Tom Cruise never paid the man who catered the actor's 1990 wedding to Nicole Kidman, according to the caterer’s first-hand account of the incident that appeared Thursday on Business Insider.
The caterer, Sinar Parman, was the personal chef to the founder of the Church of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, and his successor, David Miscavige, for several years in the '80s and '90s. Cruise is a longtime member of the church.
“[In 1990], David Miscavige told me, ‘Hey, you’re going to cater for Tom’s wedding in Colorado,” Parman told BI. “After it was over it was, 'Oh Dave decided you were not going to be paid by Tom.' It really ticked me off because you know what, my wife and I earned 50 bucks a week.”
Parman, who joined the Church of Scientology in 1978 and began work as the executive chef at the church’s Gold Base in 1988, says in the BI article that being stiffed by Cruise was one of the last straws that led to his decision to leave the church.
Parman revealed the details of his repeated attempts at fleeing the church in a 2009 article that appeared in the St. Petersburg Times. The article includes Parman's account of Cruise's wedding to Kidman in Telluride, Colo., but does not mention that he wasn't paid for his services.
Amanda Lundberg, co-head of the entertainment marketing division of 42West, which represents Cruise, told HuffPost in an email that she was not aware of the actor’s stance on Parman’s claim. She wrote:
"You are asking about something that happened 20 years ago -- I don't know anything about this and need more time to find out. Any reason you need to post this who cares bullshit now?"
Watch this space for updates.
This article has been updated to include additional comments from Amanda Lundberg.