[Gossip] The Church Of Scientology Writes Nasty Letter To Vanity Fair Over Tom Cruise Story
Posted by Joseph Lee on 09.18.2012
The gloves are off...
Perez Hilton reports that the Church of Scientology has written an eight-page letter to Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair, over his magazine's article about Tom Cruise's "wife hunt" through the Church.
The legal representative called Maureen Orth's piece "shoddy journalism, religious bigotry and potential legal liability." Before the story was published, Scientology sent the letter to slam Carter for ignoring "firsthand knowledge" from his staff as he prepared to "publish a poorly researched and sourced story." The letter denies all claims made against the Church, especially against its "ecclesiastical leader," David Miscavige. The article claimed that he secretly recorded Cruise's confessions during auditing sessions and was a "third wheel" in his romantic relationships.
The letter reads: "Ms. Orth's implications are demonstrably false. If she had considered for a minute the respective travel and work demands placed on both Mr. Miscavige and Mr. Cruise, she would have dismissed outright this "third wheel notion" … Mr. Miscavige is the leader of a dynamic global religion expanding across five continents. His duties are herculean and accomplishments monumental. He is not a 'third wheel' to anything or anyone. These alleged events never occurred – and, no credible person has ever said that they did. There are no authentic contemporaneous documents evidencing such events (because such events never occurred). To be absolutely clear, Mr. Miscavige never videoed auditing sessions, never saw videos of auditing sessions (since there are no videos), never read session reports aloud (since there are no such reports), let alone ever used such information to 'manipulate' anyone."
The letter then compares the article's treatment of Scientology to a white supremacist's attack on a Sikh religious leader and then mentions the "ignorance" and "bigotry" against the Church which may have influenced Orth's writing.
It continues: "Scientology is a new religion and its beliefs not as well known as those of more ancient history. That does not excuse you or Ms. Orth for being ignorant. Rather, it demands you be even more sensitive to finding out what the true beliefs are of Scientology-which can only be told by the religion itself. Just because you don't think you are bigoted doesn't mean you aren't. Bigotry and ignorance go hand in hand and you are definitely and wilfully ignorant of the actual beliefs of Scientology and the activities of its Churches."
The rep claims Orth's piece is "based on fictions manufactured by unsavory individuals who wish to do" the organization harm, the letter then assumes Vanity Fair "will not publish anything defamatory" and "we will not need to meet at a deposition or in a court.
