Scientology denies Cruise 'bride audition' claims

The Church of Scientology has issued a denial over claims that auditions were held to find Tom Cruise a bride after he split with Nicole Kidman.

The claims were made in an article in the US magazine Vanity Fair, which included testimony from an actress who said she was one of the women that was set up with Cruise.

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“The entire story appearing in Vanity Fair is hogwash,” read a statement to the AFP.

“There was no project, secret or otherwise, ever conducted by the Church to find a bride (via audition or otherwise) for any member of the Church. Never.

“Vanity Fair relied exclusively on a small group of anti-Scientologists, a handful of self-promoting apostates who are admitted liars and suborners of perjury.”

Cruise's lawyer Bert Fields also poured scorn on the piece, saying: “Vanity Fair's story is essentially a rehash of tired old lies previously run in the supermarket tabloids, quoting the same bogus 'sources'. It's long, boring and false.”

The story claims that the Church initiated a 'top secret' project to find a wife for Cruise, headed up by Shelly Miscavige, the wife of the Church's head David Miscavige.

The story runs as a front cover exposé in the latest issue, featuring an interview with actress Nazanin Boniadi, who says she was chosen to date Cruise but the relationship broke down.

Former Scientologist and friend of Boniadi, director Paul Haggis, has come out in support of the article.

“Naz was embarrassed by her unwitting involvement in this incident and never wanted it to come out, so I kept silent,” he said. “I was deeply disturbed by how the highest ranking members of a church could so easily justify using one of their members; how they so callously punished her and then so effectively silenced her when it was done.”