If you’ve spent any time on the internet in the last few days, you’ve likely seen a couple of posts on your favorite blogs or a few of your faves tweeting about a story in Star magazine claiming that Tom Cruise is finally, at long last, leaving the Church of Scientology. Star cites an “insider” who says Cruise recently saw daughter Suri for the first time in forever, and was “devastated” by how much he has missed out on in her life since his split from Katie Holmes.

Now, as tempting as it is for me to devote a chunk of my day to writing about my favorite cult, I chose not to write a post about this particular tabloid rumor, because my rabid fascination with all things Scientology told me to do one thing and one thing only before giving them any credence: see what Tony Ortega has to say. A journalist, Tony’s personal site, The Underground Bunker, is devoted to his decades-long interest in the Church — its information, specifically gossip about Scientology’s legal woes, celeb members and abusive practices, comes straight from (mostly former) members with insider information. In short, I don’t consider a story about Scientology to be worth its salt unless Tony says so.

And here’s what Ortega wrote about Star’s big bombshell:

The insider claims that Tom was devastated to realize how much of his daughter’s life he was missing out on. “When she speaks to him on the phone, it’s becoming more and more like she’s talking to a stranger.” Well, that’s heartbreaking, if it’s true, and we would hope that Tom would be affected and do something about it. Like, you know, visit her more often.

And here’s the thing. The “insider” clearly has no idea whether or not Tom is actually going to sever ties with Scientology, and Star itself hedges its bets, saying that Tom “may soon part ways with the cultlike religion.”

Cue the sad trombone: wah wah waaaaaaaah.

But now that you know you’ve been had, it’s too late — you’ve paid your money based on the salacious cover headline, and only now do you realize that Star magazine doesn’t have the slightest idea whether Tom Cruise is actually leaving Scientology. In fact, Star magazine doesn’t have the slightest idea what Scientology is. All they know is that it’s a word that sells copies, and they love teasing readers with the idea that Tom is on his way out.

Read more on Thefrisky.com….

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade