Sometimes I forget that not everyone has obsessively read up on Scientology, so I neglect to mention details that could be valuable. Such as the newish set of excerpts at Jezebel from Leah Remini’s book, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology. Some of those excerpts — like the Tom Cruise hide-and-seek and cookie dough freakout and the alleged neglect of Suri as a baby — we talked about this week. But there’s also more stuff about Leah and Jennifer Lopez witnessing Katie Holmes leaving Tom at the altar for over 20 minutes. Katie looked distressed at a window right before she got married, and no wonder.
Leah also covers this week’s issue of People, and she has nothing but nice things to say about Katie Holmes now. Seriously, this is some genuine stuff. There’s also quite some back and forth between Leah and CO$ because they can’t resist trashing a former parishioner:
On leaving Scientology: “It wasn’t an easy thing to do. It’s about me being flawed.”
CO$ fires back:“It comes as no surprise that someone as self-absorbed as Leah Remini with an insatiable craving for attention would exploit her former faith as a publicity stunt.”
Leah replies to the CO$ reply: “I understand what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. It’s what they do. I was just hoping they’d be a little more imaginative.”
On Katie Holmes’ statement: “I now see how hard things must have been for her and I’m so happy to see her and her daughter doing so well. I feel a kinship with her as a mother who wants do the right things for their child. I went from being very angry with Katie Holmes while she was in the church because she wrote these reports, which my ass was handed to me for … Then she leaves and I thought, that’s a ballsy move … As a mother I respect what she did.’ ”
[From People]
Leah’s reply to Katie revolves around the latter’s vague statement of regret over how poorly Leah was treated for saying, “Get a room.” That’s such an offhanded comment. I say it quite often myself. You don’t even really say that sort of thing seriously, it’s just a way of coping with the grossness of a gushy couple’s uncomfortable PDA. Leah paid so dearly for that candid remark with her own money funneled into intense auditing sessions, but she can forgive Katie now. Whereas Tom Cruise will always be filled with delusions.
Photos courtesy of People & WENN
Good for her for speaking out. What a crazy, unprofessional reply from Co$, seems like she has struck a nerve.
I know it’s a crazy cult and who knows how/why people get drawn in but it seems like a major red flag would be that members are required to “report” other members. What other religion does that?
Exactly. What kind of a “religion” would force you to alienate your family members and friends? I’m so glad she is speaking out. Maybe more people will realize what crazy shit goes on and bring this cult down!
Christianity, for one, if your family and friends happen to be LGBT. Oh, and Islam too, Hinduism, by way of unsanctioned yet practiced familial honor killings.
Always strikes me as odd that Scientology gets a ‘crazy’ stamp whereas other religions are accepted simply based on their age and insidiousness.
IMO, any and all religions have serious crazy. A man surviving in the belly of a whale is just as far reaching as souls living in volcanoes.
@AENFLEX…well I’m a Christian and very pro-gay. No one has come knocking at my door forcing me to give up certain friends and family because they are gay. My faith teaches me to love everyone. Maybe you’re thinking of the fake ass Christians.
Scientology gets the crazy stamp because they are just that.
@aenflex – I was raised a Christian from birth. Born into the Methodist church and converted to Greek Orthodox as an adult. I’ve never been taught to hate anyone or to shun anyone.
Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22: 37-39
That is how we are supposed to live our lives as Christians.
I was raised Catholic (by nuns) and never taught to shun anyone. Never been taught to hate anyone, either. Not a practicing Catholic anymore, but that’s my issue, not Catholicism’s.
Let’s not forget that not so long ago many Christians reported Jews, or Jewish sympathizers, or those that might be hiding Jews, from the Third Reich. These reports led to the death of many people. So, yes, reporting and snitching on others seems to be a quality that unfortunately many religions have condoned.
@ Sherry… how about this gem?
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” – 1 Corinthians
I love when people cherry pick Bible verses to try and convince people that Christianity is all about loving your neighbor. In reality, the message is “love your neighbor UNLESS they don’t conform”
@aen – nope. I hate false equivalency. For one thing, mainstream faiths do not report on their fellow parishioners.
And not everyone believes in Bible stories literally. I don’t. I’m raising my children not to.
@aenflex, – Right, and how about Mormons. Some of those insulated Mormon communities in Utah have some very scary “rules”, and yes they do enforce them. It’s particularly scary if you’re a woman.
continued:
Also Mormons have a whole secret society level of their religion, and they’re deeply embedded in local and Utah state politics as well as national.
Plus they have a whole breeding program. They’re one of the biggest genealogy records gatherer and data base in the world. They pretend to be accepting of racial mixing especially because they have a missionary program, but my former Mormon “escape-y” friend said that they keep track of the blood line to make sure white genes are mixed back into the subsequent generations – no lie.
I’ve known of and heard repeated reports of people marrying into the Mormon faith and breaking off all connection with their families friends. They have a lot of missionary activities in Latin America and Mexico.
Note: As with a lot of religions, there are different levels of experience within the greater community. Well known, famous Mormons like the Osmonds or Houghs didn’t necessarily experience all of this or the polygamy.
@jay – It is not cherry picking. Christianity is about loving your neighbor.
I’m not talking about sin, as we are all sinners. It is not up to me to decide that my sin of gluttony is better or worse than another’s sin of adultery.
Sin is sin. We were not commanded by Jesus to judge one another, only to love one another.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” – John 13:34
@aenflex: I take your point about the age of CO$ being a factor.
The histories & practices of other current religions (and groups closely associated with them) have included the Crusades, the Inquisition, innumerable holy wars, forced indoctrination, forced indoctrination of conquered peoples, undue political power and influence, physical mutilation, excommunication, extortionate fees for indulgences, tithing, witch burning, scarlet letter-type labeling and shaming, self-flagellation, censoring of texts (both holy and secular), forced confession, encouraged and lauded martyrdom, interference with secular education, forced marriage, cross-burning, dangerous inbreeding, threatening others with eternal damnation, discrimination… etc., ad nauseam.
One difference is that they’ve been at it a lot longer – or a lot longer ago – than has CO$. Another is that some religions have enough of a history (even relatively recent Mormonism) that current practitioners relegate those aspects and practices to the past, and have changed the original or official religion or church dogma to reflect changing times, changing mores, changing beliefs.
Choosing selective verses and texts and fundamental changes in supposedly ‘eternal’ ‘holy’ doctrines and ‘truths’ are not the only instances of denial and revisionism and cherry-picking comparisons going on sometimes. I think the modern history of CO$ is closer & more analogous to the older history of other established religions than is comfortable for many people to acknowledge.
I’m born and raised Mormon and this whole thing is ridiculous. I have several very close gay friends and there are several interracial families in my church. Stop with the conspiracy theories. Love one another, be a good person, and mind your own business.
