For the Church of Scientology, Tom Cruise reportedly constructed a soccer field to “woo” David Beckham.
The “Mission: Impossible” star apparently wanted to convert renowned people to the religion, prioritizing Victoria Beckham, a fashion designer, and David Beckham, a footballer.
In order to provide the Hollywood celebrity a cause to bring the former England player to the site with him, it was decided to have a “professional-grade” pitch built at the Gold Base headquarters in California.
In his latest book, “A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology,” former high-ranking officer Mike Rinder said that Tom was making every effort to woo celebrities other than those with whom he was collaborating on films. The most well-known were perhaps David and Victoria Beckham.
On the grounds at Gold, a soccer field of professional quality was built.
“Goals were lifted, the ground leveled, and irrigation and ideal grass were laid. The Gold staff members picked a full-time caretaker. It was created just so Tom Cruise could persuade his pal David to visit Gold. It never took place.
The author also said that the church supported the “Top Gun” star’s love life by providing a significant amount of funds for a building’s renovation in Spain when Cruise was dating Penélope Cruz, only for their relationship to end before the building’s opening.
“Tom had been dating Spanish actress Penélope Cruz, which was part of the reason why so much money was spent to acquire and restore the lovely building there,” he wrote.
So it’s a little ironic that Penélope had broken up with him by the time it was finished.
David Miscavage, the leader of the church, is alleged to have taken Cruise’s complaints about his personal life at the ceremony “to heart” and organized “auditions” to find him a companion.
After that, the 60-year-old actor started dating fellow Scientologist and actress Nazanin Boniadi for a short period of time before settling down with Katie Holmes, who later filed for divorce in 2012 after six years of marriage.
After leaving Scientology in 2007, when he was 52, Rinder served as the organization’s worldwide spokesman and director of its Office of Special Affairs. His wife Cathy then filed for divorce, and their two children “disconnected” from him.
His mother, who introduced him to the religion when he was five years old, also “disconnected” from him and he wasn’t informed when she died away in 2013. He is also no longer in communication with his brothers and their families.
The whistle-blower alleges that since leaving the church, he has been tracked, his computer hacked, and spied on, but he has no plans to stop speaking out.
I always react genuinely, Rinder stated. Two kids I brought into that environment don’t know any better. I want to give kids the opportunity to form their own opinions and think for themselves.
The author has been “harassing” the organization, according to a representative for the church, who also called him a “inveterate liar.”
The representative said to Mike Rinder: “Mike Rinder is a habitual liar who attempts to benefit from his dishonesty,” according to the New York Post’s Page Six column.
“He makes a living by planning the intimidation of his former Church and its leader via fictitious police complaints, divisive propaganda, and fake media reports.”