Church of Scientology denies claims that Nicole Kidman was a ‘gold digger’

The Church of Scientology has vehemently denied extraordinary claims that their leader David Miscavige called Nicole Kidman a gold digger who had faked her conversion to the religion.

In a new book, Pulitzer Prize winning author Lawrence Wright alleges the comments were made about the 45-year-old actress when she was married to Scientology devotee Tom Cruise.

He goes on to claim that Miscavige had described her as a ‘suppressive’ person and was hopeful that the actor, now 50, could be ‘peeled away’ from her.’

Both the Church and Miscavige have issued a robust denial of the allegations made in Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood & the Prison of Belief, which will by published by Knopf on January 17 with a reported print run of 150,000 copies.

A British version of the book has been cancelled after publisher Transworld took legal advice.
Karin Poew, a Church representative said: ‘Wright’s book would be better suited for supermarket tabloids because they are nothing more than a stale rehash of allegations disproven long ago’.

‘It is important to note that Wright’s British publisher had second thoughts, choosing not to publish Wright’s book after being informed of the numerous inaccuracies and defamatory lies it contains that were told to Wright by a handful of bitter and discredited former Scientologists.’

Wright’s highly-anticipated book is based on his 2011 New Yorker article ‘The Apostate’, for which he interviewed the screenwriter and director Paul Haggis about his decision to resign from the organisation.

It examines the Church’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard, the church’s finances and its relationships with celebrities such as Cruise and John Travolta.

The first excerpt of the tome, published in The Hollywood Reporter this week, alleges that Miscavige attempted to cultivate Cruise to become a spiritual leader – and was ‘bedazzled’ by the glamour surrounding the star, who introduced him to a social life outside Scientology, including use of his private jet and set visits.

In turn, Cruise ploughed millions of dollars into the church and attempted to lobby foreign leaders – including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair – to promote Scientology. The book claims that the actor submitted to hours of ‘auditing’  – where followers are given ‘spiritual counselling – in the run up to his split from Nicole in 2001.

It had been previously alleged that Cruise and Nicole’s adopted children Isabella and Conor, both brought up as devout Scientologists, were told their mother was a ‘supressive’ person – a spiritually toxic person to be avoided.

Members of the Church quietly instilled this idea into the kids, who were just eight and six at the time of their parents split,  to try and turn them against Nicole, sources claimed to Vanity Fair last September.

The Church strongly denied the claims, publishing online an eight-page letter which it sent to the magazine in which it accused the writer Maureen Orth of ‘shoddy journalism’.

After an intensive five days hours of auditing in October 1998, according to the new book, Cruise ‘went quiet’ until he and Nicole were in England, filming Eyes Wide Shut.

Out of the blue, former Scientologist and church official Marty Rathbun, who oversaw Cruise’s auditing, received a call from the star in January 2001 asking for help – and revealing that he and Nicole had split.

Cruise’s ‘renewed dedication’ to Scientology following the breakdown of his near 10-year marriage to Nicole, resulted in Miscaviage and the actor becoming ‘closer than ever’, as the book alleges the church leader flew with Cruise in the Warner Bros. jet to a test screening of The Last Samurai in Arizona.

While in July 2004, Miscavige hosted a 42nd birthday party for Cruise aboard the Scientology cruise ship Freewinds, with the book noting: ‘Musicians, including Miscavige’s father, played songs from the actor’s films as clips played on giant screens. Cruise himself danced and sang ‘Old Time Rock and Roll, reprising his famous scene from Risky Business.’

In Vanity Fair, in 2004, Miscaviage was alleged to have set up a team to help Cruise find a girlfriend. They claimed that the church discovered aspiring actress Nazanin Boniadi, a 25-year-old Iranian-born, London-raised beauty whose mother was also a Scientologist.