Rupert Murdoch slams `creepy and weird cult' of Scientology
London: In the wake of the recent Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise divorce, Rupert Murdoch
has taken to his Twitter account to slam Scientology, which he described as “very
weird cult.” The media mogul shared his view on the religion with his 263,000
followers on the social network website. “Scientology back in news. Very weird
cult, but big, big money involved with Tom Cruise either number two or three in
hiearchy [sic],” the Mirror quoted him as tweeting. “Watch Katie Holmes and Scientology
story develop. Something creepy, maybe even evil, about these people,” he wrote.
Murdoch’s News Corporation Empire includes a Hollywood film studio, 20th *Century
Fox, which has distributed several of Cruise’s films. Anticipating a robust response
to his claims from the Church of Scientology , Murdoch said that they might even
threaten him. “Since Scientology tweet hundreds of attacks. Expect they will increase
and get worse and maybe threatening. Still stick to my story,” he said. Asked
by one user of the social network if he was a Christian, Murdoch replied: “I try
to be.” On being 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, which was founded by the late sci-fi
author L Ron Hubbard in the 1950s. 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 , the 33-year-old is asking for sole custody of the couple’s six-year-old
daughter, Suri, because it is believed that she does not want the child to be raised as a Scientologist.