Leah Remini is one brave woman. I know we have talked about Scientology a bit here before, but I am expecting Leah Remini to blow the lid off the cult with this 20/20 interview. Not surprisingly, the Church of Scientology has already bombarded ABC with all sorts of allegations against Leah.
The show starts with Leah’s childhood. Leah’s mother was the first to get caught up in Scientology just after divorcing Leah’s father when she was seven. She was at the church every waking moment and her kids were neglected.
When Leah joined Sea Org, as a child, she had to sign a billion year contract with the organization. Scientology worked children hard and educated them in Scientology. There was no general education after eighth grade. Leah was a troublemaker from an early age. Asking for real food and getting caught letting her boyfriend touch her boob over her clothes. This got her thrown out of Sea Org within a year. I get it Leah, cheeseburgers and boys are two of the best parts of adolescence.
Leah moved herself and her two daughters to L.A. Once there, they continued to study Scientology and taking courses to move up in levels within the church. Part of this involved auditing. The classes the family was taking were very expensive. So Leah started auditioning for roles in Hollywood. After only a year she landed her first role. She credits her overinflated ego courtesy of Scientology for helping her land roles. Scientology loved celebrity so Leah was for a time in very good graces in the church. She also met her future husband, Angelo, during this time who left his wife and ran off with Leah to study Scientology himself. She also met J-lo and Mark Anthony and her very close relationship with J-lo began. 
Next came King of Queens. This was a huge hit that made her a household name. Her newfound celebrity brought her into the realm of Tom Cruise. Famous Scientologists have their own building called the Celebrity Centre. Leah was a huge spokesperson for Scientology during this time. Grand Poobah of Scientology (that might not be the legitimate title) David Miscavige took notice of Leah fairly quickly after King of Queens. Leah says David was powerful, charismatic and likeable. Insert batshit crazy Tom Cruise montage here. Leah says that Cruise was very effusive and loving at first. He lasers in on you and makes you feel like the most important person ever. Then some Scientology dudes call her up and tell her to go to Tom’s house and teach him to salsa dance. So she did. And while she was there, Tom would very aggressively kiss then girlfriend Katie Holmes repeatedly. Eventually, Leah said, “hey get a room” and for that she was written up (there were two Scientology dudes there to supervise the meeting who initiated the write-up. She had to “go to sessions” for the comment. It appears that it is common practice for Scientologists to narc on each other through “knowledge reports” at any sign of transgression and then the person accused has to go through auditing session which essentially encourage the person to more or less confess any and all sins until the auditor is satisfied. Husbands tattle on wives. Mothers tattle on daughters. Leah wrote knowledge reports on Angelo all the time.
Leah even complained to the church about Tom Cruise’s bizarre behaviors. From his jumping on Oprah’s couch, to attacking Matt Lauer and Brook Shields among other things. She was reprimanded by the church. If you criticized Tom Cruise then you were evil and against the church. \
Despite all that in 2006 Leah was invited to Italy to attend Tom’s wedding to Katie Holmes. However, her attendance was contingent on getting Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony there. Leah talks about the wedding in detail in her book, aptly titled Troublemaker. For some odd reason, Tom serenaded Katie with the song You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling in a scene straight out of Top Gun. Nothing says wedding like a virtual post breakup ditty. Sidenote: Tom Cruise can’t sing. Leah said the wedding was one of the turning points for her. She was separated from Jennifer and not allowed to ride or sit with her at the wedding. Oddly, David Miscavige was there without his wife. So Leah asked where his wife was and they kept getting pissed at her for asking. At this point Leah is still very much a Scientologist and still very into the whole thing. So when she got back home she filed a bunch of knowledge reports on people who she felt were hiding things and thereby damaging the church. In her mind, David and Tom were bringing Scientology down. She was determined to make the church see that.
Leah was sent to Florida for reprogramming from 9 am to 10 pm every day for several months because of those reports. Leah was shocked to learn lots of other people wrote knowledge reports about her behavior at the wedding. She was loud, she was rude and she switched seats at the reception to talk to her BFF, Jennifer. Katie Holmes herself wrote a knowledge report. (They didn’t say this but I would bet that Tom instigated the report himself.) The asked her to recant everything she said and apologize to the church and eventually she did. At that time she did not want to leave the church. After she recanted, she was free to return back to her L.A. home.