@deborah: Let’s not forget how many Christians died in concentration camps helping the Jews and are named and memorialized in Israel today for defending and hiding and helping Jews during the Holocaust!
Catholic here, and no, I do not have to pay to learn more about my religion, neither I have to shun friend or family who are different, or critical of my religion. I discuss it, we get vocal, that’s it.
Maybe the fundies (fun-dies, see what I did there?) as there are extremes in every religion, do. I have some relatives who will make a face if the girl in a non married couple sits on the boyfriend’s lap, thankfully they are the minority , and we make fun of them (no fun-dies here!)
Although many non-Utah LDS are going to chafe at this, Mormons are one example that practice a mild form of shunning, but certainly not to the extreme as the Scientologists. I’m not talking about FLDS or fundie mormons.
I’m talking “mainstream” mormons. Non Utah and Idaho mormons that are more “mainstream” don’t do this, or can’t get away with it as much. Also, it tends to be more of the “born in the covenant” mormons from Utah and Idaho that practice this, although in some states, it’s the converts that tend to be more conservative and judgy than lifelong mormons as they try to emulate the “utah-style” mormons.
Try being a non-mormon kid at a public school in Sandy, West Jordan and Provo. You will learn the meaning of the word loner unless you start participating in seminary and YA activities. As a stay at home mom, unless you are part of their Relief Society (which can be very cliquey and a very gossipy and tattle-telly group), prepare to spend many lonely days with just your kids as company. Change that, basically all of Utah County is like this. Salt Lake City is shockingly less conservative and less influenced my mormonism as other neighborhoods and towns are.
I’m not even into religion and I’ve seen plenty of shunning and money grabbing. Modern pentecostal churches are notorious for forcing tithes upon members – and we’ve all read stories of sweet old ladies kicked out for not keeping up the payments. LGBT people have openly struggled and been sent away to abusive camps to ‘become straight.’ People who dare to have sex before marriage, or even do the basics like be alone with someone of the opposite sex…. Hell look at the Duggars! I also personally know several people who have been shunned by people they knew their whole lives and considered family for not toeing the church’s line on some minor issue. I know young women forced into nervous breakdowns because they dared to date outside the church and were shunned and treated despicably – basically forced into an auditing type session and picked at until they broke. Not all churches are like that but it’s disingenuous to claim those fundamentalist type ones aren’t engaging in this sort of behaviour. Of course they bloody are!
But those religions don’t force you to shun even family members, let alone friends, who leave. They don’t demand you spend hundreds of thousands on their own “courses”. They don’t stalk those who disagree with them, and I’ve not heard many stories about the Pope or Archbishop of Canterbury or the Delai Lama running a Sea Org equivalent, or disappearing unwanted ex-wives, or having a compound with an isolation punishment area known as “the Hole”.
Espousing a system of beliefs and allowing others to freely follow it alongside or not as they wish, and see whomsoever they wish, and allowing them to be members whether or not they want to make financial contributions… that is not, by definition, a cult.
I think some people are missing a fundamental distinction (and I consider myself fairly qualified to report on this, having been raised in a borderline cult myself).
RELIGIONS don’t condone snitching, reporting on the behavior of others, etc. FAITHS don’t. Christianity, in particular, is a heavily individualistic faith that sees the potential for redemption in everyone–but only on a voluntary basis. Legalism is contradictory to the Christian ethos (this is the reason why Christians aren’t Jews, after all). The Christians that reported Jews? They were shitty people. None of that is even remotely integral to the faith.
CHURCHES can certainly go bonkers. And that’s the difference. Scientology said it was CHURCH policy–as in, the entire CO$–to submit reports on each other. That’s what makes it a cult. Your average Mormon or Christian? Not a cult member. But your FLDS, or Quiverfull/ATI-type? Odds are, yes. If their church makes that sort of behavior a matter of policy, then they’ve become a cult. Any decentralized religion can fall prey to culty offshoots.
So it’s not bigotry to decry Scientology as a cult. This is the thing that irritates me about the CO$ PR machine. They ARE a cult. They’re a cult because they instate policies regarding individual behavior in any context, and then they punish members who don’t follow those policies. That’s a cult by any definition–and it’s not a religion!
With the exception of KH, this wording is their standard response to all the high profile defections. They said, and continue to say, the same thing about Paul Haggis and Matt Rathburn.
Sherry, you are absolutely right. Love thy neighbour as thyself, is the heart of Christian belief, and one I try to live by. Too bad there are so many so called religious people who have forgotten that basic message amid the trappings that they attach to the way others should live their lives. I always love that expression, God hates no-one, it says it all.
I wonder when the moment was when Katie Holmes realised just how much crazy she was taking on when she married Tiny Tom. I can only imagine the heart ache and horror her family must have felt, watching her being slowly destroyed by this insidious cult. Tiny has a lot to answer for.
My dad took a few classes from them 20 years ago. They start out seemingly normal, with a bunch of self-help stuff that makes sense. It escalates into crazy (and expensive) very slowly.
This is what gets me. If Leah Remini had to pay for $300,000 in “auditing” because of her “get a room” remark to Cruise, what does the “average” Scientology person do when they are written up? Is your “auditing” fees based on how much money you earn? Is only the wealthy Scientologists permitted to “advance” to higher levels?
Are the middle class to poor written up and then sent to some work camp for Tom Cruise to pay for their “auditing?”
Such a crazy and scary cult!
Sherry
You need “treatments” to advance and those are done at a cost. Not always willingly too. If the cult decides you need a treatment you’re instantly in debt for tens of thousands moving forward.
It’s not to scale. I suspect sinceLeah had the resources they put her in more treatments. Less wealthy members are cast aside with only weekly “audits” and can never advance further unless they have the money.
Sick.
What I understand from reading a couple of books on Scientology is that most Scientologists don’t have that much money to give. Some will get loans to advance “the bridge” but many stay low level Scientologists. Most Scientologist don’t even get to Level 3 where Xenu is introduced.
Anyway, cults tend start nice before they go crazy.
I watched Remini’s 20/20 interview last night. She’s going out guns blazing for sure.
I was raised Catholic and went to a very prominentCatholic Uni, and I have a lot of issues with the church. But I have never seen the level of harassment that Leah or Paul Hagis gets. When I was at uni, no we couldn’t get birth control at health services, but they allowed Muslims, Jews, and other religions to freely practice their faith. Heck Hillel was a fully sanctioned and funded student organization. And as for the LGBT community, the school unfortunately still lives in the dark ages as far as having recognized student organizations. However, the top student my year was an out and proud lesbian who not only was allowed to be the top student but featured prominently in our graduation ceremonies.
I love her. I am sure she is flawed and can be a brat but that’s being human! Not a robot like a scientologist!
