Tom Cruise’s long and evident estrangement from his daughter Suri came into sharp focus last weekend — 11 years after he filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against a publication that reported that he had “abandoned” his daughter because his ex-wife, Katie Holmes, wouldn’t raise her in the Church of Scientology.
In a September 2013 deposition for the case, the Hollywood mega-star explained his objections to reports by In Touch that said he had cut ties with a then-7-year-old Suri after Holmes divorced him in 2012. He took issue with the publication claiming that he, a top celebrity member of Scientology, had chosen the church over his daughter “for good.”
“‘Abandoned by Daddy,’” Cruise said angrily in the deposition, referring to the headline of the story. “I mean, come on, that is absolutely disgusting. That is absolutely disgusting.”
But as Queen Elizabeth II once famously said about “recollections,” definitions of “abandonment” also may vary in this situation. In a report this week, The Sun quoted insiders who said that Cruise has not seen his daughter in 11 years.
Allegations of “abandonment” returned last weekend as Cruise let himself be photographed at one of Taylor Swift’s sold-out “Eras Tour” performances at Wembley Stadium in London. The “Top Gun” actor was seen exchanging friendship bracelets, hanging out with NFL star Travis Kelce and dancing to Swift’s music in the VIP seats.
Allegations of “abandonment” returned last weekend as Cruise let himself be photographed at one of Taylor Swift’s sold-out “Eras Tour” performances at Wembley Stadium in London. The “Top Gun” actor was seen exchanging friendship bracelets, hanging out with NFL star Travis Kelce and dancing to Swift’s music in the VIP seats.
But the night before, Cruise very publicly missed a major milestone in Suri’s life: her graduation from the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City.
Cruise’s absence from Suri’s graduation made headlines. And then came more headlines about the 18-year-old dropping her father’s surname for the ceremony. She instead used the name “Siri Noelle.”
Sources told Page Six that the new name was a tribute to her mother. Noelle is Katie Holmes’ middle name, and Holmes has essentially raised Suri as a single parent in New York City since her divorce from Cruise.
It’s not clear whether Suri has gone to court to make the name change official, Page Six said. A source told the publication that Suri dropped her father’s surname because she wants her “own identity” and to “start fresh at college.”
