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Tom Cruise files $50M defamation suit over Suri abandonment claim

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Tom Cruise is going on offense, suing the publishers of Life & Style Weekly for defamation and seeking $50 million in damages over a cover that alleged he’d “abandoned” daughter Suri.

“Tom is a caring father who dearly loves Suri,” attorney Bert Fields said in a statement Wednesday. “To say he has ‘abandoned’ her is a vicious lie. To say it in lurid headlines with a tearful picture of Suri is reprehensible.”

The suit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in L.A. At issue is Life & Style’s July 30 cover, which had the headline, “Suri In Tears, Abandoned by Her Dad,” accompanied by a picture of the girl crying.

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PHOTOS: Famous ScientologistsThe lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, asserts that the interior story does not support the claims made in the headline, and notes that the picture of 6-year-old Suri in tears was taken after the girl was not allowed to bring a puppy home from a pet store.

On July 30, Cruise was photographed holding hands with a mermaid-costume-clad Suri on a VIP visit to Walt Disney World.

The suit argues that while the headlines are easily readable by anyone going through a grocery store checkout line, only a small percentage of people actually read the story inside the magazine, which allegedly contradicts the cover impression.

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The media was rife with blaring headlines about Cruise, Katie Holmes and their daughter after Holmes filed for divorce on June 29. The couple reached a settlement quickly and were officially divorced Aug. 20.

In July, Fields sent a letter to American Media, publishers of the National Enquirer, threatening to sue over a story that called Cruise a “monster” and alleged that his was a “house of horrors.” That letter was obtained by the Hollywood Reporter.

“Tom doesn’t go around suing people,” Fields said in the statement. “He’s not a litigious guy. But when these sleaze peddlers try to make money with disgusting lies about his relationship with his child, you bet he’s going to sue.”

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If Cruise wins the lawsuit, Fields said, the money would be donated to charity.

A call to Bauer Publishing, Life & Style’s publisher, seeking comment Wednesday was not immediately returned.

ALSO:

Tom Cruise and Suri get some daddy-daughter time in NYC

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