Scarlett Johansson has hit back against a claim which said that she auditioned to date Tom Cruise following his split from Nicole Kidman.
“The very idea of any person auditioning to be in a relationship is so demeaning. I refuse for anyone to spread the idea that I lack the integrity to choose my own relationships. Only a man aka Brendan Tighe would come up with a crazy story like that,” Johansson said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
While appearing on NBC’s Megyn Kelly Today on Wednesday, Brendan Tighe, a former Scientologist, said that while serving as a member of Cruise’s Scientology security unit, he came across reports of women who auditioned to be in a relationship with the actor, one of whom was Johansson. Tighe explained that he saw the reports after they were accidentally sent to his printer and that he recalled only Johansson’s name because hers was the only one he recognised.
The Church of Scientology also denied Tighe’s claims regarding his role with Cruise.
Karin Pouw, from the Church of Scientology International, told Kelly, “Brendan Tighe was a Church of Scientology Flag Service Organisation security guard/night watchman from 2002 to 2009. The ‘access’ he boasts of having was largely limited to viewing security cameras from a guard booth. He was removed from that position for dereliction of duty.”
Tighe’s accusation surrounding Johansson and Cruise is not the first time an alleged dating process for the actor has been rumoured. According to a Vanity Fair article published in 2012, Scientology members underwent an audition process to see if they were a suitable match for Cruise. Actress Nazanin Boniadi was reportedly selected and was in a relationship with the actor from November 2004 to January 2005.
It was also rumoured that his marriage with Katie Holmes failed because she refused to convert to Scientology, hence labelling herself as a ‘suppressive’ person. The rumour also claims that the reason Cruise has not maintained a relationship with his daughter, Suri, is because she has also been included on this list because of her mother.
The Church of Scientology maintains a Suppressive Person list, which includes people who have been declared by the church to be anti-social and detrimental to the spiritual progress of Scientologists.
In addition to Katie Holmes, both Nicole Kidman and Penélope Cruz ran afoul of Scientology, the report said.
