Tom Cruise

Los Angeles, Jan. 16 (Reuters): Tom Cruise has won a $10 million judgment in a 2001 lawsuit against a gay porn star who claimed he had a homosexual encounter with the Mission: Impossible actor, Cruise’s attorney said yesterday.

A Los Angeles judge entered the default judgment in late December after defendant Chad Slater admitted that his story was false and said he would not actively defend himself against the lawsuit, said Cruise’s attorney Ricardo Cestero.

“He is very, very pleased with getting this judgment and is happy to have another ruling by a court that these stories are false and defamatory,” Cestero said. Slater could not be reached for comment.

The judgment marks the second time Cruise has prevailed in lawsuits he filed to quash rumours that he is gay.

In 2001, the 40-year-old actor sued Michael Davis, the Los Angeles publisher of Bold magazine, for $100 million after Davis claimed to have a videotape of Cruise engaged in homosexual acts.

The actor dropped the suit later that year after Davis retracted his claim and agreed to a stipulation that Cruise “is not, and never has been, homosexual and has never had a homosexual affair.”

Cestero said Cruise has not decided whether to press Slater, also known as Kyle Bradford, to pay the latest judgment.

In his lawsuit, Cruise said Slater falsely told a French magazine called Actustar that his gay love affair with Cruise led to the actor’s divorce from Nicole Kidman.