Tom Cruise's longtime lawyer Bert Fields says that Scientology mate-hunting rumours about his client are "boring and false."

An article published in the American monthly magazine Vanity Fair claims church officials went on a hunt for a new wife for Tom in 2004 after his divorce from Nicole Kidman in 2001.

Tom has refuted claims that the Church of Scientology ever scouted a spouse for him.

His attorney Bert stands behind Tom's statements.

"Vanity Fair's story is essentially a rehash of tired old lies previously run in the supermarket tabloids, quoting the same bogus 'sources.' " Bert wrote in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

"It's long, boring and false."

The Vanity Fair story claimed that Tom's former girlfriend, actress Nazanin Boniadi, was selected as a potential mate for the star by the Church of Scientology in 2004.

The piece said that Nazanin was punished after being deemed an insufficient match. She was reportedly ordered to clean toilets and dig ditches in the pitch-black night.

Tom has recently divorced from Katie Holmes, with whom he shares daughter Suri.