Tom Cruise has strenuously denied claims that he "abandoned" his seven-year-old daughter Suri Cruise following his divorce from Katie Holmes.
A two-page description of his relationship with his little girl was filed on Tuesday in Tom's $50m (£31m) defamation lawsuit again Bauer Publishing Co.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe 51-year-old actor is suing the magazine publisher over two 2012 tabloid stories claiming he was absent from his daughter's life. "I have in no way cut Suri out of my life — whether physically, emotionally, financially or otherwise," Tom wrote.He said that despite filming back-to-back movies in the second half of 2012, he spoke to his daughter nearly every day and got frequent updates from her mother Katie, who lives with Suri in New York.In documents made public by Radar Online, Tom acknowledged that he was "a professional actor in motion pictures" whose job meant "extended periods of time in various parts of the world".But he said he and his daughter remained "extremely close" and had a "wonderful relationship and cheerful phone calls."
© Photo: Getty Images"While I'm sure my daughter misses me when I am not with her (as I miss her), she is a very happy child," the star's statement read.Suri, he said, "has never indicated, in words or substance, that she has ever felt abandoned by me. "Tom's lawyers are asking a judge to order Bauer to admit it did not have any sources to support the claims made by In Touch magazine and Life & Style.
Bauer's lawyers, meanwhile, have argued that his motion should be rejected, referring to statements from confidential sources supporting their claims.The documents are particularly revealing given that Tom has only spoken about his split from Katie once before. "I didn't expect it," he said of the end of his marriage during an interview with German TV network ProSieben in April.The Oblivion star said he had "had an unbelievable amount of time to think about it" while working, saying that "life is a challenge"."To be 50 and to have experiences and to think you have a grip on everything, and then it hits you — this is it, what life can do to you. "Life is a tragicomedy. You need to have a sense of humour."