She continued taking classes and finally reached whatever ridiculous level it is where they explain the whole science fiction alien beings live inside you, Xenu shit. Honestly, the person who made up this cult was a science fiction writer. Why would people believe this crap? Then again after blogging on the Internet people believe in all kinds of weird shit and are on my site or in my emails daily trying to make me believe the way they do. The world is full of people with very odd beliefs. At this point, Leah was starting to realize she was one of those people.
But she still kept on going. If she left, she would be leaving her mother and her whole family. Leah was not willing to do that. Then she was on The Talk and Julie Chen and Sara Gilbert got rid of her. The Scientologists used this to say that Leah often blames others for he issues and is constantly picking fights. I personally loved Leah and Holly Robinson Peete on The Talk and they were both fired at the same time. Leah blames Sharon Osborne for the firings. She claims Osborne told the powers that be (Chen and Gilbert) that the two were “ghetto” and too loud and that is why they were let go. If that is true then it is highly ironic that Sherri Underwood was hired to sit in Leah’s old seat. I’m just saying.
Then in 2012 Katie divorced Tom Cruise. Leah felt vindicated. She felt Katie should have apologized for writing that knowledge report. Kate did send a message though ABC this week saying she regrets having upset Leah in the past and wishes only the best for her in the future. She says the divorce reignited her anger at the church. She gave $2.5 million dollars to “Scientology charities.” At this point, Leah went online, which was not allowed by the church, and read all of the former Scientologists criticisms of the church and exposés on the cult.
At this point she began trying to find out what happened to David’s wife Shelly again. That is what got her in so much trouble at the wedding in Italy. She continued to tried to get people to give her a note asking her to call her. Some Scientology thugs came to her house to intimidate her. One of them called her a bitch and Angelo dealt with the guy rather swiftly. After that, she was done with the church. She was leaving without know if her husband or her family would leave with her. In her experience, many times families and spouses would choose the cult. Fortunately for Leah, her entire family joined her.
Things were fairly subdued once she left Scientology. She didn’t bad mouth them, and they didn’t say much about her either. But Leah being Leah, decided to file a missing persons report on Shelly Miscavige! Holy crap at the balls on this one! The police claim to have spoken to Shelly so the case was closed. Then on DWTS, Leah said on the air to her partner that the church was waiting on her to fail so they can tell the church members “this is what happens when you leave.”
Kirstie Alley spoke out against Leah and called her evil. The church is now saying she is just exposing the church for publicity because she is an attention seeker. Leah says now her life is better than ever. The family is a lot closer. Leah’s mother regrets all the time lost. Leah doesn’t regret her time in the church. They are all happy to have a second chance at life. The Scientology folks gave a statement saying they are very glad Leah is no longer in the church. If Nightline hasn’t already aired in your area, there will be more on this topic there tonight.
Loved this interview. Love Leah. I couldn’t believe she showed all the books and auditing stuff. She really put everything out there! I am fascinated with Scientology, and you are right, she is one brave lady.
Tom Cruise is off his fucking rocker.
Hands down to me it was the best celebrity interview I’ve ever seen. She answered questions directly, no holds barred. The fact that it was juice on Scientology was even sweeter.
Hey guys- I realize I am late to the party, but just want you all to know that I am about halfway through this book and it’s a fantastic read!
I have read all the books, watched all the documentaries, etc. on Scientology.
However, the reason I am digging this one is you get a lot of scoop on the celebrity end of things. Who’s a dick, who’s cool, etc. it delves into a lot of behind the scenes celebrity stuff. It also explains things that I didn’t know, details about going up the bridge that haven’t been made public to my knowledge.
And Leah comes off as very likable.
So if you feel like it, download the book. Well worth it!
Thanks for the review! 2 of my friends have already given it 5 star reviews, so I am really looking forward to this one.
Just finished it an hour ago. It was a great read! Really simple to fly through (and hard not to)!