Do you all remember for gushy and W.E.I.R.D Tom and Katie were in the early days? She really and truly lost her mind and it’s too bad that she can never talk about what really went on because of her divorce settlement. But that statement about Leah said everything, didn’t it?
I bet Nicole Kidman is feeling lighter that she has in years. People are finally understanding that she didn’t abandon her kids, they were turned against her by a corrupt and dangerous cult.
Yes, their “love” was so over-the-top unbelievable, just bizarre. And remember how dead-eyed she looked for those years? It was so awesome when she busted out.
I have so many thoughts on Scientology, keep the information coming. Go Leah Remini!!
She looked awful in a very swift amount of time. Glad they’re both out.
It was all for show too, which is extra creepy. You know he only did that when people were around to witness it. Like everything else in his life seems to be, it’s all about projecting an image, not being a real person.
I’m so disturbed by Leah’s description of him “forcibly kissing” her when she was there.
I know Bedhead feels Katie Homes’ gave a vague statement of regret, but I actually think she handled it well. I’d imagine there’s not really a lot Holmes can say publicly about Cruise or Scientology, but what she did say legitimised Leah Remini’s version of the story.
In effect Holmes kind of cosigned Leah’s account of that time, which she actually didn’t have to do. She could have said nothing at all.
I agree totally about KH statement. It’s not what she said in a sense but that she said anything at all..
I also wonder what the deal is with Cruise dumping so much of his real estate.. could it be to cover ‘auditing’ sessions?
Cricket – he is reportedly moving FT to Clearwater, FL. The cult expanded their campus and made it the new and improved HQ.
I know most do not like lainey on this site, but I really like her take on Katie comment :
She could have said nothing, she could have said no comment but she said sorry. That’s confirms what Leah said without breaking a very probable confidentiality agreement.
I always thought that Katy’s protective father – I think a lawyer? – probably picked up on the Cruise crazy… then sort of quietly waited it out, having his daughter’s and granddaughter’s back both legally and emotionally when she finally put a plan into action. If Leah Remini didn’t have access to that kind of practical, legal and emotional support from people she could trust, you could understand that how she broke free – and the way in which she did it – might be a lot different.
Love her snark back to CO$ that she was hoping for a little more imagination:)
I am glad she is speaking out, but I lost respect for her as soon as she admitted she was into Scientology for 30yrs.
I have more respect for JLO who supported her plight in getting out and told her I don’t want to hear about this B.S. ever again!
I don’t respect her for being in it for 30yrs and talking now that her career is on the down swing. I just don’t, but I am glad she is doing what she needs to do.
Are you kidding? She was a child when she got into it. She didn’t know any different and she truly bought what they were selling because she didn’t have a chance to do otherwise. Even still she is trying to shed herself of that mindset. I really think you should look into how cults work before you judge her. I think she is amazing for getting her kid out before it was too late and the daughter shunned her a la Conor and Isabella.
Lets not forget that she reported the leader of scientology even when she still believed in the church … how much balls does that take??
How would she have left at 10 years old? If you read her book, you realize she was stuck in that crazy cult. Her father in NYC was an abusive jerk and her mother and stepfather were Scientologists. No where for a kid to run, and then once they have you as a kid, you’re brainwashed, without an education, money and the will to leave your entire family.
She could have left as a 20 yr old….. 20 YRS AGO.
Wow … you really don’t understand cults.
LOL. This reminds me of people who demand to know why women often won’t leave an abusive relationship.
Because it’s just that easy, folks!
herewego have you ever heard of cult deprogrammers? Have you any clue on why they might need to exist?
You lost respect for her because she was indoctrinated as a child??? Ok
I lost respect for her because she stayed in it as an adult for 20 yrs.
So the cult was ok for her for 20 yrs? While her career was thriving? I am just questionng why stay 20 more years in it as a adult, that part I don’t get? I don’t get that? But that’s just me not understanding.
also ..She portrayed herself as a strong woman, individual person all these years on tv, in interviews and here I was watching a person fully engulfed in Scientology, I guess I just feel like she pulled the wool over the publics eyes , over my eyes, with her image and is only talking now the truth. I feel the same with Elizabeth Moss, a actress who I admired her tv work, her image only to find out she is a SCientologist.
@herewego Leah didn’t “pull the wool” over your eyes.
Cults & abusive relationships are highly similar and often victims don’t even realize they ARE victims. Many think they are strong, independent, confident, they are not “portraying” themselves that way.
Victims focus on what they think is ‘good’ about the cult, or the abuser; and they have also repeatedly pushed aside their own beliefs in favor of the cult/abuser, so many times that their self-worth becomes tied to the cult or the abuser.
Even if you realize it’s not a good situation, it’s inconceivable to leave…because your self-worth has become tied to the cult/abuser…what would you have, who would you be, how would you get by, how could you do things on your own…?
All of those very natural things are in doubt, because self-sufficiency and confidence gets eroded from always marching to the beat of someone else’s drum, responding to their requests, dealing with their criticisms, abuse, etc.
It’s a frightening helplessness, also unsettling for many victims because they still see themselves as strong and capable, yet they have this confusing and paralyzing feeling of helplessness.
This is all Leah knew, this cult & it’s practices and having to submit to the ‘discipline’ and reprimands and fines…it’s like being raised in an abusive family and not knowing you have independent choices; it’s like being in an abusive relationship where the highs/lows combine with being disrespected to make you a prisoner in the situation. Personal boundaries are non-existent.
She deserves compassion, it was a damaging abusive situation that took an extraordinary amount of spirit to leave. She’s a freakin superstar.
@ herewego….Sorry…but to just say it you sort of sound judgmental about someone else’s life. Bet you have kept a habit in your life for 20+ years that you should have left behind. Every single person on the page in these comments has a life long habit they need to break including you. Seriously think about it. Its very hard to cut things out of your life that you have done since childhood.
She’s 42 years old & she’s been out for maybe 1 year? That means she was 11 (or younger) when her parents joined. She would have been fully indoctrinated by the time she reached adulthood, making it that much harder for her to get out.
She had been in since she was eight years old. That was her whole life in the church and all of her family and friends.
The one I do have respect for is JLO whose father is a Scientologist and her friend Leah was one and JLO told her I don’t want to hear about this B.S. again. I love JLO for that and I love that JLO fully supported Leah as a friend when she left.
How can you praise JLo for not being in it? She was never raised in it. Leah was. Wtf are these comments?
She was a child, her parents were into it. I’m sure she’s not perfect by any stretch, but what she’s doing now is very brave. Someone needs to take those crazies down!
I should say instead of lost repsect….I was disappointed to find out that for 20 yrs as an adult, while I admired her ,she was a Scientologist. Just disappointing for me to find this out.
