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Update: Here’s Rathbun’s interview
There’s plenty of Scientology-related Tom Cruise news today, but first let’s focus on the latest from his ex-auditor, Marty Rathbun. As we’ve covered over the past few days, Rathbun has been shockingly accurate in predicting Tom Cruise’s moves in the wake of his divorce. It’s all about how the cult handles their PR, and Rathbun knows it intimately. He was Cruise’s personal auditor (similar to a counselor) in the wake of the Kidman divorce. As we’ve heard from Rathbun, and from other ex-Scientologists with knowledge of the situation, the cult worked to both bring about Cruise and Kidman’s divorce, and to alienate her children from her. These gems that have come up in the wake of the Tomkat divorce have largely remained in the gossip press and haven’t received mainstream media coverage – until now. Rathbun is about to do an interview on Brian Williams’ Rock Center that will air on NBC tonight. MSNBC has a preview video (here) in which Rathbun explains how Kidman was declared a suppressive person. You can read more about this story on MSNBC’s website.
In terms of suppressive people and cutting Kidman out of her children’s lives, The Village Voice has a new article that claims that ex Scientologists are livid that the rules of the cult are seemingly being lifted for Tom Cruise. Cruise of course will maintain contact with his daughter, Suri, and by extension his soon-to-be ex wife, Katie Holmes. That’s not how it works for most Scientologists, who are forced to cut ties with anyone deemed a enemy of the cult. Katie Holmes most definitely falls in that category, but it’s not like she’ll be declared a suppressive person. She’s too famous, she blindsided Cruise and earned custody of Suri, and Cruise is too powerful a cult member. He won’t be forced to shun his ex wife and daughter like most other Scientologists would in that situation. Here’s more:
With so many ex-Scientologists cut off entirely from their own children, or parents, or siblings through the church’s policy of “disconnection,” it’s another slap in the face, they say, that Tom Cruise gets to bypass that rule and see his child and communicate freely with his ex-wife.
First, let’s give Katie her due: She is, without a doubt, the biggest SP in the history of Scientology.
While L. Ron Hubbard originally figured that about two and a half percent of the world’s population are “suppressive” — antisocial types who would never be reachable by Scientology — over the ensuing years, the church has applied the label “suppressive person” or “SP” to anyone it deems an enemy. Anyone, that is, who ditches Scientology or publicly criticizes it. And when a former church member or critical relative or uncooperative ex-wife or other potential source of bad juju and bad publicity is declared a suppressive person, they become like kryptonite to other Scientologists.
If you are a member of Scientology in good standing and want to stay that way, you cannot have anything to do with SPs. If it’s learned by the church that you’re working for or talking with or otherwise communicating with an SP, then you can also be declared an SP if you don’t take actions to remedy the situation.
There is no more perfect definition of a suppressive person than Katie Holmes. She has taken one of Scientology’s prize possessions — her daughter Suri — out of the church, spurned her Scientologist husband, and in the process brought more bad publicity to Scientology than it has ever had. Even the death of Lisa McPherson (1995) and the lawsuit of L. Ron Hubbard Jr. against the church (1982) did not bring this kind of sustained, multifarious entheta (negative information) from every kind of news outlet, from blogs to daily newspapers to network news. (And there’s plenty more coming, take it from me. Whoa Nelly.)
Katie Holmes, there is no doubt, is the SP from hell.
And in that case, the rules are clear: Tom Cruise must disconnect from her and her devil-spawn child. He must completely cut both of them out of his life, make sure they have no way of reaching him, and even guard against communications in a roundabout way through family and friends.
That’s what Tom would have to do, that is, if he were treated like the rest of the people in his church.
Visitation rights? Wow, you talk about Scientology sacrilege.
“I would like some visitation rights with my son Benjamin,” former top church spokesman Mike Rinder tells me. “I tried to see him, but they called the police and issued a trespass warning against me.”
“This is the double standard that gets applied,” Rinder says, explaining that simply because of who Tom Cruise is, he gets a pass and doesn’t have to follow the same rules that other Scientologists do. “The church always says it’s simply applying policy — but it’s all total crap. The church does what is convenient and expedient. It’s never what’s right or what ought to be.”
“Katie Holmes won’t be declared a suppressive person because she’s too famous,” says Amy Scobee, another former executive.
“The rest of us want visitation rights with our families,” says Amy, whose struggle to remain a part of her mother’s life led her to speak out publicly after leaving Scientology and write her book, Abuse at the Top.
The ex-Scientology community has been buzzing about this ever since ex-member Tom DeVocht said something about it on his Facebook page.
“I know so many people who can’t even talk to their kids — even worse is Karen [de la Carriere]’s situation as an example — because the Church enforces their disconnection policy so strenuously. But Tom Cruise gets “visitation rights” to see Suri despite the fact that Katie’s divorce had EVERYTHING to do with Scientology and was possible the worse blow to Scientology’s PR yet”.
[From The Village Voice]
The Village Voice has a ton more examples of ex Scientologists disconnected from their families, and you can read more at the source. The most egregious recent example is Karen de la Carriere, the ex wife of the president of The Church of Scientology International. Karen’s 27 year-old son died recently, and she wasn’t even allowed in to the funeral home to see his body and pay her respects. We recently received a very heartfelt, detailed email from a reader who grew up in a Scientology household. She described how her father’s blind adherence to the cult helped split up her own marriage, left her estranged from an excommunicated step sister, and ultimately led her parents to divorce. So it seems like this is just how things operate in Scientology, but not for Tom Cruise.
