| | |  | Leah Remini News & Gossip | | Page 1 of 2 | 1 2  | |
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| | Leah Remini sues Scientology, she was stalked, held in Florida for four months | | Added 505 days ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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An undeniable fact about 2022 is that Top Gun: Maverick ?saved theatrical distribution,? to quote Steven Spielberg. Not only did it do well for a post-pandemic release, it became one of the most successful films ever, and all in-theaters. I have hated this fact since Maverick?s release, because it puts an entire industry in debt to a man who is virtually at the head of a cult. I know Tom Cruise is an excellent producer. I know he is very polished, some say even thoughtful in how he conducts himself for Hollywood business. But I cannot forget that he and David Miscavige are the kings of the Church of Scientology. They are responsible for the organization?s reprehensible behavior and heinous crimes. On Wednesday, former COS member and current NYU student Leah Remini filed a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology and described the harassment, defamation, and psychological torture they inflicted on her:
It started falling apart at TomKat?s 2006 wedding: The event was billed as ?the wedding of the century,? so Remini says she was surprised when [David] Miscavige?s wife, Michele (?Shelly?) Miscavige, ?was nowhere to be found? When Ms. Remini asked a group of Scientology executives and Tom Cruise?s personal handlers? ?Where is Shelly?? she was immediately admonished by the group, despite the fact that she and Ms. Miscavige were good friends,? the lawsuit claims.
She was forced to do an ?ethics cycle? post-wedding: ?Upon arrival, Ms. Remini was presented with dozens of internal reports from Scientologists complaining about her behavior at the wedding. It was clear to Ms. Remini that she was being punished for asking where Shelly Miscavige was and for filing reports on David Miscavige and others. Ms. Remini was held at FLAG [Flag Land Base headquarters in Florida] for four months while she was put through a process that cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars and nearly led her to have a psychotic breakdown,? the lawsuit alleges.
They made her buy a theater seat for Suri: Remini alleges she had to make peace with David [Miscavige] and Cruise. ?For example, she was forced to donate money to name a seat in a theater after Suri Cruise and was to raise money for donation to Scientology causes led by Tom Cruise,? the lawsuit reads. The actress estimates that during her more than 35 years as a Scientologist, she spent around $5 million.
In 2020 COS sent a man to stalk her home: ?Defendants armed this man with a vehicle and money to stalk and surveil Ms. Remini. Over the course of several weeks, at Defendants? behest, this man rammed his car into the security gates of Ms. Remini?s community and asked residents for Ms. Remini?s address, saying he was waiting to get into her house, falsely claiming he had been there several times before, and that he needed to get a bigger ladder in order to reach her bedroom window,? the lawsuit reads. ?He was eventually arrested and then released, at which point he called the police to allege that Ms. Remini was holding hostages at her home. After police responded to Ms. Remini?s house, he was again arrested.?
[From Yahoo! Entertainment]
Well, I hope at least the Suri Cruise theater seat doesn?t Sting so much anymore. There?s so much listed in the lawsuit, including Anderson Cooper filming but then never airing a segment with Remini because of a ?storm of harassment? from COS, and COS sending Conan O?Brien a character assassination letter on Remini when he had her on as a guest. In continuing with their hateful, aggressive tactics, COS eventually released a statement in reaction to the lawsuit. It is positively unhinged! Just a couple excerpts from the full page rebuttal:
?Remini?s complaints are like an anti-Semite complaining about the Jewish Anti-Defamation League for exposing the anti-Semite?s bigotry and propaganda.?
Did you follow that? Oh good, me neither. And this is the closer:
?The Church is not intimidated by Remini?s latest act of blatant harassment and attempt to prevent truthful free speech. If Remini does not believe in free speech, then she should consider emigrating to Russia.?
Like I said, unhinged. I think (hope!) that behind the scenes Xenu is sh*tting their pants. Thank you Leah Remini for speaking out, for filing the suit, and for continuing to raise the question: Where?s Shelly?
