Cruise wins 'gay' claims legal battle

A Los Angeles judge entered the default judgment after Chad Slater admitted that his story was false, Cruise's lawyer has confirmed on Wednesday.

Ricardo Cestero said Cruise was "very, very pleased with getting this judgment".

" If people are writing stories that defame him, he is going to go after them "
Ricardo Cestero
Tom Cruise's lawyer

The judgement marks the second time Cruise - star of Mission: Impossible and Minority Report - has won legal battles to quash rumours that he is gay.

The default judgement was entered by the judge in late December.

Cruise had originally succeeded in suing Slater over the false allegations, but later requested the latest judgement when Slater defaulted on the suit last year.

Slater was not available for comment. It is not clear whether Cruise will demand that Slater - a former "erotic wrestler" also known as Kyle Bradford - pays the judgement fee.

Previous action

In his action, Cruise said Slater falsely told a French magazine called Actustar that his gay love affair with Cruise led to the actor's August 2001 divorce from actress Nicole Kidman.

The actor said he would donate any proceeds of the lawsuit to charity.

Cruise last acted against gay rumours in 2001, when the 40-year-old actor sued Michael Davis, the Los Angeles publisher of Bold Magazine, for $100m (£62.3m).

Davis claimed to have a videotape of Cruise engaged in homosexual acts.

'Protective'

The actor dropped the suit later that year after Davis retracted his claim and agreed to a stipulation that Cruise "is not, and never has been, homosexual and has never had a homosexual affair".

Cruise is determined to take legal action for defamation against anyone who spreads false rumours about him, said his lawyer.

"He is very concerned and very protective about his personal reputation," Ricardo Cestero.

"To the extent that if people are writing stories that defame him, he is going to go after them," he said.