According to E! Online, Cruise may visit with Suri this weekend, but unlike other times he’s been with his daughter in NY “there will be no photo op.” He’s currently working on the film Oblivion in the mountains of California, and a source tells E! that “As soon as he is done shooting he will arrange to see Suri. If he wasn’t shooting up in the mountains, I am sure he already would be with her.” Their source adds that the divorce settlement allows for “flexible” visitation and that Tom plans “to see Suri very, very often. He loves her dearly and is a normal parent.”
As for what’s next for Scientology, they’re planning a full-on PR offensive to include television, radio and Internet broadcasts. Their spokesperson put out a PR message making the announcement. It seems conveniently timed, although they may have been planning for it. The COS purchased a TV studio in LA last year for $42 million. Reuters has this story along with commentary from media and cult experts who expect them to “buy time on local TV stations to air shows as other religions do.” Other religions with a lot more members, and lot more transparency, than they have.
Here’s Cruise playing with a gun on the set of Oblivion yesterday. His 17 year-old son, Connor, visited him on set. The images above are of Tom with Suri on 1-25-12 and 12-16-11. Credit: WENN.com, PCNPhotos and FameFlynet
That’s right, isn’t she supposed to be a “suppressive” or whatever?
I do hope all $cientologists see this and start wondering about the real reason they were obliged to cut all contacts with non-$ci family members and loved ones.
^^This. In a weird way it’s a good thing for ex-Scientologists, that now current members of the cult might actually start to question things around them. Revolution starts with an idea, right?
I agree with you both, I hope this leads to people leaving..
Agreed! Double standards like this start people questioning and, if they’ve been forced to cut someone they love out of their life, angry. I hope this helps Co$ crumble internally.
I hope they all get pissed enough to do something, but I know why Tom is still allowed to be with Suri. They would still love to woo her back in slowly but surely.
No one else who gets out maintains contact. It’s been ten years for my grandfather, he’ll never speak to his son again. Wife left without a look back after he blew.
Such a compassionate cult.
ITA, I have a feeling they are changing the tactics and planning to lured Suri slowly…I do hope this would make other scientologist open their eyes and start to question things around them.
I had the same thought, but it then occurred to me that if Tom so much as tried parental alienation, after seeing the way Katie and her family orchestrated this split, they would HAMMER him in court if even so much of a whiff of their disassociation crap got back to them. And I think they would actually notice, just based on Suri’s behavior and what she says. Just a thought (well, a hope, really).
I think that is precisely the reason, and what will be used internally to justify the failure to declare Katie and Suri SPs.
Tom successfully drew Bella and Connor into the fold and away from their mother, and he will believe he can (and must) do the same with Suri – especially as she is around the same age as they were when he and Nicole split up. I imagine he will use many of the same tactics.
He is playing a long game. Time will tell.
Yes, but I do question the mental stability of anyone who would 1) willingly join this cult and 2) cut off contact with family for it. I mean even if I was stupid enough to become a Scientologist, there’s no way in hell they’d get me to cut off contact with my family. Screw that.
You have no idea about what you speak of. This is done is such an insidious manner, with their souls, minds and independent lives taken away so slowly that all they know is COS.
Have you listened to tommy Davis’s rants to the cult member that worked for a former member? His threats of disconnection? Of how they do it?
They are told of they speak to an SP that they themselves will be declared and cut off from every other family member, every friend without exception.
Add to this that especially lifers and sea org members is that they have no money, no social skills, no schooling and are being threatened with their lives. LITERALLY. Being thrown in the hole, being tortured in the desert, being sent all over for reprogramming.
I can assure you that many people join to do the self improvement thing and get sucked in. Read up and see how evil this is. Even reporters feel pressured when they try to go inside.
It isn’t like leaving a church, this is never speaking to anyone again.
My grandfather was a banker and reformed alcoholic, I am sure they lured him with the erasing of past engram BS and getting clear, this was a guy who left his wife and married a woman younger than his daughters. His new wife was a successful dentist. They were SDA church members, were well off and had a family, house, lake house, etc. They were not what I would call unstable. They just got sucked in hard by the wrong cult. Cult life becomes the norm for them.
Many have perished or lost their families through cults, some people may be unstable but many are just at a point of depression or seeking a different way of life. They don’t know the full extent at first…it is insidious.
OTiff, why, oh WHY do we have to keep revisiting this?
Is it not enough that others (myself included) have shared the insidious nature of an abusive relationship? (Which CO$ surely is.)
Is it not enough that you have shared first-hand experience with what the CO$ does to families?
How many times do we have to repeat ourselves?
I guess for some people, a lot.
My best friend was engaged to a guy that beat the crap out of here. I’d have to show up when he was gone, park out back and we’d throw her stuff in the car and go. And then he would find her and she’d get sucked right back in until she finally opened her eyes and left for good.
She is now married to one of my husband’s friends and is a principal. One does not need be unstable to get in a bad situation. While I agree that Katie should have done a little reading and watching tommy before marrying the dude and his cult, she is BRAVE for leaving, just as you were when you left.
I saw that old interview with Tom as a 19 year old and he looked like a guy who needed someone. He didn’t have a dad. Instead he got a cult. He didn’t seem unstable at that age, it is the CULT that does it, just as abuser does to their victim.