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| | Leah Remini is going to NYU: 'I was in a cult and I missed out on education' | | Added 3 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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| | Leah Remini gets an Emmy, forgives her mom for bringing them into Scientology | | Added 7 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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I know that the interest in Leah Remini has waned considering that she’s been speaking out against Scientology for years now. Most of us have heard about the horrors that average Scientologists, and especially their children, face at the hands of that cult. Remini is tenacious and she?s determined to continue on her quest to bring down Scientology despite all the predictable, ineffective resources they’ve putting into discrediting and harassing her. She?s telling the stories of the average people who deal with the cult on a daily basis. She?s not going to stop despite her busy life and the fact that Scientology seems like old news now. The cult has been weakened but not defeated and she?s a determined foe.
So it?s heartening to hear that Remini got a creative arts Emmy over the weekend for her groundbreaking A&E show, Scientology and The Aftermath. Remini was so overwhelmed when she won outstanding informational series for Aftermath that she broke down crying afterwards, more on that in a moment. During her speech she forgave her mom for bringing her and her sister into the cult.
“Mom, thank you. You are officially forgiven for getting us into a cult,” Remini said.
While she grew up Catholic, Remini’s mother converted to Scientology when Leah was 9 years old. Subsequently, Leah also joined the church.
Remini’s mother, Vicki Marshall, was in the audience for the ceremony. The actor said that she had dreamed about bringing her mother to an awards show and have her see her daughter come home with a trophy. After thanking her mother, an emotional Remini also dedicated the statuette to the show’s contributors, who “spoke out and told their stories” despite fears surrounding the Church of Scientology and the possibility of facing backlash from members of the organization.
“It’s not an easy job but they were the one’s putting their stories out there for everyone to hear. And we are honored to be the vessel to tell these stories,” she said. “This belongs to our contributors, the brave ones, who are telling their stories.”
Remini also noted that as an actor, she had always dreamed about receiving an Emmy award, but as she grew older and started to branch out from her comedic work, she saw that it was more important to focus on “doing the right things.”
[From Refinery 29]
Leah also won a Television Critics Association award for best reality series last month. This is well deserved and I’m so happy for her! In an interview with ET after her win, Leah was wiping back tears but you could tell they were happy tears. She told ET she was “very grateful and emotional” and that she would keep her Emmy “front and center.” That video is below. It’s so cute how Leah tries to wipe off tears and not scratch herself with her long nails. Congratulations to Leah and all the brave Scientologists who came forward to share their stories.
Here’s Leah’s interview with EW:
Photos credit: WENN.com
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| | Leah Remini Drops By Howard Stern: 'I Was a Little Bit More Superior to Tom Cruise!' | | Added 9 years ago | Source: Celebrity Gossip |
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She?s been making waves all over Tinseltown with her new book ?Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology,? and Leah Remini paid a visit to ?The Howard Stern Show? on Tuesday (November 3) for quite the spirited interview.
During the course of the conversation, the ?King of Queens? actress found herself addressing her experiences in the Church of Scientology, specifically her interactions with Tom Cruise.
Leah declared, ?Tom Cruise as a celebrity is a much bigger celebrity. I never compare myself to Tom Cruise. But as Scientologists, I felt we were on the same level, if not I felt a little bit more superior in certain areas because I was higher trained. I had to listen to all these new tapes that had come out before anybody. I?m a very by-the-book person. To me, I was superior in that way, in that I knew policy.?
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| | Leah Remini Responds to Kirstie Alley's Rage-Filled Rant | | Added 11 years ago | Source: Celebrity Gossip |
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Her old pal Kirstie Alley completely blasted her during a recent interview on "The Howard Stern Show," and Leah Remini responded to the hurtful comments.
While chatting with Stern, the 62-year-old devoted Scientologist ranted about the "King of Queen" star's apparent "inaccurate" comments regarding the religion.
"First of all I just want everyone to know I have hundreds of friends who have come into Scientology and left Scientology," Miss Alley explained. "You're not shunned, you're not chased. All that stuff's bullsh*t."
Also taking a direct shot at Remini, Kirstie stated, "When you are generalizing and when your goal is to malign and to say things about an entire group? when you decide to blanket statement that Scientology is evil, you are my enemy. I have blocked her on Twitter... because she's a bigot."
