Tom Cruise 'Turned Off All Women'

Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone Speaks About Severing Ties With Actor

NEW YORK, Oct. 31, 2006 | by Amy Bonawitz

(CBS)  Sumner Redstone, chairman of Paramount parent Viacom Inc., fired more harsh words at Tom Cruise, with whom he had a 14-year business relationship.

Earlier this year, Redstone severed ties with Cruise's production company because of what he described as unacceptable conduct.

"He was embarrassing the studio. And he was costing us a lot of money," Redstone says in the December issue of Vanity Fair, the New York Post reported Tuesday.

Redstone says that his wife's opinion of Cruise played a part in his decision not to renew Paramount's deal with Cruise's production company, Cruise/Wagner Productions, the newspaper reports.

"Paula, like women everywhere, had come to hate him. The truth of the matter is, I did listen to her ..." Redstone says. "His behavior was entirely unacceptable to Paula and to the rest of the world. He just didn't turn one (woman) off. He turned off all women, and a lot of men."

Back in August, Redstone said Cruise's wild behavior, such as jumping on Oprah Winfrey's couch as he proclaimed his love for Katie Holmes and stepping up his advocacy of Scientology, was "creative suicide."

He said those antics cost the studio up $150 million in lost ticket sales for Cruise's last film, "Mission: Impossible III."

"When did I decide (to fire him)? I don't know. When he was on the 'Today' show? When he was jumping on a couch at 'Oprah'? He changed his handler, you know, to his sister (LeAnne Devette) — not a good idea," Redstone says.

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