cruise-suri-230.jpgTom Cruise has just filed a $50 million lawsuit against both Life & Style and In Touch, claiming the magazines (owned by Bauer publishing) defamed him by reporting he had abandoned his 6-year-old daughter Suri.

The Mission Impossible star is suing for $50 million plus punitive damages for defamation and invasion of privacy.

The July 30th cover of Life & Style reads, "Suri In Tears, Abandoned By Her Dad" and the October 1st cover of In Touch shows a picture of Suri and states, "Abandoned By Daddy." According to the suit, which was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Cruise claims the headlines are false, maintaining that he "loves his daughter dearly and would never abandon her."

Cruise's attorney, Bert Fields said in a statement:

    "Tom is a caring father who dearly loves Suri. She's a vital part of his life and always will be. To say he has 'abandoned' her is a vicious lie. To say it in lurid headlines with a tearful picture of Suri is reprehensible. Tom doesn't go around suing people. 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. These serial defamers are foreign owned companies with their global headquarters in Hamburg. They take money from unsuspecting Americans by selling their malicious garbage. Having to pay a libel judgment may slow them down."


Fields added that any money Tom gets from the magazines will go to charity.