Lots of juice on the Celebrity Center… Tom Cruise is a dick (not that we didn’t suspect this, but she certainly confirms it). Enjoy!!
This is the type of recap I dream of reading at Tamara Tattles; you have so much talent & when Bravo tanks you can do these real life reality interviews…Kudos Well done. Oh how I wish you would do the Caitlyn Jenner nee Bruce Jenner interview with Diana Sawyer for the archives & Whitney Houston s interview w Oprah etc etc YOU GOT SO MUCH GRAVITAS
http://s17948.p858.sites.pressdns.com/?s=bruce+jenner
you can find 2 part recap of diane sawyer there
And if you like real life stuff, some of my more serious writing is about the Jodi Arias trial. Some posts had a thousand replies.
http://s17948.p858.sites.pressdns.com/?s=Jodi+Arias
If you aren’t familiar you should go all the way back to the beginning.
I found you during the Jodi Arias trial, and became a huge fan of you then.
You have a special gift for distilling stories down to the truth while continuing to keep your work readable.
Thanks 🙂 spending Halloween night in the archives!
I feel compelled to comment here. I don’t know much about what Scientology is all about, but I do know that my own mother got sucked into it several years after my father died. My mother was born into a very religious Orthodox Jewish home. She felt stifled in her own home living with her uber religious parents, especially her father. When my father, my mother’s husband died tragically, my mom tried to find solace in her own religion, Judaism. She started going to services daily and seeking support from the synagogue but felt they weren’t there for her.
She started going to the Church of Scientology weekly and started parting with her money to give to the church. Most of my family condemned her for straying from Judaism, but I felt that she was feeling significantly better and it wasn’t my place to tell her who or what to believe in. I am signicantly younger than my two siblings who were out of the house and in college within years after my father’s death, so I witnessed this change first hand.
My only fear was that they seemed to be extorting money from my mom and they started calling the house. They seemed way too involved. They sent mass mailings of the teachings of Mary Baker Eddie and my mother poured through the pamphlets. I told my mom I was happy she found some New found contentment in this so-called religion, but I pleaded with her to stop donating untold sums of money to the church. I feel they exploited a very depressed, anxious, lonely widow out of money she needed.
I know this is already too lengthy, but eventually, my mother developed a disdain for the church. I don’t know what happened to this day, but she stopped sending the church money and they told her she was not welcome to attend the church of the “reading room” after that. My mom felt lost and frantic after that, but finally sought out a good psychotherapist to deal with her pain. Like TT said, the whole damn cult (this is not a religion) is based on a science fiction story written by Ron Hubbard.
Like Marc, I am pleased that you wrote this post. Though I have had a difference in opinion with you, TT, in the past, I have always gravitated to this blog because you have a real gift for writing and extracting the truth when other blogs write these lousy recaps using stupid names for characters in reality shows. I am most interested in the recaps you write about the real reality, like Scientology, that happens in real time in many people’s life.
I’m a little confused, you say your mother joined the Church of Scientology and later you state that they started sending her pamphlets of the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy. Mary Baker Eddy was the founder of the Christian Science Church. The Christian Science Church and the Church of Scientology are two separate churches. One has nothing to do with the other. I’m not criticizing you, just curious.
I apologize, Stephen (@NewJerzeyBoy). You are correct and I was mistaken. She joined the Christian Science Church and their ideology is often referred to as Scientology. I’m sorry TT as I wrote this long diatribe that had nothing to do with Scientology. My problem with the Christian Science Church was their belief that Prayer is much more effective if it is NOT combined with medicine. They discouraged my mother from seeing a psychiatrist which is what she needed most. They told her that her so-called depression was not real and prayer was her only answer and savior. My mother’s depression was severe and tainted with feelings of paranoia. Ultimately, all the ‘prayer’ did not alleviate her pain or symptoms and she ended up in a psychiatric ward. My mother who never consumed alcohol started using it to self-medicate.
At the time, the largest concentration of Christian Scientists were from Hollywood. One such person was Anne Archer, who left the religion for the Church of Scientology. You might remember her from Fatal Attraction as the wife. Her son Tommy Davis was a prominent figure in the Church of Scientology.