I hope everyone realizes this. If you met a guy and he said hi I am going to beat the shit out of you, you’d run. If he says he loves you and all is well for a while then certain little things happen, then the next day you are getting punched. It’s a gradual thing. If they told people about Xenu, do you think they would have any members coming in? No, lured in by self help and gradually the screws are tightened, I guess until one comes loose.
That’s my take anyway:) BTW, I am SO glad YOU left your abuser. It takes as much balls as Katie is showing here. Kudos to all who can break free.
‘and is a normal parent’
LOOOOL just the fact that they need to say that is ‘not normal’.
“Normal” is the last word on the list you can describe Tom Cruise.
Exactly
LOL, exactly! What kind of insider scoop is that?? NEWS FLASH: Tom Cruise is a “normal” parent!
Somebody in that cult realizes how deep is the public alienation (pun intended 🙂 ) from CO$!
Right? Show me ANY other celebrity divorce where a PR person has had to issue a press release to say the celeb is a “normal parent.”
I mean, yikes. His team is having to try and convince the public that he’s a normal parent because the public knows that his parenting is anything but normal.
Agreed!
Gee could it be all the $$$ he has given them? We should all be on the lookout for subliminal messages on tv, radio, and internet…..
I’ve done a ton of reading, and it really comes down to if Katie gets declared an SP or not. Many of the people who leave don’t get that designation, although they are usually allowed to leave I they “route out.” Katie just blew.
Part of Nicole’s SP designation was also due to her father being a physciatrist/physiologist, I just can’t remember.
Since Tom is “the brand” I doubt Katie will be branded an SP unless she talks, so CO$ can save face.
^^ THIS right here. I have also done a lot of reading and I 100% agree. While she certainly theoretically qualifies as an SP, as long as she doesn’t speak against CoS she can probably avoid being declared.
However, as you point out, she did blow instead of route out and that is always grounds for being declared.
Hunter, don’t you feel like they won’t SP her? I feel like too many eyes are on Suri and they will treat this situation with kid gloves. They need to use Suri to prove they don’t seperate families – with Lisa Marie leaving and David’s father, they are taking a huge PR hit.
The COB’s head must be exploding right now.
Has LisaMarie publicly acknowledged leaving the church? I don’t think she has or will because, even though she was only a celebrity parishioner, she knows full well that her children are still in and they will have to disconnect from her. The thing is, many of the adults who are in will disconnect without specifically being told because they know they’ll be on the receiving end of the cult’s collective stink eye and will be having their loyalty questioned.
@Roma – You are right. What I understand from all the reading is that Tom is not a Priest. He’s a Parishioner. There are different rules for a Priest and a Parishioner.
Of course Tom doesnt live by the same rules as an average ( if there is such a thing ) CO$ member. All the celebrity’s that are CO$ are the unsuspecting face of this cult. I Imagen their CO$ experience would differ from a non celebrity member.
Is it just me or can anyone else imagine Tom begging Suri to wear high heels “just like Dad”? Also, judging by the pictures, he doesn’t really know how to hold a firearm–you never put you finger on the trigger unless you are on target and ready to fire.
I thought that too about the high heels. Like she’s a doll for his own purposes. SO inapproprite for her age – other then for dress up at home.
I’m shocked they let their daughter wear what look like 2-1/2 inch heels. Is that bad for developing feet? It makes her look like pedo fodder, which is upsetting.
@gg, I thought so too:( The heels with the mini dress screams pedo to me. Too much leg in a high heel. Weird. LRH was into the kiddies big time. Ewwww.
Thank you.
I’m confused by the legs/pants. In every still (not just today’s) he seems to have knee pads and strange lower leg padding. In every shot the knee up is on a different plane than knee down. What’s going on there
I noticed that too but I think it’s the wardrobe there is another still and he has a weird jacket on, is this movie set in the future?
I think I see the lifts in his boots.
*squeals like a school girl*
Sci-fi
I love this Rathbun guy! He’s awesome. If you see his interview above, he ends with a great question back to CO$….
Don’t celebrities have their own luxury church etc and don’t have to do many of the things other CofS members do. Instead of signing a billion year contract the celebrities just pay for their “enlightenment” or whatever it is. How do you find out if someone is marked as a ‘sp’ is there a list? I do think Tom is and always have gotten special treatment and I can fully understand why ex members are upset. I wish some in the cult would find this stuff out maybe then they would question things.
*
Only members of the Sea Org sign the billion year contract; ‘regular’ members pay for (or work for) the ‘spiritual’ services they receive from the Co$.
and VV just posted a new article confirming that kids -even babies- can get audited: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/07/scientology_auditing_kids.php
I really think that Tom will have little to do with Suri but that like Nicole and her kids the separation will take place slowly and underwraps so as not to cause too much more bad publicity. In a few years we will notice that Suri is never seen to be in or around LA or near Tom.
Totally agree. I don’t see him having a breakdown over this at all. I see him moving on very quickly. I agree in time he won’t see Suri hardly at all.
I have A LOT of respect for Katie now. Wish there was some way to tell her!
I was kinding thinking the same thing that he won’t be seeing much of her but is putting it out there extra hard that he has “generous visitation” and how much of a normal father he is. It sounds like overkill to me. Which usually means the oposite of what they are saying. But at the same time he is a narcissist and probably doesn’t like his possessions beging taken from him. I think both Katie and Suri were his possessions. I hope we are right and Suri can lie a normal life with her mom and not have to see this freak of a person all the time.
Oh and one other thing doesn’t tommygirl look so small in the picture where he is sort of laying on the ground? He looks so short and tiny. LOL
Totally disagree. Tom loves that kid and has been involved in raising Suri like none of his other children.