@herewego – Leah didn’t choose to be a Scientologist, she HAD to join at 8 years old because her parents made her join. Big difference between someone who is an adult and decides to join. JLO’s father joined Scientology when she was already an adult – big difference between an 8 year old being subjected to it and a 25 year old’s father deciding to embrace it.
herewego
There’s much of this I think you’re missing or not able to understand. You don’t just leave. And if you’re able to leave your life, loved ones, and only world you’ve ever known for the outside world that you’ve been taught is unsafe do you just leave? And what about your family and friends? Horrors await them because you’re not around to be punished. And should they catch you it’s maybe the hot box trailer in the desert with ants.
You can say it’s as simple as leaving, but I hope you educate yourself on the CO$ policies, stalking, threats, violent acts, and hold on you. It’s not simple. And she’s out now and speaking out which is maor since that puts a target on her back.
Again, I think it’s very important you educate yourself on this before posting further regarding cults and why it’s not an easy escape.
Did you see her 20/20 interview? She touched on that a little, how leaving would be giving up all she’d worked for, and all she’d ever known. Her whole family was into it too, and I’m sure she saw others disconnected and losing their family, and whatever else they did to people, and that kind of fear can take time to overcome. She was afraid to lose her mother, her husband, her friends.
Given how deeply she was into CO$, I’m amazed she left at all.
I have so much admiration for her and others that leave these environments. You mimght be in a complete panic, but keep moving forward. It takes strength. I’m in awe of her.
She was inculcated into Co$ when she was a young kid – these people completely brainwash you and the younger they get you the worse it becomes. It takes decades to grow out of that kind of brainwashing and Leah has admitted she is still a work in process and it will be a lifelong focus to rid herself of their programming.
It’s hard to leave your religion when it means leaving your entire family behind. I know people who’ve spent much of their adult lives struggling with the decision to leave far more mainstream religions, where abandoning faith would only mean hurting family members rather than being shunned by them.
Wait so you judge everyone for believing the religions they are brought into as a child. This was her entire life. That isn’t easy to walk away from a huge part of your life especially when you know it could mean losing EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE you love.
Also, hasn’t Katie gotten the perfect revenge? She hooked up with a friend of Tom’s, who happens to be really wealthy in his own right, they have a private life … and she’s happier than ever. Her and Jamie are together over a year now, right? I looked on her instagram a while back and somebody from Katie’s hometown left a comment on a photo and Kate replied to and was all ‘hey hope you are well’ and the friend asked her how she was was in her life and Katie replied ‘really happy’ .. it was just at the time when Jamie and her were outed by the press. I just thought it was nice to see after years of living with that nutter!
What I find interesting is that some other members of Co$ are quick to jump all over Leah for her book, but Tom has remained silent. Katie made a statement, but the accusations against Tom are worse. I would have expected some standard pr response ” no comment” or something like that. Considering how pr savvy Tom is and how he has been quick to sue over stories in the tabloids this is very strange.
I reckon Tom doesn’t even know about it. They are forbidden to read about ‘SPs’ aka enemies of the church. Tom is watched like a hawk and i think he’s so in deep that he abides by the rules. Leah is dead to him. It’s not as if any reporter is gonna get the opportunity to ask him about her. Scientology and his personal life was a forbidden topic during his last movie promotion. He is oblivious to reality, which is sadly the story of his life.
Tom is on a power trip, period. He is purposefully blind. As Paul Haggis, the director, said when talking about leaving the church after so long, there was no excuse for him turning a blind eye to what was going on in the church to the members who had no power like himself, who didn’t have to play by the same rules. He said he was ashamed of himself for choosing not to know.
There’s a difference. Tom has turned into a frightening zealot about COS and created a monster who thinks he is some superior enlightened being, far above everyone else, even as his own life is a mess with failed relationships and a daughter he seems to spend little time with.
@Lou Tom knows. Isn’t he Miscavage’s main man? Whatever Miscavage knows Tom knows.
@Fingerbinger – Miscavige has spies on Tom too and Marty Rathbun was assigned the task of bringing Tom back into the fold back in the early 00s. Miscavige had staff spy on Tom and Nicole when they were first married. You would be surprised at what Tom doesn’t know and how he is manipulated.
According to this blind item on Blind Gossip, Tom is looking to “Attack the Friend”
http://blindgossip.com/?p=74671
Watch out JLO!
Really? LOL. If that’s his strategy, then this should be a blazingly spectacular sideshow – I’ll bring the popcorn. JLo’s fans are not the shy, retiring type, and when they figure out what’s going on, which will take all of 3.5 seconds, they will go after Tiny Tom and Co$, HARD.
Someday though, when she’s in her twenties I’m guessing, suri can and will talk. I’m looking forward to hearing what she has to say.
Oh, I hope so.
Remember when they were married and Tom & Katie did what felt like a pap walk a day with Suri?
The poor child would be in distress with all these paparazzi circling like sharks, strangers talking at her. I’m SO pleased in my heart that she doesn’t have to grow up like that now, imagine being picked apart like that in tabloids from the second you were born.
And that doesn’t even touch on the Scientology weirdness.
Any time I hear someone’s a Scientologist, I know several things:
-person doesn’t have much education, if even a high school diploma
-person is often a single child or just has a single sibling (=why they can readily embrace the egocentrism/narcissism of Scientology)
Yeah yeah, I know these are generalizations. But there are a lot of actor Scientologists. And there are a lot of actors with crap in the way of a real education.
Leah’s mom allowed her daughters to drop out of school at like 15 and 16 and go to work for Scientology businesses in LA. They worked full-time, had no education or marketable skills. My question as a teacher myself, is what government lackey signed off on two teenagers’ work permits and dropping out of school at 13 to join the Sea Org? That should be investigated. I don’t care about Tommy Boy’s cookies. 🙂
Miscavige’s niece, I think, was much younger when sent off to SeaOrg. Maybe seven years old? I imagine they claim they are educating the kids on board to get around school attendance laws. They also might stay in international waters as much as possible.
Jesus that makes me sick to think about. The lapd that investigated Shelly miscaviges disappearance has very many documented ties to Co$ 🙁
You are wrong. People don’t get into scientology because of lack of education. They prey on vulnerable people and people who are searching for fulfillment spiritually.. Most scientologists are good people who want to make the world a better place. Look up The Underground Bunker, it’s a site about the happenings of scientology. Loads of ex members in the comment sections who are highly intelligent and well educated people.
Really? You don’t think a lack of basic literacy in science might contribute to the reason why would-be Scientologists aren’t able to recognize quasi-scientific language/concepts for what they are?
Because once I got to the part with an e-meter (hey, it’s the 1950s!), I’d be
bowing out. It’s like weighing yourself to determine the number of electrons you shed overnight. Cool, man.