My mother knew L. Ron Hubbard, before he started Scientology. He was telling everyone he was going to start a church because he could make a lot of money and not pay taxes.
That’s what baffles me–your mom’s story is the same told by countless others and yet people still insist they are a religion. Maybe the word religion is morphing into a new meaning …
And people say they were ‘deep into the church before they had the Xenu information sprung on them’. Baloney. That is published in all his sci-fi novels; my college boyfriend read all of them.
Thanks TT, this was a great read after watching the interview!
Would I be crazy or sound stupid if I asked what all this Scientology stuff was all about? I’ve never understood it.
The south park episode on Scientology is a good introduction… Seriously. All the outlining of their beliefs is accurate.
Another fun fact about Scientology is that they went into downtown Clearwater, Fl. back when downtowns were dying and malls were hot, and bought up a large part of downtown Clearwater. It is their headquarters here in the US. Many of the fantastic backgrounds in the ABC interview were filmed in Clearwater. The town fought back but Scientology had already gotten a stranglehold so it was too late.
Here’s the thing: Religious organizations should be taxed. Even though I don’t belong to any organized religion and hold most of them in contempt, I think the housing for the “pastor” and his/her family could be exempt as long as the value of the home is not more than twice the median. Everything above basic operating costs and pastoral wages is subject to tax, and one day, business rules should apply.
Some religious groups operate like a business; I know of one locally that allows “branches” but they have to reach self sufficiency and profitability within a few years.
Scientology is good to me because it will be the trigger for a case before the Supreme Court to repeal the tax exempt status of religious groups.
Scientology is not a religion. It is a cult. The tax exempt status was granted when the IRS was sleeping.
ADMIN EDIT:
PLEASE READ THE COMMENTING RULES.
ALSO, WE ARE ALL ADULTS HERE. EVERYONE MANAGED TO FIND THIS SITE. I AM SURE THAT GROWN FOLKS WHO WOULD LIKE TO READ FURTHER ON A TOPIC KNOW HOW TO USE GOOGLE. IT’S QUITE SIMPLE REALLY.
The IRS wasn’t sleeping but Scientology attacked the IRS and starting suing their employees, etc. The IRS threw in the towel and gave up.
yes, yes, yes,
@ kkbella 3X yes’s belong under you
I agree. They’re should be no such thing as a religious exemption. @kkbella I remember reading the story of how Scientology got exemption from the IRS, and it is crazy. I encourage you to look it up online.
It’s pretty insane. This “church” is swimming in money and high-end real estate. What a scam. And Miscavige is a vicious little dictator. The jig is up. I think their nonprofit status will be revoked as more and more ex followers reveal the underbelly of this nasty enterprise.
They own so much choice property in Hollywood.
They certainly do, lisamia.
I did a few years back when I became slightly crazed with this topic. The IRS was passive (aka sleeping) and lawmakers bought off or afraid of being politically incorrect.
I had been hoping Leah would open up and explain what finally made her leave this cult. I wish I had kown about Nightlife. It is amazing how gullible people can be.
Like Tamra accused Alexis of giving Christianity a bad name, I say this is what gives religion a bad name. Tom Cruise is a fool. I think he has deep seated issues that he has to always play the danger seeking hero and religious hero in real life. He is a bad guy.
Wow. This is so brave of her! She should be proud.
Please let us know TT when you start getting letters or emails from the cult. Or if someone starts sitting outside your home. These goof pots are seriously deranged, and the celebrity tie in makes it worse. The Sea Org thing is child abuse. I’m not advocating for another Branch Dividian thing here, but the children involved? Look at Nicole Kidman. Then Katie Holmes. Not a peep out of them, or they suffer. Nicole had to part with her children. Tragic and senseless.
I always wondered why Nicole parted with her children. I had no idea. I thought it was odd that she seemed to have walked away from them without looking back.
TT, great recap. Thanks for supplying the two links to your other stories. I’m going to go read them now.
I wonder what Katie Holmes agreed to to be allowed to keep her daughter and raise her outside of that looney bin.