I imagine the CoS had to bend the rules to keep their poster child happy because I do believe he has been a very active father and wants to continue that.
That’s not what the Daily Mail says. Tom’s planning, he’s regrouping, and he will unleash his anger on Katie and take Suri away. He does not care about the rules of their settlement. Mark the year – 2020.
2020 – eight years time.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if CO$ didn’t exist by then?
I think TC will continue to have as much contact as possible and we’ll get a lot of photo ops and him talking about it. There are two reasons for him to maintain as frequent contact as possible: #1 public perception, not just about him as a father but about the church (it looks just as bad for CO$ if TC doesn’t remain involved in Suri’s life as it does for TC); #2 the potential to eventually bring her into the fold. Katie was raised Catholic and considered herself devout enough to claim, in 2003 or 4, that she would remain a virgin until marriage due to church teaching and yet she was sucked in for whatever reason. Suri can be raised a devout Catholic and be warned about the cult but her relationship with a father she loves can still be leveraged to suck her in at some point in time.
I also think that TC’s a megalomaniac and, at some level, he may well think of Suri as HIS. If so, he will do everything he can to have whatever influence and control over her life he can – even if he has to be careful about how he goes about it and plan for the future
The fact of the matter is this. celebrity Scientologists are used for PR purposes and are pawns. They don’t have to follow the rules the layman does. in most cases I don’t even think they are aware of the shit that the average member of the church is subjected to. Therefore they are not technically evil plotting monsters. i think Miscaviage purposely shields them from certain goings on so they can represent the “church” without any reservations.
Hey NOTSObrite, I recognize you from CDAN. 🙂
I agree. Most of them probably have no idea and are subjected to a coddled version of what the layman gets.
I think that goes on also with a lot of noncelebrities – they make a better case for the cult if they believe nothing wrong is going on and haven’t seen it for themselves, which is why they all think we are crazy for even thinking such.
I am hoping a Mommy Dearest type of book will be published by one of these celeb Co$ children in my lifetime.
Ahh me too! I have a feeling a lot more people are going to start coming forward about there involvement in this “church”. I’ll also be waiting on a movie based somewhat on Katie’s escape. I would watch it.
For some reason it totally reminds me of the Sally Fields lifetime movie ‘Not Without My Daughter’ about escaping an abusive relationship in Iran.
Speaking of which, isn’t that Connor with him in those last two pix?
I don’t think we’ll be seeing a book from either Connor or Isabella (unless they have a come-to-Xenu moment about what was done to their mother by the CO$). They’ve been steeped in it too long.
I’m thinking maybe one of Jenna Elfman’s kids, or Leah Remini’s. Maybe even JT’s youngest boy or Pinkett-Smith’s daughter. (Hopefully the latter, because we’ll have to wait FOREVER for JT’s kid to be old enough to write a book.)
ETA: Oooooh, I just had a thought! 😀 How about a compilation-type book, featuring essays (or chapters) from EACH OF THEM? Best seller for weeks on end – record breaking!
Edit: Yes, that is Connor on-set with TC.
Even though this Church is creepy and has torn families apart, it is nice to know that they can bend the rules for crazy Cruise. What I don`t understand is how the F#@&””‘ he still gets high profile roles in films. If we are all disgusted with Tom Cruise, the person we should boycott his film. Like I mentioned once before the only film I saw him in was the Firm and that was on DVD
I haven’t watched a Tom Cruise movie (not even the one DVD we own with him in it) in so many years, I can’t even tell you how long it’s been! So I doubt they’ll feel the sting from me.
But I don’t intend to watch another TC movie, EVER.
The fact that they bend the rules for him just confirms that they are all about the money, nothing else. The cult has to keep their biggest donor happy!
As far as films go, there are enough people who don’t follow celeb gossip (especially overseas). Also he chose wisely with Mission Impossible. It’s a franchise, and he surrounded himself with some very likeable actors. He’s not the star he once was, far from it, and he had to be very careful and quiet before that one was released. Now though the weird stuff is out of just the gossip blogs and is being reported by legit news organizations. Also Rock of Ages was a massive bomb and Jack Reacher doesn’t look very good to begin with so this has to be a very scary time for the releasing studio!
Oddly enough, the woman who voices Bart Simpson is the largest CO$ donor. But she as well known.
The reason he gets roles is because it is his money making the film. I don’t think any of the studios will bankroll him anymore.
This CO$ stuff is so creepy!!!
“look dad, i’m wearing heels, just like you!”
“okay”
“soon i’m going to be taller than you!”
“o… wait. i think you shouldn’t be wearing heels. here, ballet flats are better.”
“but dad, shouldn’t i decide what i want to wear? i’m a grown-up!”
“honey, listen. heels are evil. in fact i’m going to send those heels to your uncle david, okay? so he can wea.. i mean… audit them.”
LOL!!!
Well, I guess this makes me an SP. Hey!! Let’s celebrate! Karmakazes all around!
Izzy, make mine a double please, and COLD. (Our A/C won’t be fixed until the 19th, probably. We had to buy a stand-up portable one [and I got the last one in the county] that only cools one room at a time. And it’s in the bedroom right now.)
Between the heat, humidity, and wildfire smoke, I’ve got a thirst on me! 😉
I need a double too. I hate Boston. Our car got towed making our lunch bill 300 dollars. I had to take the freaking T which was held forever down in the heat.
