Church Of Scientology hits back at Tom Cruise 'wife audition' claims with eight-page letter to Vanity Fair

Tom with Suri in July; the Vanity Fair October issue at the centre of the storm.

Images: Getty/Vanity Fair

Proving that people still actually write letters, The Church of Scientology has officially responded to Vanity Fair's damning article in its October issue which made a number of allegations about the church holding top-secret "wife auditions" for high-profile Scientologist Tom Cruise.

Lawyer Jeffrey K Riffer sent the letter on behalf of the church to Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter before the inflammatory story hit the shelves.

"We are writing regarding your, your editor's and reporter's shoddy journalism, religious bigotry and potential legal liability arising out of Vanity Fair's upcoming story about the Tom Cruise divorce," the letter begins.

The letter goes on to undermine the writer, Maureen Orth, claiming she "hasn't the vaguest clue about the practice of Scientology", and that she was getting her information from "fringe hate sites and their webmasters".

The Church of Scientology used the letter to threaten legal action against the magazine on the grounds that the story is "defamatory" and "false".

Earlier this month, Tom Cruise's lawyer Bert Fields denied the story's claims on behalf of the 50-year-old actor, calling the piece a "rehash of tired old lies previously run in the supermarket tabloids".

The story claimed that high-ranking Scientology officials auditioned suitable partners for Tom in 2004, following his split with Nicole Kidman in 2001.

According to the piece, actress Nazanin Boniadi was scouted to be Tom's partner, with Katie Holmes eventually becoming the suitable candidate for the role of Tom's wife.

Who do you believe — The Church of Scientology or Vanity Fair? Tell us below, and see if you think Tom and Katie were for real in our slideshow of their changing body language over the years.

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