Andrew Morton On Book Ban: “Vietnam, Serbia and China sell my book, but not the UK?”

British biographer Andrew Morton is synonymous with controversy. He’s also synonymous with “NYT bestseller,” and making publishing companies rich, yet for some reason (and we know the reason) he can’t catch a break in his home country. For a place known for exposing some of the most slanderous tabloid journalism, the UK sure is frightened of Scientology and Tom Cruise.

Several outlets are reporting on the continued banning of sales on Morton’s book on Cruise in the UK. The Independent points to the harsh libel laws in the country as the reason for the ban:

The American public lapped up the series of lurid accusations contained within, British readers were forced to wait while the book’s UK publishers removed any passages that might be deemed anything approaching libellous. Now it appears that Morton’s latest offering, Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography, may never be printed this side of the Atlantic. Sources at Macmillan told a Sunday newspaper that by the time lawyers had finished deleting any potentially libelous passages there was “not enough left to make a good read”.

Morton spoke with Glosslip exclusively about this latest development and he’s clearly unimpressed with the UK’s decision to ban any publication or sales of his latest NYT’s bestseller: Tom Cruise, An Unauthorized Biography:

I am thrilled that my Tom Cruise biography was a number one New York Times bestseller - my fourth NY Times number one during my writing career. It is for sale in Vietnam,Serbia and China - not countries known for allowing free of expression. Yet in Britain it cannot be sold because of my country’s repressive legal system. The gagging of freedom of speech and expression in Britain and the willingness of judges to pay huge settlements to plaintiffs means that Britain is a haven for libel tourists and sharp lawyers. In an increasingly flat world where information is freely available to the rest of the world apart from Britain this will be a growing problem for authors and publishers.

When we met with Morton a couple weeks ago in New York, we discussed how the distribution of this book had been hampered by its ties to the Church of Scientology, who lists Tom Cruise as their most famous (and now infamous) spokesperson. Morton even indicated the American media’s reticence to do interviews about the book simply out of fear of retribution from Scientology lawyers.

Cruise’s lawyer and close friend, Bert Fields, publicly criticized the book for being poorly researched stating Morton spoke with no one in Cruise’s inner circle. Initially the Cruise camp threatened to sue Morton and and his publisher St. Martin’s press for $50 million. As of yet, no lawsuits have been filed. With over two years of Morton’s life dedicated to exploring Tom Cruise — easily one of the most recognizable figures in the world — and the faith he public shills for, Morton bristled at the notion he would be unable to distribute this book in the UK.

Clearly Tom Cruise, his lawyers and the Church of Scientology’s litigious tentacles have reached across the pond and have publishers cowering. In reality, Tom Cruise should be shaking Andrew Morton’s hand for finally crushing all of the homosexual rumors dogging Cruise for years. You’d think the guy would be a little more appreciative. So much for gratitude.

VIA GlossLip

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