F this place-got rear ended on the Fourth. Make it a triple?
At least we aren’t scientologists or being forced to wake up to TC mug every morning. Yay!
*hands Tiff a triple* DAMN! That sucks, girl. Is everyone okay?
The parking meters, tickets, and tows were things I HATED about Del Mar!
OK, screw it. I’m making each of you your own PITCHER of drinks…
Yeah, we were all OK. On the way to the lake house, sitting alone on the highway at a red light. BAM! Some dumbs smacks into my beamer, my beloved car and you know what her excuse was?
I was driving a stick and I don’t know how to, so I hit your car. Wicked awesome, Boston!
Scared us though.
*takes pitcher of drinks and downs it* thanks I needed that.
Actually I salute my pipe to you ladies. I need it after that mess out there. Took me an hour to go 3 miles after I picked up the kids from school too. 3 more weeks, 3 more weeks.
I have puffed and now pass to you! Enjoy my crackajuana:)
His shoes designed as a part of his costume have huge heels built into them. It just made me giggle…he is so insecure. :). I guess COS will never make him taller.
Moon boot lifts!
Saw that too and giggled so hard. It fulfilled something very mean inside me.
Well, they HAVE to! It’s either that or he stands on a box for every scene.
Suri wears Dolce and Gabbana for kids. People with money, huh.
I would sue if i were Karen de la Carriere, she has the right to be in her son’s funeral. This just makes me livid !
CO$ isn’t having a funeral, because if they did, they’d have to make Heber Jentsch (president of CO$ and Alexander’s father) available for it – rumor has it he’s in the hole. Additionally, Alexander was 27 and married, so his wife legally has every right to call the shots.
As he pointed out previously, TC is a “parishioner” not an “employee” of the CO$. *snicker*
But I don’t think that mattered to all the other SP’s who lost contact with their loved ones, no did it?
Here’s a link (please CB, it’s a really good one) to another fascinating article:
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/inside-scientology-20110208
Thumbs up for Brian Williams and NBC!! Hope this is just the start of loads of mainstream publicity about CO$!! All it will take is sunlight to bring this cult down.
I hope others in it see the double standard and start to leave or revolt but I wouldn’t count on it, they’re too controlled and brainwashed.
I wonder how mych of a relationship he actually has/had with Suri. One account basically said he was never around unless he needed a photo op.
Right – it’s just like the George Orwell novel, ‘1984’ where Big Brother tells them everyday that 1+1=3 over and over, and everybody just has to accept the new norm.
Look at those heels on her shoes – sorry I cannot get over them!
She is 6 years old and wearing 2 inch heels?
That child is going to have serious feet problems soon!
Looks like Katie put an end to the heels. Suri has been wearing flip flops ever since the split. I think the heels were Tom’s idea.
I’d be terrified if I were Katie. Sure, she is protected by the intense media scrutiny now but what about when things die down? Will she ‘commit suicide’ or die in a car ‘accident’? I see this not so much as bending the rules for Cruise as Miscavige promising him that, when the time is right, they will save his daughter from the evil clutches of her SP mom.
It’s not like critics of Scientology haven’t died under mysterious circumstances before..
A p.s. to my comment: I don’t think it’s fair to say that KATIE caused all this negative publicity.
CO$ is doing just fine on its own, and has not received even a FRACTION of the negative publicity it deserves, based on its treatment of its own “members.”
Like I said before, the CO$ is destroying the CO$. Mismanagement by Miscavige is one of the major reasons.
I categorically refuse to watch any TV program or station that carries Co$ advertising.
How do we know if it is Co$ advertising? I have never as far as I can recall seen a commercial for Co$.
You probably won’t, until it’s over; unless there’s some sort of print at the bottom (like the LDS commercials that offer free Bibles) during the commercial or show.
TC gives millions and millions to Co$. Of course they’re gonna make exceptions for him. Still, Travolta must be pissed right now! Tom has Miscavige bending over backwards to make him happy, and Travolta is still forced to stay in the closet lest his auditing sessions get leaked? No fair.
part of me wonders if Travolta acts out in the hopes of braking free from CO$ and the it’s Preston keeping him tied in
I totally believe that. I’m still not 100% sure if Travolta did all that crap he was accused of or if CO$ is trying to make him look like a homosexual rapist.
I put it that way on purpose because how does that look to middle America – the same people that were shocked Anderson Cooper is gay.
Whats up with the Travolta accusations anyway, they kind of just stopped talking about them.
What about Lisa Marie and her mom? Can she talk to and see her mom Priscilla? And what about the children and etc. Can Priscilla see them?
I can’t remember the last time that Priscilla and Lisa Marie were seen together.. so MAYBE there hasn’t been any contact in a while. And I’m not completely sure about this – but I think Lisa Marie just left the Co$. I know that last month, there were blog posts about her leaving and supposedly, on her new album, there are hints at how pissed she is at the ‘church’ (cult).
If Connor is only 17 who takes care of him while Tom is off making movies? It sort of feels like his older kids were either left to fend for themselves or were just babysat by the cult.
I’d read somewhere that the Isabella and Connor lived with Tom’s sister most of the time. She home schooled them as well.
I’d read somewhere that the Isabella and Connor lived with Tom’s sister most of the time. She home schooled them as well.