Also, I think it’s quite clear that they prey on celebrities…without knowing anything else about them.
But that’s the thing, they don’t get to read about the crazy Xenu, volcano, thetans bs until OT3 when they have been in the cult for years and are thoroughly drinking the kool-aid. They start you off slowly and obviously offer some sort of positive reinforcement. Leah said it gave her the confidence to be able to go into auditions and now be scared or nervous. If they pulled you off the street and showed you the story of Xenu — then OF COURSE the vast majority of people would run a mile. You don’t need a degree to know crazy….. but that’s not how it starts.
And yes, Leah talked about how they prey on celebs. She was even asked to bring Jlo to the wedding, which is SUPER weird if she wasn’t friends with Tom and Katie.
I get that part, the slow indoctrination of the crazy, but I still maintain there are red flags all over this beginning with the quasi-science language and even the e-meters, which are an introductory aspect since that’s where they start bilking you. I really think a basic comfort level and literacy in science and scientific concepts would drive you away in the earliest stages.
Also, I think ppl with low levels of education are frequently insecure. They think university is this magical place where others get smart and talk about things they don’t understand (by contrast, if you get the degree–you realize it isn’t a door into smart ppl Narnia and there are plenty of degreed people as dumb as ever). So they like that Scientology provides them a way to do that.
Well, all i can say is that i’ve read dozens, if not hundreds, of ex-members who weren’t high school drop outs and often have good jobs, a comfortable lifestyle and a loving family. I spent a long time viewing anybody who got involved in scientology as crazy/dumb/egotistical/they asked for it etc … but when i actually read individual experiences and I (!) stopped being ignorant to the working of cults, and more especially how scientology works, i have a lot more empathy for them.
Lou
Agree.
Sorry @Greenieweenie, but your generalization isn’t even close to accurate. Education has nothing to do with a person falling under the control of a cult. I had a dental filling which needed replaced about eight years ago; I went to a dentist who came highly recommended by co-workers. I noticed the reading material in the waiting room seemed odd – not the usual out of date issues of People – but I assumed one of the patients had covertly left it behind. As it turned out, the dentist – who I’m sure you can conclude was highly educated – was a passionate C0$ member, and used every C0$ cliché on me while I was in the chair; auditing, going clear, the whole shebang – while I had a spit vacuum in my mouth, so I couldn’t respond! Needless to say, I found myself another dentist! A formal education has no correlation to a strong moral character, or just good old common sense!
The Torment! I’ve walked out on my dentist for showing me too many dog and vacation pictures. I can only imagine I would have cried from what you went through.
And you’re in a submissive form in th chair and they could inflict pain or a mess up.
I’m a real scientist myself, and can guarantee that having a college degree doesn’t mean a person knows much about science or even enough about math to realize that the Super Jumbo Size of those sugar doodles costs more per ounce than the regular size. So I doubt that most people would automatically think Co$ was bunk because of e-meters. They might start backing away at the Xenu and Thetans stage, maybe, but by then they’ve been in it for many years and have spent scads of money advancing to the Xenu stage and might be more easily confused.
Many religions have beliefs that would sound extremely weird and impossible if they weren’t so familiar. One unusual thing about Co$, though, is that they take pains to keep the core beliefs super secret until the member has paid big bucks for training. Other religions I know about reveal their beliefs from the very beginning for free. Blabby people on the net are the ones who have revealed the big secrets about Scientology beliefs, and Co$ doesn’t seem to acknowledge them officially.
Personal observation — Common sense and education do not always correlate.
As for being lulled into a cult, I suspect they are very good at ‘reading’ individuals. The auditing sessions being introduced early in the process give a window into what makes each individual tick and how they can work that to their own advantage.
The one famous person I would like to fully spill the beans is Elvis’ daughter. She allegedly left after being in it for years, yet still maintains ties with her mother (who is assumed to remain a follower). Lisa M was in it from early teens until recent years, and I would like to hear her take on it.
@Florc – it was horrible! And the whole time, the dentist had that maniacal, Tom Cruise exaggerated smile! (I wonder if C0$ teaches that?) A very Clockwork Orange experience!
“A very Clockwork Orange experience!” That will give me nightmares now.
I know frm my FIL they teach you that smile and a no blinking or minimal blinking expression. When he was in the air force he got roped into a free session, but wasn’t sure what it was for. A big room of people having staring contests basicallly.
Then they asked him for money and he left.
The tactic of no blinks and smiles is in part to display to others you have power and control. If the person you stare at squirms they are somehow defective.
Weird, weird stuff. I think Steve Jobs rarely blinked after his travels.
Christin
It’s been said many new recruits are told the alien stuff isn’t true and the teachings of the CO$ is more a series of fables like people view the bible. Then once you’re hundreds of thousands deep you’re told the truth.
Tom post Nicole was said to have had a meltdown when he found out the cults teachings and nearly cut ties entirely.
Jwool
You’ve reminded me I have a masters degree in science and hell if I retained much of any of it that isn’t applied in my job.
Look, I’m just making a basic observation: Scientology clearly preys on celebrities. And a lot of American actors have crap for education (that’s why a big deal is made when one happens to have a Masters, like Marcia Cross or Eva Longori, who was deeply impressed with herself for getting one).
What do Kirstie Alley, John Travolta, Tom Cruise, Leah Remini, Beck, Danny Masterson, Paul Haggis, Giovanni Ribisi, Laura Prepon and Jenna Elfman all have in common? They’re actors. They’re famous. And they don’t have a great deal of education–if at all, it’s along the lines of film school/dramatic arts. Have you ever met a Scientologist who is also a chemist?
Not making any grand claims beyond that. Just an observation. Tom Cruise=dyslexic and didn’t finish high school. You don’t think that guy has issues about feeling inferior and using some mumbosciencejumbo to feel superior? I get that everyone can fall for a cult. But what do you think makes ppl fall for a “Science” cult??
@Christin, ME TOO. She made a few disparaging comments like, “best thing I ever did was leave Scientology.” Reallllly wanna know why.
A lack of education may be a factor for some members, but as a general rule I don’t think so. They certainly seem to discourage any outside education though, so I’d imagine many of the younger members have fallen victim to that.
They mainly just seem to target people with problems they claim they can fix.
There are also a lot of actors who pursue education and value that, they’re usually just quieter than the loudmouths who think they know everything. 😉
Greeniewinnie: i felt/thought the same as you on the subject of C0$ until i read Paul Haggis’s New Yorker article about it. He tells in very simple terms how they lure you into signing up AND staying. his explanation was really scary because it was so mundane and simple. it really isn’t about education, but about emotional well being. they aren’t selling to you a diety or religion so that immediately lulls people. They are selling a form of self help. and at first they subtly love bomb you. most people are flattered when they are love bombed. the glaring idiocy that is the E-meters is also easily explained because they are explained away as a form of lie detector. How many of us claim someone is telling the truth because they were wired up to a lie detector that they passed? E-Meters essentially work the same way except that they are asking a different set of questions that they are telling you can be answered if only you take more self help. And the auditing sessions are more self help therapy.
