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Since his well-publicised split from Katie Holmes, which was thought to have been caused by his fanaticism for the Church of Scientology, rumours have been swirling that Tom Cruise has been ‘auditioning’ women to be the next Mrs Cruise.
Following his 2012 divorce, several women have been linked to suspect ‘auditions’ which often include probing questions and stringent testing, and now, after 10 years, one woman has claimed that she unknowingly participated in a so-called ‘audition’.
Anette Iren Johansen, a pretty Norweigan, has spoken exclusively with The Mail Online and claimed that she was courted by the Church in 2005, before Tom married his third wife, Katie.
The blonde, who was 27 at the time, alleges that she was contacted by the Church whilst volunteering in Sri Lanka and was asked to take part in an audition for a ‘training video’.
“There were four people auditioning me from Golden Era Productions – the media production arm of Scientology based in Hemet, California – and local people from Copenhagen helping out,” said the Norwegian, “I was told I was doing an audition for a series of training films, I was never told the real reason. I was thinking that it could be exciting as I’d never done it before.”
Anette, who left her studies in veterinary surgery to join the Church of Scientology, had allegedly already featured in multiple Scientology magazines and was reportedly ‘on the radar’ of high-ranking officials.
“I thought it was pretty exciting,” said Anette of her audition.
Anette with her various Scientology ‘awards’.
“I had to sign a confidentiality agreement when I did something for a Scientology magazine earlier. You have to sign a waiver, that everything taped, photographed, they own it. You give them the rights to use whatever they capture of you,” Anette explained.
“They then turned on the camera and started asking questions like tell us about yourself, your family, what you’ve done in life. I told them about my education, what I’d done in Scientology. I was just answering as best I could, I was a little embarrassed. I told them about all the Church courses I’d done, I just wanted to show how dedicated I am,” Anette recounted of her experience.
“They weren’t very specific at this point. No questions about training, they told me it was strictly confidential, they couldn’t tell me what the film was, that’s a secret, we just want you to play a role in it. I couldn’t ask questions about it.”
“They sent the tape to LA to Golden Era [the media arm of Scientology], they told me this. I didn’t know what to expect, then I received a call about a week later from the manager of this project or whatever he called it. I recall his name was Greg Wilhere. I was a little bit scared. I felt he had real authority, it was more like an interrogation, he was very sharp. He said he had some questions for me.”
Greg Wilhere, Tom Cruise’s one-time right-hand-man who played a big role in his life at the time, was on hand to ‘question’ Anette for the training video.
“He asked if he could ask personal questions. I was with other members, so left the room and went into another and locked the door,” Anette told The Mail Online.
“That’s when it started. ‘Do you have any history of sexual irregularities?’ I said: ‘What do you mean?’ And in my head, I’m thinking: ‘Did he really ask that question?’”
“He said any sexual perversions, I said no. He then asked if I had any homosexuality, any sex with the person of the same sex. He wanted to make sure I knew what he meant by sexual irregularities, so asked about perversions, homosexuality, threesomes, and I said no.”
“He wanted to make sure my sexual record was clean. I didn’t dare ask any questions back because he was very strict,” said the Pharmacist.
“I was thinking he needed to check it because if I’m going to be part of this training video, then maybe later they find out I’m not clean, they will have to re-film it. I justified it in my head that they needed to do this to make sure that it’s all ok,” she claims.
“I knew they could have access to my folders, so I couldn’t lie. I didn’t feel good about it, I felt it was too personal to ask. He started off with how you doing sort of thing, then I had to give examples of sexual irregularities. I said I didn’t have any.”
“After that, nothing happened. I didn’t hear anything and didn’t tell anyone as I was told it was a secret project, so didn’t say anything,” recounts Anette.
Tom at his third wedding to actress, Katie Holmes.
“A few years later, I read an interview with Paul Haggis [film director and ex-Scientologist] about Tom Cruise and auditions and I thought, ‘Oh My God that’s exactly the process I went through’.”
But luckily for Anette, Tom Cruise met Katie Holmes around the same time and nothing became of her audition.
Anette has since left the Church with a $150,000 debt from her multiple donations, and has taken up a career in pharmacy.
But despite her removal from the Church’s clasp, Anette is still attempting to warn other women of the potential dangers of both Scientology and the ‘audition’ process.
“My advice to any potential Tom Cruise interviewee is that they are never honest, they have a hidden purpose, they’ll invite you in, but they want something from you,” said Anette.
“You will be told you’re doing this special work. They will claim they can connect you or make you higher up, but it’s for their own purposes. They took all my money. They promised you’ll have this wonderful career, we have all these connections, blah, blah,” she continues.
“They hide what they’re doing, they hide behind this perfect façade,” she said, “If you’re called up for a training video from the production company, be on the look out. If they’re giving you compliments, they say you’re a very important person, you know they want to use you for their own purposes. You’ll never know it’s a Tom Cruise audition, you think it will be a reward for being dedicated.”