Tom’s sister and her children and Tom’s mother lived also in his big California compound and helped look after the kids after his divorce. I’m not sure if it was a massive home with lots of wings or smaller homes on there. The kids were homeschooled, but also went to two Scientology schools later. When he was married to Nicole, they were homeschooled and she and the kids traveled with Tom a lot (like Angelina and Brad) when they weren’t off or vice versa. In between they lived in California for their months off in between jobs. They and their kids all lived together in England for a year when they did that movie Eyes Wide Shut (believed to have been the beginning of the end for them, the stress of a movie that took far longer than ever anticipated).
Tom is a nut and, sadly, these last few years has gone off the deep end again with his increasing involvement in Scientology, but all the people that say he never cared or saw his kids I absoluely disagree with. I think he loves his children very much and has always been a big figure in their lives.
Connor is seventeen, almost grown. He has become a pretty popular DJ (he said that was his passion). He has even done a movie that will be coming out. Connor seems to me to be a great kid and seems to mix with lots of nonScientologists. He is on twitter. He is very close to his father.
The kids were left with the CO$ wolves, including Tom’s mother and sister.
Perhaps TC will be relinquishing his hold on Suri, as she’s younger than Isabella and Connor and Katie’s made it clear she won’t roll over to his commands.
Per Andrew Morton’s book, Tommy’s mom was active in the Catholic church. I think she’s somewhat of a church elder. She remarried and was living in Florida. However, around the time he was seeing Katie, he asked his mother to leave her life and husband to live with him and be a Sci.
Tommy’s mother pretty much capitulated. I haven’t seen her after Suri’s birth so maybe she quietly left his house and went back to her husband?
I reread the Vanity Fair profile of Tom/Katie/Suri (the one with the big ‘reveal’ of Suri on the cover, and aside from the complete hilariousness of the piece, it was noted that in the week that Annie Leibovitz and the writer spent at the Cruise compound in Colorado, Tom’s mother was there, along with his sister Cass, her children, and Katie’s extended family. So at least in the immediate aftermath of Suri’s birth, Tom’s mother was still on the scene.
I look at this this way: exactly how many other “religions” have “celebrity centres”? What an effing joke.
Can you imagine telling a priest or a rabbi that you needed a special celebrity room? I think that would get you a “we’re all equal in the eyes of G-d” talking to PURRRRRRRRDY quickly…
Kabbalah
And isn’t it amazing the way kaballah treats or regards Madonna that is so similar to how co$ treats Tom Cruise.
let’s hope we never hear sinister goings on further down the line about Kaballah.
Kabbalah is not a religion. It’s a teaching within Judaism. Usually, you have to study the Torah first (you can do this for free) just to get to study Kabbalah (which you can also do for free, btw, in any synagogue). Just because a few corrupt Rabbis decided to make lots of money by pandering to celebrities who, though not Jewish, want to think themselves as “spiritual” or “enlightened,” that doesn’t mean that the philosophy or practice is corrupt. Many people study Kabbalah and I can say for certain that the number of Rabbis who cater to celebrities is a very tiny percentage, and the rest are pretty disgusted with this.
I think the “flexible visitation” that has been pushed exclusively by Tom’s team is a farce. I think he gave up a LOT of access to Suri in exchange for Katie allowing him to dominate the PR spin. Katie was after custody of her daughter- he gave her that, and probably acquiesced to whatever she wanted in terms of visitation time, in exchange for sitting back quietly and letting him put out a steady stream of PR bs:
“Scientology had nothing to do with it.”
“Tom gets generous and flexible visitation.”
“Tom is a normal parent.”
And we’ll probably see more pointed stuff in the coming months.
Look, any “normal parent” who went through a divorce like this would be rushing to see their kid, work obligations be damned. The fact that he’s on a movie set, and not seeing his young daughter speaks volumes about his “generous visitation” rights, or lack thereof.
work obligations be damned. The fact that he’s on a movie set, and not seeing his young daughter speaks volumes about his “generous visitation” rights, or lack thereof.
His movements only tell us why Katie timed the divorce exactly as she did. She knew he couldn’t leave the set to personally bully her.
Tom Cruise was fired by his studios the last time this co$ stuff became tabloid fodder. It has taken years for him to earn back his former standing and even then it’s still very precarious.
He is heading up a $140M production. He can’t simply blow that off. No studio would touch him again. ever. Plus they would probably sue the pants off him then where will Katie’s millions for future child support come from?? I have never heard of a production that has a bond to cover surprise personal problems. Except for lifetime that purposefully hired a known troubled person Lilo, you try to avoid anyone with personal drama. Insurance doesn’t pay out for any surprise dramas mid-filming. And irrespective of what you read in the media, studios are not bottomless pits of money. The crews are jobbing people. if he scews up his schedule, it screws up their schedules for jobs after this production.
All this co$ stuff is important to focus on but let’s not forget that they are not the only organisations worried about this story??
He is essentially serving two masters here. Co$ and the studios. That’s why this divorce had to be settled quickly and that’s why he is putting out the ‘heartbroken’ PR.
Lak,
Everything you said is correct but maybe what Marybeth was getting at was that even when he HAD the opportunity (when he was back in the US) he didn’t take it? IDK.
Anyway, as you said, he’s walking a tightrope now and it’s going to be very interesting to see how things play out for him careerwise in the next few months.
I agree with everything you said about his responsibilities to the studios and the still precarious position of his career since 2005. It goes to how smart Katie Holmes has been in her whole strategy and how much pressure was on Tom Cruise to settle quickly and quietly. My point was more that what’s being said in the media by his team in terms of what he “got” out of the settlement doesn’t seem to be accurate. His people are saying that he got generous visitation and he’s a normal father, but I think the fact that he hasn’t seen his daughter in almost a month (the last time was June 16th, when Katie and Suri visited him in Iceland) speaks to what he actually got, which I think is limited supervised visitation.
