In arguably the most direct attempt yet to stamp out rumors about his sexual orientation, Cruise filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit Wednesday against a gay porn star, who allegedly claimed in tabloid reports that he had an affair with the actor.
The complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims Chad Slater (an "erotic wrestler" who also goes by the name Kyle Bradford) "concocted and spread the completely false story that he had a continuing homosexual affair with Tom Cruise and that this affair was discovered by Mr. Cruise's wife, leading to their divorce."
According to the suit, Cruise "had no relationship of any kind with Kyle Bradford and does not even know him." But Bradford allegedly told international magazine Actustar that he had an ongoing affair with Cruise, and that Nicole Kidman walked in on them during a "romantic encounter," prompting the couple to split up. The story was translated and later repeated in the Spanish-language magazine TVyNovelas.
"It is absolutely 100 percent false," Cruise's attorney, Bert Fields, tells E! Online. "[Cruise] is a great respecter of homosexual rights, but he's not gay, and he's ready to prove this in court. Tom is tired of it and it hurts his children. It's something that will be there forever. And damn it, he's going to stop it."
Bradford, whose film credits include The Cockpit Club and Forced to Submit, is apparently known in the U.S. "for his porn movies where he likes to climb into a ring and have encounters with his partners," according the Actustar article. The skin-flick thespian claimed to Actustar that he received a phone call while in Paris "from a Tom Finigham, who proposed to have a private encounter, specifically in a ring." Bradford apparently claimed in the article that it was actually Cruise, and that they had an ongoing affair.
Bradford, however, denies the allegations. In a statement, he says, "Regarding the news everyone has been reading...I have never been to France, I have never spoken with Actustar Magazine, and have never said any of the statements allegedly said by me. The things being reported internationally are totally untrue and very hurtful to all parties."
Meanwhile, Fields says Actustar has since published a retraction of the story. But Cruise is now prepared to target any other publications--domestic or foreign--that reprint the tale.
"He's going to sue anybody who repeats this story, even as a rumor," Fields said. He added that Cruise is willing to take the case as far as necessary. "We're very anxious to hear what this porn actor says under oath about this garbage story he's handing out."
By Wednesday afternoon, Bradford's personal Website was shut down. "Due to uncontrollable circumstances, kylebradford.com will be unavailable for a while," the site reads.
Over the years, Cruise's bedroom habits have been a matter of intense speculation for the tabloids. But the 38-year-old star has grown increasingly vigilant about taking on rumor-mongers. In 1997, Kidman told Ladies' Home Journal that she and her husband would take the offensive on reports claiming their marriage was a sham. "[W]e are going to sue over it," she said. "It gets to a point where you have to protect your children."
The couple also successfully sued the Star supermarket tabloid in 1999, after it published a story claiming Cruise and Kidman needed a sex coach for their steamy scenes in Stanley Kubrick's film, Eyes Wide Shut. The lawsuit was later settled, with the Star issuing a full retraction and making an unspecified donation to a charity of Cruise and Kidman's choice.
Cruise and Kidman, 33, have been separated since last December. Cruise filed for divorce in February, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple has two adopted kids, Isabella Jane, 8, and Connor Anthony, 6.
(updated 5/3/01 at 2:30 p.m. PT)