On Thursday (December 5), the former "Dancing with the Stars" contestant was confronted by TMZ about the the comments and in response, Leah took the high road and said, "You know, I just wish the best for people."
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| | Leah Remini says Scientology wants her to fail, CO$ gives nasty response | | Added 11 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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As CB mentioned last month, Leah Remini is appearing on this season of Dancing with the Stars. These are photos of her attending rehearsal. She looks good. So far, things are going well for Leah on the show. She received good marks during this second week, which saw former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson as the first cast member to get the boot. Everyone thought it would be Bill Nye the Science Guy, right? Well Keyshawn might be able to scare the hell out of Justin Bieber, but the man has no rhythm. Sad.
Leah is working it. During this week’s backstage footage, she talked a lot about her struggles in leaving Scientology. Leah doesn’t express any regrets, but she’s clearly struggling with the deprogramming process. I really feel for her. She was entrenched in the cult for so many years that it must be difficult to deal with losing a lot of friends. Plus former DWTS favorite Kirstie Alley hasn’t made things easy with the public mean girling. Leah spoke out about how the CO$ wants her to fail. The “church” has responded in a nasty fashion:
Leah Remini feels she has a lot to prove on Dancing With the Stars. During some of the rehearsal footage from Monday night’s episode, the King of Queens alum spoke with partner Tony Dovolani about why she was struggling to learn the samba — and why it was so important to her to get it right.
“I’m going through a personal and big change for me and my family,” the actress explained, referring to her recent split from Scientology. “The church is looking for me to fail so they can say to their parishioners, ‘See what happens when you leave the church?’ They’re waiting for me to fail.”
The Church of Scientology, for its part, gave a comment to Good Morning America on Tuesday, Sept. 24, saying: “We know this may come as a surprise to someone as self-absorbed as Ms. Remini, but we could care less if she wins or loses on Dancing With the Stars.”
In any case, DWTS has proven to be a good creative outlet for the actress. “It’s been a godsend,” she told Us Weekly backstage on Monday, Sept. 23. “The love and support that I’ve received from Tony, from the cast, from the crew, from friends I didn’t know I had? It offsets some of that [negative energy].”
Remini added that she feels stronger every day. “I’m going through the pain of losing friends of 30 years, but like I said, the show’s been a godsend,” she gushed. “I wake up, I’m happy, I have real friends, I have real love, I have real support, I have my family.”
[From Us Weekly]
Good Xenu. What kind of church actually issues statements like that against former parishioners? Clearly they care, or they wouldn’t have responded at all. I hope Leah wins this season if only to shove herself in their faces. Not that DWTS means anything in the grand scheme of an actor’s career. Leah gets plenty of work with or without a dance competition.
Here’s a video clip of Leah’s rehearsal footage on this week’s DWTS. She’s struggling with her confidence, but she’ll make it. Leah is stronger than Scientology.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN
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| | Leah Remini on CoS: 'It's all we really knew. But over time, my eyes got opened' | | Added 11 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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I forgot that Leah Remini is doing Dancing with the Stars this season. That should be good. I?m being serious! Leah loves to cuss, so ABC is going to have a hell of a time bleeping her during rehearsals. These are some pics of Leah going into DWTS rehearsals last week ? say goodbye to your feet, Leah. Maybe she?ll survive all of the cuts ? DWTS memorably had Kirstie Alley on a few years ago, and that was full of Xenu propaganda and craziness. It should get interesting? do you think the Church of Scientology cares enough to actively try to destroy Leah?s chances on DWTS? I do.
Speaking of all of that, Leah was Ellen DeGeneres first celebrity guest on yesterday?s premiere of Ellen?s Season 11. Amazingly enough, Ellen didn?t walk on eggshells around the subject of Xenu, although Ellen wasn?t, like, going full-force either. I?m sure Ellen and Leah agreed to talk about it beforehand, and while Leah?s answers felt rehearsed, they also seemed? pained. Like she?s sad about everything that?s gone down.