Katies dad is an attorney and I think played a big part in her big escape. Burner phones, Tom filming out of the country. Pretty sure she didn’t want Suri indoctrinated so she did the covert thing and made it public before they knew what was going on. So she was successful.
I am certain Holmes and her family, who she was NOT allowed to see while married to Cruise, planned an escape and then went public. It sorta tied Scientology’s hands. Her daughter was getting close to the age when she would have been sent to SeaOrg or whatever they call it.
I wonder what she had on Tom in order for him to acquiesce to HER demands. I suspect the divorce with Katie was the first time in a very long time when Tom was not in control or the one holding all the cards on his opponent.
Katie and her Dad were very smart about her escape, good for her.I think Nicole was blindsided by Tom, couldn’t escape with children, so sad
I read Katie H. planned with her atty father and made her move quickly.
Go read about it, interesting.
I always assumed the, “Church” must have had some kind of dirt on her in order for her to give up her children like that-It made what Katie did all the more awesome.
If i recall correctly I read more than one article back in the day where it was rumored that Nicole didn’t really want the kids. They were both adopted and allegedly if was to stop rumors of Tom’s sexuality. There was even one article where it stated she stormed into one of the church leaders offices cursing and ranting about how they told them the rumors would stop once they adopted the kids and they had only gotten worse and she was upset that they had adopted the kids. I don’t think she really wanted them which was why she basically walked away from them when Tom filed for divorce. I’m not sure. I could be remembering the stories wrong or getting them mixed up but I in either case I have a couple of relatives who work in the country music industry and they both say that for all intents and purposes she and Keith both act as if they never existed. Everyone thinks its strange but nobody will bring it up around them.
You do realize that story could have only come from Scientology people… and that while they had joint custody, the kids were older, being raised in the religion, and we’re probably told this. The daughter just got married… without Tom there, and has apparently been visiting her mother.
Tim I read where the kids wanted to stay with Tom and Scientology.
That could be a false article also.
They are no recent photos of Nicole with her older two children.
It doesn’t seem they visit her or she visits them. Sad.
If anyone has HBO Go app, watch the document Going Clear. Scarier than any Halloween movie you might watch this weekend. And honestly you won’t question why Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes are keeping silent. Actually, it’s a miracle that Katie got out and got to keep her daughter.
Can’t wait to read Leah’s book.
From what I understand, Katie’s leaving Tom was all Cloak and Dagger kind of stuff. I really wish Katie would write a book. I often wondered why on earth people would be part of a religion that believes all the crap about aliens and shit. Ron Hubbard was a frigging sci fi writer FFS! But after learning more about the church, these people don’t even hear that silly crap until years have passed after they are so deep in the church they feel like they can’t walk away. Just plain sad. And as far as the missing wife. Obviously she was put away somewhere for what must be one serious infraction. Who knows, maybe she had started to question all the craziness like Leah did. Would love to know more about all that.
It’s a cult and people get drawn into them for all sorts of reasons, just like religion I suppose– people are lonely, searching for meaning, a desire to be part of something -a whole host of reasons. One would hope that by now, with all the info out there unmasking what an avaricious organization this truly is, that people would be wary to join. The fact that they strongly dissuade their members from reading anything other then what the church officially publishes is extremely telling.
Last article I read was in Vanity Fair & if I remember correctly Mrs.David Miscavage was found yet refused to speak about the situation regarding her whereabouts issues with David etc.Fascinating story.Dying to read Leah s new biography & willl be sure to check out the documentary listed above Thanks for the information I love documentaries.
The book is even more revealing. I wonder if the author has had scientologists spying on him, or worse, since publication.
The Documemtary was good Marc. I did not read the book, Going Clear, but liked the HBO documentary. I remember waiting for it to air. The book’s author was followed, spied upon and generally harassed for a long time.
Another source for interesting stories and first person accounts of experiences with Scientology is Tony Ortega. I think he authored articles for Rolling Stone and has a web site now. Google the Underground Bunker. A lot of info there.
TT, thanks for the recap. As others said above, it’s a welcome reprieve from our usual doses of reality shows. The Jodi Arias days were epic recaps. And the sidebars were always interesting.
