Unauthorized biographer defends Tom Cruise claims

The controversial author of a new biography of Tom Cruise is defending his claim that the actor is the de facto “second in command” of the Church of Scientology and says a lengthy church statement rebutting the book supports the charge.

Labeled a writer of  “outlandish and malicious lies” by Cruise’s publicist, Andrew Morton told TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira in an exclusive interview that he knew that there would be a backlash when he set out to explore the deep ties between Cruise and the church founded by the late science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.

“I think this is a fair, evenhanded treatment of Tom Cruise’s life,” said Morton, who’s also written biographies of Princess Diana, Monica Lewinsky and Madonna. “He’s a man who deserves attention.”

“Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography” was released in the U.S. Tuesday after publishers in the United Kingdom and elsewhere reportedly passed on it due to concerns about lawsuits.

The release was greeted by a 15-page rebuttal issued by the Church of Scientology, of which Cruise is a member, which calls attention to Morton’s background as a British tabloid journalist and states: “His book is a bigoted, defamatory assault replete with lies.”

The church took particular exception to Morton’s claim that Cruise, who has been named the most powerful celebrity in the world by Forbes magazine, is effectively the second-in-command of the controversial religion. “Insinuations that Mr. Cruise is second-in-command of the Church are not only false, they are ludicrous,” the church’s statement says. “He is neither 2^nd nor 100^th. Mr. Cruise is a Scientology parishioner and holds no official or unofficial position in the church hierarchy.”

“It’s nonsense for them to say that, because he’s one of the most significant members of the church,” Morton told Vieira. “I stand by every word in the book. This book is very carefully researched, very carefully vetted.”

When Vieira asked who told him that Cruise is effectively second-in-command, Morton said, “People who worked with David Miscavige, the head of the Church of Scientology, people who’ve just left, people who’ve been in executive positions.”

Further, he said, it’s unusual for a church to issue a lengthy rebuttal of a book for an ordinary member.

“How many churches support one parishioner — a lowly parishioner — that way?” he asked.

Attacking the attacker?
Countering Morton’s assertions of accuracy, the church pointed out that the book is not being published in Australia, England and New Zealand because of those countries’ strict libel laws. And in its review, The New York Times wrote that Morton “pushed the limits of responsible reporting.”

“Their policy is always to attack the attacker,” Morton said of Scientology, which in his book he calls a cult. “Their tactic is to denigrate those who seek to talk about it.”

He said that the book delves deeply into Scientology, which Germany has moved to ban as a cult, because Cruise and the religion are inextricably intertwined.

“This is a biography of Tom Cruise’s whole life, not just his life inside Scientology,” Morton told Vieira. “It’s a very controversial faith. I’m trying to place Tom Cruise’s life in the context of a man who’s come from nowhere in New Jersey to become one of the most important movie stars of his generation, a man who’s shaping the future of Hollywood, who has an agenda as the poster boy of his faith.”

Morton denied the church’s allegations that he did not talk to anyone who knows Cruise or to the church’s leader, David Miscavige.

“Let me be absolutely clear about this. I asked for an interview with David Miscavige,” Morton said. “They refused it. I formally asked for it. I was instructed to ask for it by the publisher’s attorneys, and so what they’re saying is nonsense.”

He said that he spent two years researching the book and spoke to hundreds of people, including many who knew or had known Cruise. He also spoke to many former members of the church, including executives, who, he said, have e-mailed him to affirm the accuracy of the book.

Some of the sources are named and others remain anonymous. “Some people, obviously, will not go on the record to talk about Tom Cruise because they’re scared of him,” Morton said.

“I think this has been a very carefully researched book,” he said. “I wanted to explore Tom Cruise both as a man and as a symbol and to find out what really made him tick. He’s extremely litigious, and also, today, extremely angry.”

The 45-year-old Cruise was born in Syracuse, N.Y., but moved frequently as a child, by one account attending 15 schools in 12 years. His mother left his father when Cruise was 12, and he has said that his father was abusive. He attended high school in New Jersey, where he had his first taste of acting as the star of a production of “Guys and Dolls.”

From the start, Morton said, he was a natural, pegged for stardom. His first big hit movie was “Risky Business” in 1983, but the movie that propelled him to stardom was the 1986 mega-hit “Top Gun.”

Slide show   Top gun A look at Tom Cruise's career and relationships.

First married in 1987 to Mimi Rogers, who is said to have introduced him to Scientology, he was also married to Nicole Kidman from 1990-2001. In 2005, he began dating actress Katie Holmes, who inspired his famous couch-jumping episode on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” It was while watching that scene that Morton said he was inspired to write the actor’s biography.

Morton said that Cruise’s life is worthy of close inspection, given his influence in the world.

“He’s one of the most powerful celebrities in the world,” he told Vieira. “In this age of celebrity, where celebrities get a free pass to assert as opposed to argue, where they get access to presidents, prime ministers and politicians — not because of what they know, but because of who they are — that’s a dangerous slide into an unreflective world. We should be testing these people.”

He pointed to Cruise’s influence and his advocacy of Scientology, which was founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard some 40 years ago and has been under assault as a cult in a number of countries around the world.

“Tom Cruise, as I argue in the book, is effectively a celebrity advocate, a bit like Bono, a bit like Bob Geldof on Third World issues,” Morton said. “He’s arguing for his faith. He wants to change the way the education system is run in this country, the way the mental health system is run in this country. I feel his views should be tested against empirical fact, against the evidence.”

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