Many Co$ people stay because despite the exorbitant financial, the self help therapy seems to work for them. Of course ideas are also planted during the sessions which is where you find that they can so easily overlook bad things because they are slowly brainwashed into overlooking those things.
The stumbling block seems to be the Xenu revelations. Paul Haggis said he thought it was an elaborate prank and took it as such. Yet he only left when the teachings of the church clashed with the human emotion of compassion which apparently he couldn’t get rid of despite 30+yrs of Co$ brainwashing. And don’t forget that they are discouraged from reading outside their own resources, so he didn’t know alot about Co$ because he’d been brainwashed not to be curious anymore. It’s all about what Co$ is doing for you, not what it is doing for others – a stance John Travolta has recently publicly voiced.
When he went to do his own research, as Leah also finally did, he was genuinely shocked at what he found, and he couldn’t ignore it, and so he left.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/02/14/the-apostate-lawrence-wright
I think what I’m saying is the lack of education creates a fairly predictable set of hang ups in the recruit…and Scientology purports to address them.
I wouldn’t buy Leah’s book. She is angry and obviously despises Tom Cruise. Now, if Katie or adult Suri or even Nicole wrote a book, that is the one where the truth would be revealed. I am, however, not up nights waiting for its debut.
Uh, it’s two years after the fact. She doesn’t strike me as particularly angry in interviews. And why does anger somehow cloud her judgment? I remember I was angry and crying after a traumatic childbirth. I got screened for postpartum, but it wasn’t biological. I was angry and crying BECAUSE ANYONE WOULD be after what I went through. Three years later, I feel exactly the same way.
So meh, I don’t see what that has to do with anything. The only one coming across as reactionary here is CO$
Having read the book, there is very little about Tom Cruise, and I didn’t read it for the celebrity gossip but to hear about Leah’s experiences as a child in that cult. Most ex-members were adults when they joined and after they ‘blew’ they wrote about COS through adult perspectives. Leah’s account begins with her as a child.
As for Cruise, he’s an evil little troll and I didn’t need to read Leah’s book to know that. Many other reports have come out about him (the Going Clear book had much more dirt on him). I never got the feeling Leah was angry with Tom in her book. More like disappointed. Like Tom has all this power, being Miscavige’s BFF, yet he does nothing to make the lives of low-level Scientologists better. Which Tom could do. He’s a huge star and regarded like the second coming in that religion, so if he wanted, Tom could change the toxic atmosphere. He doesn’t, which tells me he’s a self-absorbed narcissistic who likes using slave labor to make himself feel important.
You didn’t read it for the gossip, but it was there. She has an audience for that aspect of her experiences. I have no personal experience with Scientology but disdain any cult like religions. My point was that I would read a book by Katie but would pass on Leah’s.
@Nancy I don’t care about Tom Cruise, unless it’s related to Scientology. I am interested in cults since I lived in the Clearwater area and saw the Sea Org members on a regular basis. Which is why I bought Leah’s book. I’ve read almost every book published by ex-Scientologists. Some has celebrity gossip, some doesn’t.
I highly recommend “Going Clear,” the book and documentary to anyone interested in this topic. What got me into it? Being told by a Sea Org member to “get off HER sidewalk” in downtown Clearwater. (I was lost and looking for an address.) Because, yeah they think they own Clearwater and us wogs are beneath them. It was an eye opener for me into this “religion.”
Um, you think Katie and Nicole aren’t??? They are, they just can’t put it out there like Leah can and frankly, how would you feel if you were in her position? Zen and full of affection for Tom Cruise?
I would never be in that position. I am a leader, not a follower. I wouldn’t go near Scientology or a man with a personality like Tom Cruise. People make their choices, and are either happy with them or regretful. It’s up to all the parties to decide on whether they wish to reveal their experiences.
I am pretty sure Nicole and Katie are bound by non-disclosure agreements through their divorces NOT to comment on Scientology, which makes Katie’s response to the 20/20 interview all the more better!! Tell me Miscavige and Cruise did not throw a temper tantrum with her statement LOL! Leah is in a much better position to reveal the realities of being in Scientology (she was a member for three decades) and what it is like to get out and be smeared by them.
@ Nancy: Good for you. Being this condescending must be fantastic for your karma.
Little Miss Naughty: Quite a cute name you chose for yourself. Condescending for having an opinion that is not what yours is? I don’t usually respond to critics so I won’t make you the first. My mother taught us, as I am sure many mothers around the world taught their children…..if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
BLANK PAGE
I don’t think the book focuses on Tom Cruise. But the interviewers are probably most interested in anything about him, and so the interviews focus on those aspects. Some intersection with Tom is actually part of Leah’s story, and it wouldn’t make sense for her to omit it. The wedding incident, for instance, was obviously one of her own personal turning points.
I doubt that Katie or Nicole will be able to say anything in public until Suri is very full grown and comfortable with such things said about her father or until Nicole’s kids are safely out of Co$ and likewise comfortable about such things said about their father. Which might mean never. Leah has more freedom to speak because she left with her whole family.
From all tidbits it focuses very little on Tom and is well written.
I think both Nicole and Katie are bound not to speak against it and that gives them some freedom from harrassment and stalking. I also bet both women know their fears are based in a scary reality.
Nancy
I think you’re only viewing what Leah has to say in her book by what you focus on here. Tom. And that’s simply not the case.
Although, I hope someone takes Tom down a few pegs.
Leah seems more concerned with her vanishing friends than being angry at that troll of a man.
Nancy is a plant, everyone. “I am a leader.” LOL *pats head*
I love that someone is speaking up about those SOB, but hopefully she won’t milk this publicity into a “ME!ME!” campaign.
Leah is rocking my world I can’t wait to buy this book. I hope she makes 50 times what she spent in audits and slave labor she did in SeaOrg.
I think Katie’s statement was so telling. She could have just said no comment and then denied everything through backhand channels and she could have straight up lied like Nicole Kidman does when she’s asked about the subject. I give her props.
Leah was written up by a COS member for the get a room joke and nothing too much really happened.
I thought she was referring to Katie’s letter about her behavior at their wedding, for which Katie herself wrote a letter complaining about her, which Leah produced on 20/20, and she was sent to some bizarre intense therapy for weeks and weeks and going on all day, and billed $300,000 until she apologized, and even was made to call Katy with a direct apology, who was flippant with her.
I am SO happy Leah Remini decided to say something about her defection. I am looking forward to reading this book.
