LOS ANGELES, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Tom Cruise has been named winner of the "Celebrity Ernie Award" in Australia for an alleged sexist comment he says he never uttered.
The Ernie Award is named after a trade union leader named Ernie whose union members included sheep shearers. He once famously said: "Women aren't welcome in the shearing sheds. They're only after the sex," People magazine reported Monday.
The comment attributed to Cruise while fiancee Katie Holmes was pregnant was, "I've got Katie tucked away so no one will get to us until my child is born."
The quote was named "worst derogatory public statement" by nearly 400 of Australia's most powerful women who found the comment to be very sexist.
Cruise's rep said that the "War of the Worlds" star never made the statement or made any such remarks to that effect.
"Tom's comments that they have attributed to him are completely fabricated," rep Arnold Robinson told People. "Anyone who knows him knows that he is a complete gentleman and would never ever say such a thing. He has the utmost respect for women."
People also researched the statement and found no evidence Cruise made it.
