don’t want to be married to Katie. I don’t want to be in a scary cult. I don’t want to look that masculine.
Maybe, just maybe, other people have different opinions than you do. And just maybe that’s okay. Maybe we could all live side by side and not freak out if our neighbours don’t feel exactly the same way we do about everything.
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I think Cruise is overcompensating and that the issue is that he’s in a dangerous cult, not necessarily that he has something to hide. If he has had same sex relations all we have is this one guy with ties to Anthony Pellicano, who was a pretty notorious criminal, to vouch for it. He has other issues, but I think it has to do with his involvement in Scientology and not that he’s trying to hide his sexuality.
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I’m just besotted with the man. Don’t pay attention to me.
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“This is why, no doubt, Tom went well beyond Pelicano and Co., because Tom knew/knows this Sapir has the goods on him.”
I think so too…why not just call the guy’s bluff and tell him to produce the tape, if it exists? instead he sues the guys to the point that he’ll say that there’s no such tape? doesn’t make sense.
rumors about someone being gay come and go, but the ones about him have persisted for SO long that it makes me wonder.
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He makes my skin crawl.
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He’s so creepy. So is Nicole Kidman. Don’t they have kids together? You never see them. They each parade their “real” daughters in public, but those adopted kids? Nowhere to be seen.
Do the adopted kids even see their parents? Do they even see their new siblings? If so, can you imagine what it’s like? All the kids are eating breakfast together, and Tom (or Nicole) stand up and says, “ok, we’re going to take Suri (or Sunday) to the park — you other kids stay here in the house out of sight and pretend you don’t exist.”
Ok, I made that up. The adopted kids probably NEVER have breakfast with Tom or Nicole or their new siblings.
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My greatest shame? Believing wholeheartedly that Cruise was a closeted gay, when all along it was just scientology. I am so sorry Gay community!
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@Catherine, I’m with you. He’s just bleurgh *shudders*.
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I don’t think it’s his involvement with scientology that he’s trying to hide/overcompensate for, that’s already been a long established fact. It’s not the practices of it either, he’s an outspoken advocate of them (ask Matt Lauer).
Lil buddy’s been dead set on trumping up a family image for the public, a heterosexual masterpiece -way overdone and overplayed while having everyone sign waivers of confidentiality, threatening, paying folks off (there were other men who claimed sex relations with Tom), etc.
It’s also an established fact that in scientology, they use embarrassing personal info against potential defectors -they OWN Tom, no doubt.
Same as Travolta.
Take note of the dirty blond male friend/bodyguard that was said to be his son’s nanny. Recall the smooch pic the Enquirer nailed of them on the steps of the plane.
Now, take a close look at the Beckham relationship. David and Tom coo about each other like teen girls.
We know that union/fake 4some has nothing to do with Katie and Posh.
Tom did try to clone/copy Katie into Posh in the beginning. But for Tom, it was more like the idea of wearing matching sweaters with David -”too cute”.
Oh, this could go on and on, but I’d swear that Tom has been having an ongoing romance with David.
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Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I think this is a “legal” loophole in their settlement, that gives Sapir the chance to shake down Tom for a little more money… Extortion by any other name…
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