Slightly OT, if you all want a good laugh at some of the pathetic trolling tactics of the $ciloons, check out the comments section of the People story on this. It’s readily apparent who they are, by both the nature of the comments, and the atrocious spelling and grammar.
Yeah. Paul Haggis said a lot of celebrities left the church but do so quietly so as not to be harassed by the church and so they don’t try to damage their careers in return for not speaking about them. Paul said they tried to get him to sign something that he wouldn’t discuss the church and he refused. He said the church is dangerous and he had been frightened at times what they would do to him.
So Leah has been very brave. Also, I give a big shout out to Jennifer Lopez who has publicly stood by her when her father is a long-time Scientologist of decades. Even after her 20/20 interview, Leah released a short video snippet on Instagram of Jennifer making her dinner to show she’s supporting her during this. Jennifer aligned with a suppressive person publicly should be cause for the church to order Mr. Lopez to disconnect from his daughter. But, see, they won’t do it because of who she is. But still, I admire Jennifer for doing it even though it must upset her father and cause him troubles within the COS.
Bedhead and Kaiser, thank you for your coverage. I’ve been reading on Scientology ever since discovering Celebitchy and I have come to the conclusion that those who choose this cult are manic egotists in need to feel powerful and the most important person in the world. I feel sorry for those born into the Co$ because it seems they’re crippled since the second they come into the world and escaping from it is almost impossible.
I am astonished at the lack of response from the government. This is wrong.
When I lived in NYC I would sometimes walk past a Co$ and a man in preppy clothes would always hand me a pamphlet and try to talk to me. I would obviously ignore him and laugh. I now feel a little bit disturbed he thought I would be interested in his bag of delusions. The next time this happens my response will be very different.
I disagree they are all egotists who join. Watch this interview of a couple who broke my heart.
Their interview starts at the 2:00 mark. Their daughter made me tear up. The interview makes me sick at how Scientology is allowed to be called a tax-exempt church and terrorize people. They tell people to get abortions in the Sea Org, separate the children from their parents.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vVNSc3ah7M
@Cee What can the government do? There’s a little thing called freedom of religion. The thing the government can do is revoke their church status. I pray to Xenu that happens.
That’s what I meant. They shouldn’t get a free pass on paying taxes. Hit them where it will hurt the most.
Not only should they revoke their church status, but they should be charged with committing fraudulent activity by claiming to be a church in the first case. And forced to pay up all of their taxes retroactively.
They could also investigate the claims of child abuse.
As lucy says, they could investigate the claims of child abuse. They could also raid “The Hole,” where errant Scientologists are said to be held. Some of them likely are brainwashed as Shelley Miscavige seems to be and won’t want to leave, but accounts from ex-Scientologists suggest that people try to escape all the time, and I think everyone there should have the opportunity to be privately asked if they would like to leave. Finally, they could crack down on Scientologists who harass former members.
I’ve read a bit about the training exercises used in Co$, and they sound like classic “brainwashing” techniques. So fairly early people can get twisted around by it all. People vary in their ability to withstand such techniques. Children are very susceptible, and Leah was in it since childhood. She was lucky that her mom hadn’t entirely lost her mind and got her out of SeaOrg after hearing what was going on.
Anyway- once weird beliefs and actions become familiar (especially when you’re surrounded by believers), they seem less weird. Generally there are turning points when it gets too weird for you and you have a moment of clarity, when the disconnect between the belief and your own internal framework becomes at least briefly obvious. I think that’s what was increasingly happening with Leah, and the incident with Suri at the wedding was one of those moments for her. She also must have been affected by the failure of Co$ parenting techniques with her own daughter – she got desperate enough to seek outside help on that. Taking advice from a delusional psychotic like L. Ron is never a good idea… But of course she was taught otherwise about L. Ron also
Scientologists have a special problem because they really can lose contact with their families and friends if they leave Co$. That gives people a major incentive to try to maintain their faith and do whatever is necessary to remain a member in good standing, which includes going along with a lot of weirdness before it becomes too much.
Or those that leave try to stay in good standing when leaving, going through all of their rules to do so, if they can so they won’t be called SPs and disconnected from family and so they won’t be harassed and stalked by them. They used to have a lot of power that way.
i love that cream dress she is wearing. anyone with an ID? scientology aside – she has aged very very well.
She’s had a LOT of work done. It was very obvious in her 20/20 interview–whole face was frozen. I do think she’s an attractive woman, regardless.
I said the same thing on an earlier post. Her lips are so jacked and her face is so frozen that she can barely speak. Her voice was so distracting during the interview it reminded me of a stroke victim. There is only a year or two between her and her sister but Leah is venturing into looking like a cartoon. She’s a smart, brave and beautiful woman all that crap injected into her face is so unnecessary.
Yeah, I thought her face looked…odd during the interview. Between the work she’s had done and the makeup, there wasn’t any part of her face that looked natural.
I loved her interview dress -the sleeves the color and the leg slit. Anyone have an id on that one either? I think the big problem with her interview ‘look’ was her fake eyelashes (clearly taken out of jlo’s book) her face would have been less distracting without them. Overall though, go Leah. I am so glad she can and is speaking up.
I never really knew much about Scientology (of course I had heard about followers like Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley), but never understood this “religion”. Well, past few days, I watched HBO’s Going Clear, read Tony Ortega’s blog (Underground Bunker), Mike Rinder’s blog and watched interviews with Paul Haggis, Leah Remini, Jason Begle and other ex-Scientologists…..WOW is the only word that comes to mind. The fact that this organization is still alive is unbelievable. The IRS needs to take away their tax-exemption, they need to be prosecuted for child labor violations, felony charges (how many people have to come forward and claim that David Miscavige beat them up?), find the whereabouts of Miscavige’s missing wife. The list goes on and on. Horrible that many of these people (Leah Remini included) are brought into this crap as a child. Children don’t know any better. Good for the people who left Scientology and are dedicated to revealing what a sham it really is. I won’t even comment on that Xenu crap LOL!! 🙂 And as for Cruise and Travolta? I will never look at them the same way again, because there is no way (in our age of modern technology and the Internet) that these fools are ignorant about the workings of this church…ahh I mean CULT. You go girl Leah!
So I read the Village Voice articles that Jayna linked to on Sunday’s Katie Holmes/ Tom Cruise/ Leah Remini thread. John Brousseau, David Miscavige’s ex-brother in law and the man from whom this account of Scientology is coming, describes one instance where he wired several people to listen in on a conversation between DM and L Ron Hubbard’s wife Mary Sue, and he says “It was very Mission Impossible.” That made my stomach turn.
