Cruise sues, named #39 on "50 Most Loathsome People in America" list

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://buffalobeast.com/73/feature1.htm

Jan 11th:

39. Tom Cruise

Crimes: Inexplicable stardom. In a just world, Brendan Fraser would get an Oscar before this carbon copy of every other rich asshole cokehead with a fast car. Consistently influential in casting women in his movies for the sole purpose of nailing them. Extremely convincing when he plays an ambitious, superficial prick.

Smoking Gun: Always plays an ambitious, superficial prick.

Feb 5th: It begins. Dickhead L.A. lawyer-to-the-stars Bertram Fields pads his billable hours mailing an unintentionally hilarious letter on behalf of Tom Cruise, naming just about everyone on our masthead as respondents, demanding an apology and making the ridiculous assertion that his entry in the Loathsome list "can cause serious personal and professional damage to Mr. Cruise."

LAW OFFICES OF GREENBERG GLUSKER FIELDS CLAMAN MACHTINGER & KINSELLA LLP

BERTRAM FIELDS

February 2, 2005

The Beast

Gentlemen:

I represent Tom Cruise. Your Issue #67 of "The Beast" contains false, defamatory and malicious assertions about Mr. Cruise. They include the following:

(1) That Mr. Cruise is a "cokehead." This is utterly false. He is not and never has been a "cokehead" or even a cocaine user. In fact, his fiercely anti-drug views are well known.

(2) That Mr. Cruise consistently casts women "for the purpose of nailing them." This too is completely false. Mr. Cruise has never cast any actress for that purpose. He is dedicated and professional in his work. He casts actresses based on their acting ability and fitness for the role, nothing else.

To publicly issue such absurdly false statements, without the slightest basis in fact, manifests an extraordinary level of malice and the complete absence of any sense of journalistic ethics.

You have made other false assertions about Mr. Cruise, such as your juvenile ranting that he is an "asshole" and is "loathsome." But, even though these assertions are irresponsible and far from the truth, they may conceivably be your opinions. If so, your reckless expression of such opinions formed without the slightest knowledge on the subject is reprehensible, even if not actionable.

The false assertions numbered above, however, are not matters of opinion. They are flat out, demonstrable lies. They can cause serious personal and professional damage to Mr. Cruise.

Without limiting Mr. Cruise’s rights or remedies in any way, I must ask that you issue an immediate retraction of your false assertions about him in language which I approve on his behalf.

BERTRAM FIELDS

cc: Charles Shephard, Esq. E. Barry Haldeman, Esq.