Tom Cruise has been named in a $250 million lawsuit filed against the Church of Scientology by a former member.

The action accuses the controversial faith’s leaders of harassment.

The Hollywood star is an outspoken member of the Church, and is alleged to be second in line to Scientology head David Miscavage.

But his close connections have landed him in the middle of a new legal battle with ex-Scientologist Peter Letterese, who filed papers in Florida’s Southern District Court on July 15th.

Letterese, who also names Miscavage and others in the lawsuit, wants the religious organisation to be investigated under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization law, which is used to break up Mafia families and drug rings.

He claims he was constantly harassed by members of the Church after he denounced the faith – with one Scientologist even phoning the home of Letterese’s lawyer. When the attorney’s wife answered, the unnamed member claimed he was her husband’s gay lover, according to the court papers.

Branding the Church of Scientology a “crime syndicate”, Letterese goes on to allege that Miscavage is “aided and abetted by the actions of Tom Cruise, his right-hand man for foreign and domestic promotion, as well as for foreign and domestic lobbying. He has assisted the syndicate in acquiring funds and (made) his own donations of money believed to be in the multiple tens of millions of dollars”.

Letterese is also complaining against the Scientologists’ use of business book Effective Sales Closing Techniques, which he owns the rights to. He claims the use of the tome in their teachings violates his intellectual property rights, after he bought the book rights from late author Leslie Dane’s widow.

But the lawsuit has been dismissed by Church of Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw, telling the New York Daily News: “This is a frivolous suit based on falsehoods.”

Pouw also addressed Letterese’s concerns over his book rights: “Earlier this month, the federal Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit already rejected similar claims and affirmed that the church’s use of the book in question was fair use. Mr. Letterese was penalised $266,000 by a California court for refusing to provide evidence to support many of the same allegations.”
Cruise’s lawyer Bert Fields has yet to respond to the lawsuit.

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The man photographed frolicking on holiday with Britney Spears has been identified as one of her bodyguards – sparking rumors of a possible romance between the pair.

The Toxic star is currently enjoying a sunshine break in Mexico and has been snapped dancing and playing in the sea with her minder Lee, a former soldier in the Israeli army who has reportedly worked for Spears for six months.

A source tells British newspaper The Sun, “Britney and Lee hit it off immediately. He is her perfect type. They’ve spent so much time together that one thing led to another and their relationship became physical.

“They are in Mexico together. They’ve been having a great time – Lee put a smile on her face.”

It is not the first time Spears has been romantically linked to an employee – the star met her ex-husband Kevin Federline while he was working as one of her backing dancers. She has also previously dated Adnan Ghalib – a member of the paparazzi.

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Patrick Swayze has reportedly been approached to star in a sequel to his hit 1987 movie Dirty Dancing.

The film, which also starred Jennifer Grey, spawned a spin-off movie Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights in 2004 with a young, relatively unknown cast.

But now Swayze – who is currently battling pancreatic cancer – is said to be considering a return to the role which shot him to international fame.

A source tells British newspaper Metro, “It’s great news that Patrick is so well and there are lots of offers for him. Everyone wants him to star in a ‘Dirty Dancing’ sequel. It’s just a matter of him making his mind up.”

The 55-year-old is back at work following his cancer diagnosis, starring in new TV series The Beast.

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Jessica Simpson has admitted she was once a victim of abuse.

The pop star/actress makes the startling admission in the September issue of Elle, where she reveals a song written for her forthcoming country album was based on her own experiences.

Simpson refuses to go into further detail about the painful memory or even confirm whether she was attacked herself – but insists she has experienced the affects of abuse.

When asked by the interviewer if she has ever been physically abused, she replied: “I don’t want to talk about it, but I have definitely experienced abuse in a way that I would tell people to take their heart and run.”

In one of the tracks, Remember That, the star can be heard singing: “It doesn’t matter how he hurts you / With his hands or with his words / You don’t deserve it / It ain’t worth it / Take your heart and run.”

Simpson’s first country album, Do You Know?, is slated to hit shelves on September 9th.

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At 47, Kathy Griffin swears she will never go under the knife again.

“I’ve been off the junk, as I call it, for five years,” she says in the September issue of Fitness (out August 14). “I’ve had face lift, eye job and all that stuff five years ago.

“What I found, though, was that it didn’t help me one bit,” Griffin says. “It didn’t get me happier or didn’t make me look particularly younger.”

The Emmy-nominated comedienne says she always thought she needed surgery to land work.

“I really thought ageism is so prevalent in Hollywood, especially in standup — it’s such a male dominated zone,” she says. “I thought, ‘Dammit, I got to do everything I can to look my best.’”

She says she later learned aging “is not really going to keep you from what you want.

“For example, if you work in an office, you’re probably going to do the same job if you’re 10 pounds heavier or lighter,” Griffin goes on. “I’m not talking about anorexia or obesity — those are obviously two different animals.

“But I spent 20 years of my life obsessing about 10, 15 pounds, and what I found as a comedian … is that nobody expected me to come out in a bikini anyway,” she says. “I’ve never lost a job because of my weight, and I’ve certainly never gotten a job because of my cosmetic surgery or my weight.”

She says she has come to accept her body over the years.

“I’ll say to my younger friends, ‘C’mon, I have a hot body, right?’ I mean, not a hot body Hollywood-style… but it’s hot for 47.

“So that’s my new thing — I like my body now,” Griffin adds. “For 47, it’s pretty darn good.

She adds, “I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m never going to be Jennifer Aniston.”

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Guy Ritchie has admitted a character from his new film RocknRolla is based on Pete Doherty.

When a stolen painting falls into the hands of rock star Johnny Story, (Toby Kebbell), the shambolic musician – who is hiding out in a crack den, having been declared dead – finds himself caught in the middle of a battle between the Russian mob, the established London underworld and its rising tough guys.

And speaking to Empire magazine, Ritchie has revealed that former Libertine Doherty was the inspiration for Kebbell’s character.

“At the time I was writing it, Pete Doherty was everywhere,” he explained. “It’s either genius marketing or a happy – or unhappy – accident. It’s creative self-destruction in the sense that he’s doing it creatively.”

He continued: “I think what we all like is someone who fell and then stood up again. And that’s probably the story with Pete Doherty. There seems to be an implication that people want to see him jump. But at the same time there’s a desire to see the likes of him being reborn.”

RocknRolla - which Ritchie has described as looking at “old school gangsters getting pushed out by the new school” – is released on September 5th.

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Ewan McGregor was floored when his wife insisted on joining him for his most recent televised motorbike trek – because she’d never shown any interest in cycles.

The Scottish star was putting the finishing touches to his Long Way Down adventure with pal Charley Boorman when his French wife Eve Mavrakis asked to come along for the ride – on the evening before they set off.

McGregor recalls, “She wanted to ride her own bike and I’ve been married to her for almost 13-years and she’s barely been on the back of my motorcycle… so she learned. She flew into Johannesburg and drove up with these guys and the bike on the back of a pick-up truck to the border of Malawi and we met her there… and she rode down the whole length of Malawi with us and across Zambia with us, which was brilliant. It was really nice.”

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