If new to this blog you really should check out the archives. ,
@erica…I just saw that documentary last night after watching Leah’s interview and all I can say is WOW! I couldn’t believe what I was watching. Very scary.
Whenever I hear anything on Scientology, all I can think of is the “South Park” episode. Hilarious.
Interesting about all the celebrities she mentioned going after her. Just goes to show, we really DO NOT know these people like we think we do by watching TV/movies.
Great recap.
Tom Cruise is still in the closet
Maybe David Miscavige is in the closet with Tom.
The Hollywood/Los Angeles police are owned by Scientology.
Great recap, Tamara. What Leah said aligns perfectly with the HBO expose/special.
As you said, it’s hard to understand how people can believe the teachings of this cult. It’s equally incredible the huge amounts the pay in order to move up and to “get clear”.
I missed the interview because World Series, but l’ll catch both parts on demand. Thanks again for keeping us on top of things!
Erica, Thanks for mentioning the docu Going Clear. I have never heard of it and look forward to watching it. I also can’t wait to read Leah’s book. Leah is very brave, interesting and funny. Scientology is a very scary cult.
If you don’t have HBO, check out Tony Ortega’s “The Underground Bunker”. Fascinating stuff.
In the vein of good sources, Vanity Fair did several great articles on the topic, and tried to locate the missing Mrs Cult leaders wife. They couldn’t do it. The Daily Beast also has scads of archived in depth articles on how those who have left or even report on them are harassed, stalked, etc. I honestly wonder if TT will get any visits. Maybe because there is so much reporting on it, she will be spared.
Excellent post, TT!! What a refreshing change from the Bravo housewives. Reminds me of your coverage of the Jodi Arias trial (which is how I found you.) Scientology is fascinating, especially knowing the founder was a science fiction delusionist with bad teeth. The crazies in this cult make Kristen, Sonja and Shannon look normal. I didn’t watch Leah’s interview but will go back to see it. It will be interesting to find out where this story goes.
I remember being in awe of her beauty when I was a kid and she was on Who’s the Boss and that model spinoff. I wonder if she’s friends with Danza and Milano. Also, I read the church tricks vulnerable people by posing as groups like “Narconon” – a group on Craigslist for drug addicts/families of addicts, etc. Since it takes so long and so much money before you get to the weird Xenu shit, and you are to shun non-believers and the internet/information outside the church’s teachings, by the time you get to weird stuff/common knowledge you are in too deep. Everyone you know and love is now part of this church and you are terrified of losing them by being shunned. I think her forbidden relationship with j-lo gave her the support and outside relationship (that would still be there for her) which she needed.
j-lo I’m assuming was Leah’s strength.
I recall the women and kids spending time together when Leah first got out.
I’m happy for Leah, going public in fact protects her. I hope her book becomes a top seller.
If Scientology did not have the cloak of a church to disguise it’s thuggery it would just be another fringe cult (celebrities not withstanding). The IRS gave them that power when it granted religious status.
i watched the interview last night and i agree, that was very brave of her. although, i would not be surprised if she shows up dead or disappeared, unfortunately. i will pray for her.
I feel sick that I missed watching this.. but thankfully you got all the juicy details!! Very thorough read. I loved this blog. I was glued from beginning to end. Is anyone else afraid for Leahs life??
Great recap TT!!!
I thought this interview was fascinating. Bravo Leah for speaking up! Can’t wait to read her book on Tuesday. She was clear and concise and she had a great point I hang heard before along the lines of about all the backlash that she (and others)was unstable and such that after 30 years in the ‘church,’ got to the highest levels but she was a nut job? Yeah..right.
Would love to know the Katie Holmes escape story. Maybe after her daughter turns 18 it will come out when no one could cause issues for/with the child. As to the sing he sang to her at the wedding I recall an interview where she said she fell in love with him as a girl in Top Gun and had the poster on her wall so I can see where the song came from (albeit not exactly wedding material). Too bad sh hadn’t seen one of the Brat Pack movies and fell in love with Rob Lowe or Emilio Esteves instead. Lol.