I haven’t read the comments yet, so someone may have brought this up already…
My guess is that Katie’s going to be declared a Potential Trouble Source, which would allow Tommy Boy to maintain some contact with her. Of course he should then be audited extensively (and expensively) to get rid of all those nasty engrams. Other forms of reasonably priced 😛 checks would also be necessary – that money of his might be tainted, you know.
There’s no way the Ronbots would risk losing their Golden Boy. Isn’t he there to complete their Xenu-repelling trinity of Elron the Father, Davey the Son and Tommy the… Arseholey Spirit?
In nòmine Patris, et Fìlii, et Spìritus Sphincter.
I’ve read a tremendous amount of Scientology stuff (stories, articles, blogs, etc) and have not heard the term “Potential Trouble Source.”
Is this a real CoS thing? Wouldn’t surprise me but have not seen that term among the bazillions of dumb-ass terms they use.
You may have seen PTS thrown around somewhere, but usually it isn’t that big a deal, at least when compared to SP. I don’t even think they’re actually declared as such. Old Elron really liked to categorise people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suppressive_Person says:
“[A PTS is] a person who is in some way connected to and being adversely affected by a suppressive person. Such a person is called a potential trouble source because he can be a lot of trouble to himself and to others.”
Obviously Katie has had some dealings with SPs. How else do you explain her turning from an obedient Stepford wife into an independent adult? 😉
Tom himself refers to “PTS/SP” in the infamous Video of the Crazy.
According to E! Online, Cruise may visit with Suri this weekend, but unlike other times he’s been with his daughter in NY “there will be no photo op.”
———-
Oh please, that’ll be the only reason he goes to visit her. I’m not sure he ever sees this kid without the paps in tow snapping pictures of what a “normal” and loving parent he is.
He almost HAS to make it a photo op. He needs to do damage control and “I am in Suri’s life” is a great way to start.
I’ll be looking for that female body guard/nanny with the cross necklace in the background on any of these photos.
The PR spin by Tom’s lawyers kill me: “Scientology had nothing to do with it.”
————–
Do they honestly think people believe that? If they do, they are kidding themselves.
It’s SO hilarious, especially given all the precautions she took and the fact that Katie does not want Suri raised within this cult. Pretty lame of them I’d say. Duh.
Damage control anyone?
I see that the cult has now decided to have a memorial service for Alexander Jentzsch and to allow his father Heber out of ‘the hole’ to attend. His mother Karen will not be allowed to attend.
Of course it’s all cult PR, but the love of another mother for her child has caused more problems for the CO$ and it’s beautiful to watch.
wow, really? I’d love to see Heber make a break for it but my guess is that he will be heavily drugged (despite CO$’s anti-psychotropic drug stance) and any oddness in his appearance or behavior will be labeled as due to the grief of losing his one
Wow, Cruise’s boots on set are uggggggggggggggly
Don’t read their comments if you are not feeling strong today they are gut wrenching.
What they’ll say is that Tom is such a enlightened person that he can handle the contact.
Of course it’s special treatment. They are supposed to court actors and doctors, so that they (the actors and doctors) can influence the regular population into accepting this pathetic “church.”
And the lower scientologists won’t/don’t care. If they were capable of rational thought, they wouldn’t be in the cult in the first place.
What would make this a complete victory is if Cruise’s box office was underwhelming on Reacher and whatever comes next. That would diminish his value as a recruiter and maybe he’d start to see how “church” life is for someone without such celebrity privilege. Don’t think Miscavige wouldn’t sour on him if things went downhill. Personally, I haven’t seen a Cruise headliner movie since the first Mission Impossible. (Granted, I saw Tropical Thunder, so I don’t know if that ruins my protester credentials.)
What would make this a complete victory is if Cruise’s box office was underwhelming on Reacher and whatever comes next. That would diminish his value as a recruiter and maybe he’d start to see how life is for someone without such celebrity privilege. Don’t think Miscavige wouldn’t sour on him if things went downhill. Personally, I haven’t seen a Cruise headliner movie since the first Mission Impossible. (Granted, I saw Tropical Thunder, so I don’t know if that ruins my protester credentials.)
I’ve been kind of watching this story from afar because to be honest I don’t care, but I have to admit I am amazed with Katie Holmes. I had always thought she was a bit dumb and during the whole TomKat courtship she seemed like a clueless, lovestruck starlet. Yet, this whole thing is….UNBELIEVABLE. She has figuratively backed Tom Cruise (arguably one of the biggest stars in the world) into a corner. She has won the PR war and found a way to keep the media focused on Tom and his strange faith, so she is never vilified. It’s BEAUTIFUL!!!! I am certain she will have a film career after this because so many people are going to be in admiration of her. It’s like she whipped off her sheep’s clothing and turning into a tigress of the first order!
I also find it funnying that in the months leading up to this divorce. She started looking and “acting” like she was miserable. Her hair wasn’t combed and she was dressing in bummy clothes with the most terrible expression on her face. BUT….NO ONE believed she could leave Cruise like she did!!!!
Again, this bitch has taken up a new place in my book as being a bad ass!
Haha those boots look like they’re total high heels!
this is totally off-topic, and i haven’t read the other comments to see if someone else has already said it, but Tom Cruise does NOT look 50 years old. I can only hope to look this good at his age…does craziness make you stop the aging process?
