The media mogul made the accusations in a series of tweets prompted by news of Cruise’s impending divorce battle with Katie Holmes. “Scientology back in news. Very weird cult, but big, big money involved with Tom Cruise either number two or three in hiearchy [sic],” he told his 263,000 Twitter followers.
“Watch Katie Holmes and Scientology story develop. Something creepy, maybe even evil, about these people.” Mr Murdoch’s News Corporation empire includes a Hollywood film studio, 20th Century Fox, which has distributed several of Cruise’s films.
Appearing to anticipate a robust response to his claims from the Church of Scientology, Mr Murdoch continued: “Since Scientology tweet hundreds of attacks. Expect they will increase and get worse and maybe threatening. Still stick to my story.”
Asked by one user of the social network if he was a Christian, Mr Murdoch replied: “I try to be.” Invited to comment on Mormonism, he said: “Mormonism a mystery to me, but Mormons certainly not evil”.
Cruise is the highest-profile follower of Scientology, the controversial religion founded by the late sci-fi author L Ron Hubbard in the 1950s.
David Miscavige, leader of the church, was best man at the actor’s wedding to Holmes. Followers are “audited” using a device called an e-meter, which the church claims can measure a person’s state of mind. Holmes filed for divorce last week after five years of marriage.
According to reports in the US, she is asking for sole custody of the couple’s six-year-old daughter, Suri, because it is thought she does not want the child to be raised as a Scientologist.
