Tom Cruise gay gossip
Tom Cruise is suing Kyle Bradford for defamation. Bradford, a gay porn star whose real name is Chad Slater, allegedly told French celebrity gossip magazine Actustar that he had an affair with Cruise during his marriage to Nicole Kidman. The $100 million lawsuit states, "There is not a germ of truth to this vicious, self- promoting story. While Cruise thoroughly respects others rights to follow their own sexual preference, he is not a homosexual and had no relationship of any kind with Kyle Bradford and does not even know him." A longer story at E! reviews Cruise's history of battling gay rumors and reports that Actustar has since printed a retraction. Daze reprints and translates the original Actustar story here.
Yahoo | E! | Actustar (May 2001)
After being sued by Tom Cruise for $100 million, Kyle Bradford posted the following statement on his personal web site: "Regarding the news everyone has been reading...... I have never been to France, I have never spoken with 'Actustar Magazine', and have never said any of the statements allegedly said by me. The things being reported internationally are totally untrue and very hurtful to all parties."
Kyle Bradford (May 2001)
Two Village Voice columnists address the Tom Cruise-Kyle Bradford story. Richard Goldstein reviews Cruise's history of litigation to quash gay rumors in light of past rumor control campaigns. "Recall that Oscar Wilde's ordeal began when he sued his lover's father for casting aspersions on his heterosexuality." Goldstein also considers the crux of Cruise's $100 million libel claim against Bradford: that gay rumors could destroy his credibility in action films. Is this still true today with so many gay characters and performers in contemporary pop culture? ... Michael Musto talks to Kyle Bradford's ex-partner, Randall Kohl, about Bradford's
penchant for storytelling and obsession with Cruise. "He reminds me of a little kid telling stories to get attention. He'd tell me that Tom gave him a watch and also offered to buy him a car."
Village Voice (May 2001)
Tom Cruise has filed another $100 million lawsuit to quash gay rumors, this time against someone who sent emails offering a videotape which supposedly depicted Cruise having gay sex. His lawyer says, "[Cruise] is a great respecter of homosexual rights, but he's not gay, and he's ready to prove this in court," which would certainly boost ratings at CourtTV.
E! (Jun 2001)
Meanwhile, Kyle Bradford, the target of Cruise's first $100 million lawsuit, has announced his retirement from porn. A message on his personal website thanks his supporters and proffers life lessons learned during "the very public ordeal I've been through." Bradford also tried to auction off his domain names and exclusive rights to his wrestling videos at eBay, but the first auction didn't reach Bradford's reserve price, while the second auction shows up as "invalid," which may mean that eBay removed the listing. ... UPDATE: According to Auction Watch, eBay did indeed remove the second listing because Bradford placed it under "Computers/Domain Names" rather than an "Adult" category.
Kyle Bradford | eBay | Auction Watch (Jun 2001)
Tom Cruise has extended his $100 million defamation suit against gay porn star Kyle Bradford to include Bradford's wife Kristina Ann Kirstin. Cruise filed the original suit in May based on an article in the French tabloid Actustar, in which Bradford supposedly recounted his yearlong affair with Cruise. Bradford has since denied ever meeting Cruise or speaking to Actustar, and the magazine published a retraction. Kirstin admits she spoke to the National Enquirer about the alleged affair, but only after the original lawsuit was filed, and she denies saying anything defamatory.
Planet Out (Aug 2001)
Former gay porn star Kyle Bradford (real name: Chad Slater) has decided not to contest Tom Cruise's $100 million lawsuit against him. "If (Cruise's lawyers) persist, they will get a judgment against me for $100m. Then I file bankruptcy and it's dismissed. They exposed me and my whole personal life by doing this to me. It's like I'm being harassed by the celebrity... I don't think I ever want to see another Tom Cruise movie in my life."
BBC (Aug 2001)
A Los Angeles judge on Wednesday ordered Tom Cruise to pay $27,900 in legal fees to Kristina Ann Kirstin, the ex-wife of gay porn star Kyle Bradford (real name: Chad Slater). Cruise sued Bradford for $100 million over a French tabloid story which quoted Bradford discussing a torrid affair with Cruise. Bradford denied ever talking to the tabloid or ever having met Cruise, and the tabloid published a retraction, but Cruise is still pursuing the lawsuit. Then Kirstin tried to sell her own story about a Bradford-Cruise affair to the National Enquirer, so Cruise added her to the lawsuit. E! explains the latest twist: "On Wednesday, however, Superior Court Judge Aurelio Munoz raised questions about the logic of Cruise's complaint against Kirstin. Included in the four-page amendment was a declaration from Slater saying he didn't know Cruise at all--supposedly meant to show that Kirstin fabricated her tale. But Judge Munoz said the statement seemed to contradict Cruise's complaint against Slater." Munoz's ruling states, "Plaintiff is blowing both hot and cold in this same proceeding. This [declaration from Slater] is the only evidence to indicate [Kirstin] knew the story was false when she sold it. Plaintiff cannot have it both ways." Check out our full coverage of Cruise's anti-gay-gossip lawsuits here.
E! (Oct 2001)
In which the influence of a noted community weblog is revealed to the reader. A couple days ago, someone at Metafilter posted a BBC News article about the settlement in Tom Cruise's latest lawsuit against gay rumormongers. At least seven other weblogs have since linked to the same BBC News page, landing it in the Daypop Top 40 — even though the news item was published last December. Hey, no judgment, I snag links from Metafilter all the time. The long, ensuing Metafilter discussion thread is typically sardonic.
BBC News | Daypop | Metafilter (Apr 2002)
Author David Ehrenstein has posted several rounds of legal correspondence between Tom Cruise's lawyers and the lawyers for William Morrow & Company, publishers of Ehrenstein's book Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-1996. (Link snagged from Metafilter, natch.)
Ehrensteinland
Tom Cruise has quietly dropped his $100 million lawsuit against Kyle Bradford's wife for telling the National Enquirer that her husband frequently bragged about having an affair with Cruise. This week's National Enquirer cover screams, "Tom Cruise Settles Gay Lawsuit! - The Secret Payoff Deal," but the article isn't available on the Enquirer website. Oh well, I need to do some grocery shopping today anyway. There is some discussion of this news on their message boards. (Oct 2002)