Here is where my mind went: According to Brousseau, LRH spent a lot of time directing sci fi films. I got the impression that he was bitter about the success of Star Wars (this is the late 70s), so he just used the CO$ to recruit a bunch of people to star in, film, crew, and watch (worship?) his sci fi movies. Flash forward to today, and all Tom Cruise does is make action movies. Look, Tom Cruise is all that is man! Motorcycles! Fire! Spy Stuff!
Well… David Miscavaige was part of LRH’s camera crew in the 70s, and I’m sure he saw what LRH was trying to do. IMO DM somewhat succeeded in doing what LRH hadn’t yet mastered: using the entertainment industry to sell Scientology. Of course, it’s very subtle. But these action movies all sell the idea of Cruise as the golden boy who’s life is full of action and intrigue, which in turn is supposed to intrigue the audience about the man who is the the “face” of Scientology. All in an attempt to ensnare more victims.
The creepiest part is that, according to Brousseau’s account, this is what these people actually do. They wire people, spy on people, sneak and plot. Just like the characters in all these action movies. I would never be able to watch mission impossible the same way again. It absolutely turns my stomach with the sinister nature of it all.
These may sound like the ramblings of a loony conspiracy theorist, but I’ve spent a lot of time thinking this out. IMO the manipulation of the entertainment industry just adds to the sick eeriness of it all, and that’s only scratching the surface of what goes on in this cult. Terr. I. F*cking. Fying. At one point in the article, Brousseau describes DM as “nazi-like,” which does not come off as inappropriate or an exaggeration at all. Several times throughout the article, before I even got to that particular line, I got the serious chills and thought, “Damn, this man sounds like the second coming of Adolf Hitler.”
I’ve gotten the impression that David Miscavige is a power-hungry bully who saw the opportunity to take this already messed-up but popular belief system and turn it into something much more sinister and much too reminiscent of the Third Reich. This cult really and truly has to be stopped, because IMO it’s one of the biggest evils we’re facing as a modern society.
wait, how old is David Miscavige? (Okay, I could Google, but I’m trying to make my way through your comment). How could he have been on LRH’s camera crew?
I’ve always been curious about things about Tom that seem so…contrived. Like his intensity. And the way he’s all about doing stunts, and living life to extremes. Like he’s trying to prove something to the world, but I don’t know enough about Scientology to get what it is.
David and Tom are around the same age.
As for Tom doing his own stunts. When Scientologists reach OT-5 levels or higher they believe they are basically immortal. So, crazy Tommy probably thinks he could fall in a stunt and never hurt himself. He’s delusional.
He should ask former Scientologist Jason Beghe about that immortality trick. (Jason was in a serious car and had reached OT-5 levels. When he questioned the church on why he’d been injured as his OT levels should have protected him, the church told him it was HIS fault, not theirs. He left after that,)
That reply from COS is seriously inappropriate. It makes Tom’s couch jumping look sane.
I’m glad but unsurprised that Leah forgives Katie. Leah’s been a Scientologist since she was 9. The whole church is propped up by a system that encourages people to snitch on each other. I think it’s likely Leah’s written similar complaints that have gotten others in trouble with the church over small things. It’s good that she has enough perspective on her time as a Scientologist to understand that everyone was being manipulated.
I am growing to love Leah Remini more and more!
She has the strength to leave the cult and the moral highground to expose these PSYCHOTIC cult members.
I hope some scientolology watch dogs are reading these comments and starting to twitch and foam at the mouth.
Yes. Much of this is horrifying. Having studied these organizations I can see how insidious they are. What Leah said in the tv interview is that there were some things learned there that she believes have value and helped her un life and career. When you hear the whole path of a Scientoligist you rightly ask why they can’t see what’s really going on? How can they buy this alien stuff when they seem like intelligent and acomplished people But there are elements of sensibility on how to conduct oneself and how to achieve that are valuable and just when the person is ready to pull away they back off so that the positive things are enough to keep you. After a while there is almost no need for the group to convince you that you owe the successes to the organization. In essence you now know how to pull yourself back from doubt from having had this done to you so many times.Its sometimes those little nuggets that convince you it’s really ok to keep going back to the group completely. Very scary stuff.
Katie didn’t look distressed about marrying Tom to me. In that linked picture she looks as if she’s p*ssed at the photogs and maybe yelling about them photographing her every move as anyone would be after awhile. But I don’t equate that snapshot of her questioning going through with the wedding. She was clearly on cloud nine and living her “fantasy back then.
As for Leah, if she keeps dropping tea like this on her book PR toyr then no one will need to actually buy the book.
This clip show how a kid’s mind becomes so warped and how their life is. The sad part is this man met his wife in Scientology. After a couple of years they got out, had a family. He was an architect for eight years, a house, a home. The woman’s mother was in the Sea Org. So the wife goes from London to Clearwater going full tilt back into Scientology after supposedly going there for courses. The husband was a weak man. Scientology told him they had a great job for him to design their buildings. Why, I don’t know, but he agreed and sold his business and their home. The wife had already come back and getting the kids. He was promised they would have a nice place to live, on and on. He arrives and they are all five living in a rundown Quality Inn and there is no architect job. He is there under a missionary visa, having lied. The wife is in the sea org and the kids are under her visa. He felt trapped and stayed. He eventually gets out of the sea org and goes back to work but pretends to be a scientologist so he wouldn’t be labeled a Suppressive Person. He eventually got his daughters out in their teens. I can’t imagine how your mind isn’t screwed up for years and years and years even after getting out. You never get time off, just a day every so often. Sea Org members never get to see their children.
The daughter below said one daughter of a sea org member missed her mom so much she had suicidal thoughts. The mother became upset and wanted to go see her daughter and her supervisor refused. She went anyway and got into trouble for going to see her suicidal daughter and was written up as blown, someone leaving Scientology.
This is the two daughters’ story. They were basically free labor. It’s horrific. They are taught they are clearing the world, saving mankind, and their personal self isn’t important. Because they sign billion dollar contracts to be in the sea org, the one daughter he got out in her teens from the sea org, still a Scientologist, but breaking the sea org contract, she had to pay back $90,000. For what, living in subpar conditions and being free labor and working day and night and not being educated?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0FnQbrvhII
To add to what she said in that link above, masturbation is considered an aberration, wrong, even if you’re married and your wife is away on a sea org mission for a year. The 15-year-old had to counsel as her job a 40-year-old man on his confessional having masturbated.
Yet, in sea org they don’t want you pregnant, even if married, and so they pressure married couples to get abortions or they get kicked out of sea org and go to being a degraded being having left the sea org, but still a Scientologist.
It is not a religion or church. IRS needs to get on the ball. Taking away their tax-exempt status would topple this cult.
its very confusing. in some of her interviews, she said she wasnt allowed near j.lo and mark the whole time during tom and katie’s wedding and yet she said that j.lo said something to her about katie leaving tom in the altar for 20minutes. i read this in your past posts about leah remini.