Jenny McCarthy claims Tom Cruise tried to recruit her and Jim Carrey into Scientology
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jenny McCarthy claims Tom Cruise tried to recruit her and her then-boyfriend, Jim Carrey, into Scientology during his 2006 wedding to Katie Holmes.
Speaking on Thursday’s episode of her podcast with former Scientologist Anne Gollert Hill, she recalled uncomfortable encounters at the wedding and expressed concern about Holmes behaviour during her marriage to Cruise.
Jenny McCarthy recalls Tom Cruise's alleged attempt to get her and Jim Carrey into Scientology
McCarthy revealed that Cruise tried to bring her into Scientology while she was dating Carrey. She recalled sitting directly across from Cruise and Holmes at their wedding rehearsal dinner, where the couple had recently welcomed their daughter, Suri.
During the dinner, a nanny brought Suri over to Holmes, prompting McCarthy, who described herself as a “baby person,” to ask whether she could hold the infant. She claimed the entire party turned to stare at her, comparing the moment to the horror film 'Rosemary’s Baby'.
“It looked like ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ … I got the Scientology stare,” McCarthy recalled.
After Holmes “slowly” handed Suri to her, McCarthy said she monotonously greeted the baby with “Hi, baby” before returning her to her mother. She added that everyone immediately resumed their conversations.
“I just thought to myself, ‘OK, I am in the belly of the beast right now,’” McCarthy said. The actress also recalled Cruise introducing her to his best man, David Miscavige, the leader of the Church of Scientology.
McCarthy said she joked, “Ha ha, you got picked. Congratulations,” but acknowledged that her remark sounded demeaning. According to her, Miscavige “did not like that,” while Cruise laughed to cover the uncomfortable moment.
McCarthy further claimed that Cruise once invited her and Carrey to his home in Aspen. However, Carrey was reluctant to attend because he feared they would “try to lure [them] in.”
Jenny McCarthy says Katie Holmes changed during marriage to Tom Cruise
McCarthy also speculated that Cruise was frequently surrounded by Scientologists who appeared to follow him closely, possibly to monitor him and ensure he did not act or speak against the organization’s expectations.
“They don't want them to stray. They don't want them to say the wrong thing,” she explained. Elsewhere in the podcast, McCarthy claimed Holmes “looked like a deer in headlights” during her marriage to Cruise.
She said she became increasingly concerned about the actress following the wedding and would often pull her aside at subsequent gatherings to check whether she was doing well.
“This was well into the marriage. During the wedding part, she still seemed like Katie, but into the marriage, it seemed there was a shift in her,” McCarthy explained. She also described the contrast between Holmes and Cruise’s respective worlds as significant, saying, “The juxtaposition between Katie at this time and Tom’s world were very polar opposite.”
McCarthy and Carrey began dating in 2005 before splitting in 2010, although they have remained close over the years. McCarthy, a former co-host of 'The View', married Donnie Wahlberg in 2014.
Carrey recently married his longtime girlfriend, Min Ah, in a private Los Angeles ceremony earlier this month. Meanwhile, Cruise and Holmes divorced in 2012, and Holmes has recently been linked to artist Jason Bard Yarmosky.
