A four-year-old video of actor Tom Cruise talking about the wonders of his religion, Scientology, has been all over the World Wide Web. The video is nine-minutes long and was all over the Internet, but after attorneys issued letters requesting it be removed it has been pulled from most websites.

Tom Cruise (Image: OAN Media)

One has refused. New York based Gawker and Nick Denton is now hosting a copy of the video. The full video that was leaked earlier this week is still online at that website with this message, "It's newsworthy, and we will not be removing it."


Gawker is taking a stand, but even the Associated press has now chimed in and they claim the strategy has backfired for the Church of Scientology. Many believe that the release of the video coincides with Andrew Morton's published book about the "Mission Impossible" star. In the book, Morton alleges that the 45-year-old Cruise ranks second in command in the Church of Scientology. "This is a fair, even-handed treatment of Tom Cruise's life," the British author, who shot to fame with the publication of Diana: Her True Story, said. "He's a man who deserves attention."

The church was quick to respond with a 15-page statement, calling Morton's book Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography "a bigoted, defamatory assault replete with lies" and stating that Cruise "is a Scientology parishioner and holds no official or unofficial position in the Church hierarchy." Who is right, you decide.