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| | Leah Remini filed missing persons report for Shelly Miscavige, LAPD dismisses | | Added 11 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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I haven’t written about a Scientology story in months, so I’m a bit out of practice with this topic. As we’re all quite aware by now, Leah Remini blew out of the CO$ last month, and Kirstie Alley jumped all over her, and it was a huge mess, but we’re all happy for and proud of Leah. In the meantime, questions of Shelly Miscavige’s (wife of David, who runs the entire cult but is referred to only as “COB” or “Chairman of the Board”) whereabouts are still circling because no one has seen the poor woman for years. And part of Leah’s explanation for leaving is that she asked where her friend Shelly was, and she was told to step off because she didn’t “have rank” to ask such silly questions.
All throughout the waxing and waning of interest in the cult, David Ortega has been on the front lines. Last month, he received word that Shelly has been detained at a CO$ internment camp since approximately 2005, and she’s under constant supervision and has only left the premises once for a family funeral. Ortega doesn’t mention why Shelly was sent there (I suspect that either she said something to question CO$ methods or Miscavige was simply tired of having a wife), but he says Shelly “has been conditioned to believe that she is at fault for her confinement, and that her job of working to preserve the works of L. Ron Hubbard is a worthwhile goal.” Poor Shelly is probably scrubbing tiles with a toothbrush while being forced to watch videos of her husband and Tom Cruise embracing at the “Medal of Valor” on a loop. That’s no exaggeration either.
Well, sh-t almost got real yesterday because Leah Remini filed a missing persons report on Shelly with the LAPD:
Leah Remini has taken a surprising new step, the Underground Bunker has learned.
After speaking with the Los Angeles Police Department, we have confirmed that on Wednesday Remini filed a missing-person report for Scientology leader David Miscavige?s wife, Shelly Miscavige, who has not been seen in public in six years.
As we reported when we broke the news July 8 of Remini?s departure from Scientology, one of the main reasons she began to question her involvement in the church was discovering at the wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in November 2006 that Miscavige was there without his wife, who had disappeared without explanation. When Leah asked about it, then church spokesman Tommy Davis told her, “You don’t have the f—ing rank to ask about Shelly.”
In other stories, we have explained that in late 2005 or early 2006, Shelly was transferred from Scientology?s International Base near Hemet, California to a secret compound near Lake Arrowhead in the mountains above Los Angeles. This compound, the headquarters of the Church of Spiritual Technology, is home to only a dozen or so Scientologists who are completely cut off from the outside world. We?ve been told that Shelly has been there for the past six years. But Miscavige and his attorneys have so far refused to publicly confirm her location there, and they have not produced her to confirm that she is in good health.
Now, Remini has put enormous pressure on the church to do just that by involving the LAPD.
Their job won?t be easy. Remini filed the report in Los Angeles, where Scientology’s international administrative headquarters are downtown, as well as many other church facilities. Before she vanished, however, Shelly Miscavige was living and working at the church?s international management headquarters on a 500-acre compound near Hemet, California, which is in Riverside County. The CST compound, where we believe Shelly is being held today, is near Lake Arrowhead in San Bernardino County. This jurisdictional jigsaw puzzle is complicated by the church?s relationship with law enforcement agencies, which includes a cozy friendship with Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, as well as a history of support from the Riverside County board of supervisors.
But Leah Remini’s involvement may prove a major shift in that calculus. We had previously been told that Remini had considered Shelly a friend, and we now have photographic evidence of it, obtained from our sources in the church … the two were photographed at the Hollywood Celebrity Centre gala, circa 2005.
[From Tony Ortega's Underground Bunker]
Ortega has published a rather blurry photo of Leah and Shelly hanging together at the Celebrity Centre, but it’s obvious that these two were more than mere acquaintences — they were friends. And when a friend disappears or even innocently fails to appear at a major wedding (the TomKat one in Italy), it’s only human nature to inquire about the friend’s whereabouts.
Unfortunately, the LAPD has ducked out of this game and not for (as Ortega worried would happen) jurisdictional reasons. Instead, E! Online has received word that the missing person report has been dismissed:
“The LAPD has classified the report as unfounded, indicating that Shelly is not missing,” said Detective Gus Villanueva. He said that he didn’t know exactly where or when, but detectives did meet with the Miscaviges as part of their investigation and saw Shelly in person.