No, but a good Brazilian plastic surgeon does! (Allegedly)
i keep bringing this up when people say Suri doesn’t look like Tom. They are comparing his plastic face to her natural one. The man started messing with his face back in 1984/5. When you google pictures from that period, you see Suri features. That said, she mostly looks like Kate, but TC is definitely in there.
I agree Lak- for a while I thought it was sketchy but recently saw a photo of Suri where she looked so much like Tom.
why does the future always include ugly boots?
Gosh all I have to say at this point is this:
Connor is DEFINITELY Cruise’s biological son and Isabella is DEFINITELY Miscavige of Justice’s biological daughter!
Google it and check it out.
Seriously, those freaks are hiding so much nothing surprises me anymore.
Not one single “religion” has transparency. Not the catholics, not the mormons, not the cos, NOT ONE. They can tithe their members, get tax free status on whatever money they make, can claim land they don’t have to pay taxes on, and basically do anything they want under the auspices of their “church”. Organized religion is the single greatest scam ever perpetrated on humanity.
the last thing this wacko should be given is a gun.
of course, other rules apply to him. the fact this cult has a ‘celebrity centre’ should tell us there is a hierarchy and different rules for different ‘members’.
The boots look like they have lifts both inside and outside, which made me wonder what the height difference was between Tom and Olga … IMdB says Tom is 5’7″ (uh huh, with his regular boots on) and Olga’s 5’9 & 1/2″.
I have nothing against short guys; I used to date a guy who was 5’4″ (I’m 5’7″). What bugs me about Tom is — well, a lot of things, but regarding his height what bugs his seeming desperation to avoid owning it. How about joking about it now and then? You’re a “movie star” *despite* it. Why not acknowledge it?
My God, I’ve never worn shoes that high, and I’m a woman! How does he run in them?
Maybe Tom should try these Jimmy Choo’s:
http://tinyurl.com/8ycfec3
They match his blue shirt. However, someone should warn him that frequently wearing such high heels can permanently damage your calf muscles.
It would look much worse in the press if Tom Cruise cut ties with his (alleged) child.
This is isn’t about Tom Cruise’s rights. It’s about the CO$’s PR. If our parents and grandparents knew who Karen de la Carriere was you can damn well bet she would have been a part of her son’s life. It would make CO$ look bad.
CO$ doesn’t give a rat’s rear end about Tom Cruise the human being. It cares about itself and their percentage of his income they get.
Don’t forget Rayburn also said Muscivige (sp?) made TC’s auditing tapes public (at least to his real inner circle) and used them for in house entertainment.
I know it’s a long shot but I would love it if Tom Cruise woke up and smelled the Cappuccino. Whatever, they may have on him is nothing compared to what he may have on them.
Tom – these people are not your friends. I thought they might be until the tape story.
I’m no fan of Cruise, but I don’t understand why his seeing Suri would be against the cult’s rules? Suri herself is not the suppressive person, it’s Katie. So I can see them saying Tom shouldn’t see Katie. But Suri is still young and doesn’t make decisions for herself. I don’t see how Suri herself could be labelled a suppressive person, or why Tom wouldn’t be allowed to see her.
The bigger problem to me is Tom “allowing” Suri to spend time with Katie, since it’s Katie who’s the bad person (in the cult’s view). Of course, if a court ordered it, they have no choice. And in this case, Tom probably had the cult’s blessing (if not orders) to settle, so I don’t think they care. But to me, THAT is the hypocrisy of the cult (Suri being with Katie), not Tom and Suri.
If Tom took another child away from her mother, it would be bad PR. Especially, this mother and child. They were always together. Katie did nothing without Suri and vice versa. I don’t remember seeing many Nicole and the kids photos. I still don’t and she has two more. I’m not judging, I know all mom’s are different.
The thing is Katie and Suri(even pre-divorce) remind me of me and my mom AFTER her divorce when I was about Suri’s age maybe a little younger. They had a very “us against the world” vibe for a while now. It’s typical behavior for newly single moms but Katie has only been a single mom for a few weeks.
I see all this as CO$ PR.
Woa…
Wait a minute…
Are you implying that the Church of Scientology is…UNFAIR?
How DARE YOU!!!
This isn’t new. Nicole Kidman was not completely cut off from her children although they lived with Tom. Co$ definitely did a number on the kids to convince them mom was a problem, and there are witnesses to that. And they probably are used as dutiful Co$ spies and such, although divorced parents have been doing that privately for ages… But they did spend time with her. The rules have always been different for celebrity Scientologists. The media scrutiny makes them valuable for recruitment but also is protective. The ones who have to disconnect to remain in good standing are the regular folk.
The manipulative brainwashing techniques used by Co$ make it very difficult to leave, but ultimately the ones who stay are constructing and maintaining their own prison walls. That’s what makes it so difficult to fight when you’re on the outside, especially when children are involved. Even in Co$ gulags, with a few exceptions, people usually walk into the gulags under their own power. Their internal prison has the strongest bars. So the real danger for Suri is the conditioning she may receive while visiting her father. It will be difficult to prevent unless Tom comes to his senses. Children are very easily influenced this way outside the Co$ also, but Co$ is a special problem. Alienation is their specialty, and not just in regard to Xenu and those pesky body Thetans…
More than likely Katie will meet with an acident and then they will have Tommy and Suri all to themselves unless Katies family gets involved..Katie needs to watch her back at all times