There have been tons of stories from time to time about how Scientology “vetted” dates and potential wives for Tom, in order to find one to fit him. Then of course, there are the never ending reports/rumors that he is gay. Plenty of Hollywood maintain that he is. SO- he always needed the ‘right wife’. Katie had smart intelligence in order to escape-selecting NY not CA, and giving Scientology an ultimatum- we walk, or I talk. Look what they selected. Oh, and Tom? Well…
The St Petersburg Times did a series on Scientology that’s available online.
Really good reporting since Clearwater is a sister-city.
Interesting article. Thanks for mentioning it.
Is it true that Charles Manson checked it out, but found Scientology to be “too crazy”? Or is that just internet bullshit?
True, is my guess.
I love the press release Scientology put out re’ Leah-most churches just ignore criticism or put out something well though out and formal — the wording on this is just funny (to me, at least)
“When her firing from The Talk erupted into a public embarrassment for her in 2012, we tried to help pick her up off the floor. But she treated everyone around her in a degrading, bullying manner. Her behavior was intolerable.”
I’m with you on the press releases. For an organization seemingly hellbent on going after folks for leaving them you’d think they’d phrase these in a manner that sounds serious and professional and that didn’t come out sounding like…. I know you are but what am I?
I was half expected them to call her a “poopy head”.
Several years ago i watched a show on the travel channel, it was about abandoned places and such. There is an old area of a military base/hospital. It was a Military Metal hospital and L.Ron HUbbard was a patient there, there was an officers club next door. Hubbard was not considered dangerous, just delusional, at least that is what I recall. He was allowed to wander the grounds and hit the club and all and it was while there that he wrote Dyanetics. It was a creepy place near San Fransico, damn near grown over with brush and all. I just remember thinking about all the crazy shit I had read about Scientology and thinking it was fitting he wrote it while crazy. I also watched another documentary about a young family that left the “church”. Omg, those people are scary as fuck. They have broken into government buildings and shit.
Ron Hubbard was also a science fiction screen writer for a short time also.
He said he hated getting up and going to work, the best way to be rich and not work was having a mega church.
So there you have it, Scientology, the art of tattling on your fellow man.
I’ve read about SeaOrg, that part bothers me the most, as far as I’ve read.
The whole thing bothers me, that is some freaky shit. Stepford kind of shit. I have never understood why so many are sucked in after the stuff i have read.
Serious crimes are and have been done to people in the name of scientolog. If this was the Methodists or Lutherans people would be investigated and jailed. Why is there a blind eye to this cult? Some of the people that have defected had positions of authority and condoned or committed crimes. I see no heros here. A Nazi criminal is still guilty, even after “retirement”. This cult is an atrocity. Nothing I have seen or read had one person saying how could I have been such a fool.
.
Then you haven’t seen Going Clear. I don’t judge those who get sucked up in a cult… I blame the ones doing the brainwashing.
Thank you for mentioning the name of the HBO documentary, Erica. I have been ‘lurking” here since the Arias trial, but I have not been commenting for long. I didn’t know if it was okay to do so. I live in fear of becoming a window licker!
I definitely recommend watching that expose for anyone who is even the least bit curious. It really cleared up things for me. (Pun intended.)
Margarett, our common childhood buys you infinite get out of WLS free cards. And you can mention movies and documentaries. It is the excruciatingly tedious lesson of Google search terms that annoy the piss out of me. 🙂 Certainly we all know how to Google. We are the literate commenters for goodness sake.
Well I’m certainly going to investigate this xenu thing
The thing about Scientology that always amazes me is how organized they are. The bureaucracy, paperwork, divisions, red tape, and goon squads are just so fascinating from my outsider perspective. Scientology under David Miscaviage is about control and greed. Going Clear really illustrated this.There is so much procedure. I also can’t believe that other Scientologists would harass other Scientologists.How do they find church members to go intimidate other church members. I hope one of them speaks out.
I am really glad Leah Remini’s family left with her. That really shows how strong their bond is.
Leah being Leah….alas. Scientology is wacky. Leah is wacky. Another Hollywood marriage gone bad.
I didn’t see the interview. I just finished reading her book. She has balls, I respect her so much for telling her story.