Cruise Sues Porn Star Over Gay Allegations

ByABC News
May 4, 2001, 2:20 PM

May 3 -- A male porn star who claims that it was his homosexual affair with Tom Cruise that caused the superstar's split from wife Nicole Kidman is being served with a $100 million lawsuit by the Eyes Wide Shut actor.

In an international magazine called Actustar, the porn star, one Chad Slater, alleges that he and Cruise were caught in flagrante delicto by Kidman, prompting the breakup of the power couple's 10-year marriage.

The lawsuit against Slater, who is reportedly 25, charges that there is "no germ of truth in [Slater's] vicious, self-promoting story" and that Cruise doesn't even know the porn star.

Slater, who is also known as Kyle Bradford, is billed on his Web site as an "erotic wrestler," and, according to Inside.com, he is known in the United States for "porn movies where he likes to climb into a ring and have encounters with his partners."

Cruise Fears Losing FansCruise, one of the top box-office earners of all time, alleges that Slater's article, which the suit calls "fraudulent" and "malicious," could hurt his reputation with moviegoers since he is "dependent upon worldwide public acceptance of his films," according to the suit: "Losing the respect and enthusiasm of a substantial segment of the movie-going public would cost Cruise very substantial sums."

The lawsuit states that Cruise "is not a homosexual" and that while the star of Mission: Impossible "believes in the right of others to follow their own sexual preference, vast numbers of the public throughout the world do not share that view and, believing that he had a homosexual affair and did so during his marriage, they will be less inclined to patronize Cruise's films, particularly since he tends to play parts calling for heterosexual romance and action adventure."

Cruise and Kidman's Marriage Under a MicroscopeThe 37-year-old actor has long been a target of gay rumors and has already successfully sued over printed allegations about his sexual orientation.

Cruise and Kidman, who were regular tabloid fodder throughout their 10-year marriage, have been under a media microscope since Cruise filed for divorce in February. The divorce papers simply cited "irreconcilable differences." Reps for both actors maintain that there is no third party involved in their split.