Will and Jada Smith had the Scientology rumor mill churning yesterday when the couple was spotted leaving Hollywood's Saddle Ranch Chop House after a four-hour meeting with a group of actors that included Tom Cruise, Jenna Elfman and Tom Skerritt, who are known Scientologists, as well as nonmembers.
Despite repeatedly denying that he belongs to the controversial organization that bills itself as a religion, Smith said in a 2007 Men's Vogue interview that he was studying Scientology after having a go at Buddhism and Hinduism. In 2008, he funded a private school in L.A., which uses some Scientology techniques.
But a spokeswoman for the actor and his wife says the meeting was about business, not beliefs: a table read for a project called "Paper Wings" that Smith's production company is developing. "They chose the Saddle Ranch because the story of the film involves a bull rider and a country singer," says the spokeswoman, who added that "any actor's presence" does not mean he or she has signed on.