A spokesperson for the Church of Scientology had called Remini’s police report “just harassment.” “It is a publicity stunt cooked up by a small band of unemployed fanatics who live on the fringe of the Internet,” the rep said. “The Church and the attorney for Mrs. Miscavige have already responded to this ludicrous claim.”
[From E! Online]
Obviously, the attorney for Mrs. Miscavige = a CO$-sanctioned attorney. Free Shelly.
Photos courtesy of Tony Ortega and WENN
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| | Leah Remini on leaving CoS: 'No one is going to tell me how I need to think' | | Added 11 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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It was just three weeks ago when we first learned that Leah Remini had basically abandoned Scientology after asking the super-uncool question ?What?s Shelly?? Leah had apparently been having issues with Scientology for years, openly questioning the whereabouts of David Miscavige?s wife Shelly and speaking truth to power about CoS?s whole ?you need to abandon your entire family, they are suppressive? mandate. In that past month, Leah has only issued ONE public statement about the controversy, letting her sister do some of the heavy lifting on Xenu-bashing. As CB as discussed, Scientologists are majorly pissed off at Leah and Kirstie Alley seems to leading the charge against Leah.
Well, now Leah has made a second public statement about her abandonment of the Scientology cult. While it may seem like her comments are just a statement of how people with free will think and act, this is basically a declaration of war on Scientology and David Miscavige specifically:
Leah Remini may have split from Scientology earlier this month, but she’s suddenly on her own.
“We stand united, my family and I, and I think that says a lot about who we are, and what we’re about,” the former King of Queens star, 43, told PEOPLE on Saturday at the 15th annual DesignCare event in Malibu.
Remini, who tangled with the church, added, “I believe that people should be able to question things. I believe that people should value family, and value friendships, and hold those things sacrosanct. That for me, that’s what I’m about. It wouldn’t matter what it was, simply because no one is going to tell me how I need to think, no one is going to tell me who I can, and cannot, talk to.”
The actress ? who was defended by the niece of David Miscavige, the most powerful man in Scientology ? explained, “It doesn’t matter, it could be anything. I thought about the family being broken up for some other cause, and I’m not about to shut up.”
[From People]
While Leah is my personal hero for asking the oh-so-bold question ?Where?s Shelly?? (WHERE IS SHELLY?!), sources have always maintained that Leah?s biggest problem with Miscavige personally and Scientology in general is the mandate that a person needs to ?shun? and disassociate with their family members if said family members leave CoS or if the family members question Miscavige?s orders. It sounds like Leah is still really bothered by that, by the families who have been destroyed by CoS. Sigh? Leah is pretty heroic, I think.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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| | Scientology plans to target Leah Remini with attack website | | Added 11 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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Yesterday we heard that Kirstie Alley was circling the old rickety wagons with her Scientology buddies. Supposedly Kirstie put a call out to the Scientology Celebrity Centre to do something about Leah Remini’s defection, and it’s pretty easy to predict what it will be. One of Scientology’s very transparent tactics is that of “fair game,” in which they openly attack their detractors. The practice has been around since the cult was founded, and it’s even more out of date than ever in the age of the Internet.
Radar figured out that Scientology hacks are going to do what they always do – launch a very stupid website treating Leah like a criminal, just like they’ve done with just about every other high-profile person who’s left the cult. For more examples of this idiotic practice see the Scientology-run website WhoisPaulHaggis, against Academy Award Winning director Paul Haggis. Also see WhoisJasonBeghe, another Scientology website against character actor Jason Beghe, who spoke out against the abuses in the cult.
The Scientology “WhoIs” websites are so lame and predictable that they seem like parodies of attack sites. They dig up arrest records where possible and feature sensationalized, poorly written versions of the person’s criminal records. Where no arrest records are found, they paint the defector as a liar, child abuser or worse. They sites are written in Scientology-speak and are somewhat incomprehensible. I went through the Village Voice’s list of the top 25 people who threaten Scientology and there were those “WhoIs” websites for almost every former Scientologist on the list who had publicly denounced the cult.
Some Other Scientology-Run websites (not all of them)
WhoisMartyRathbun
WhoisMikeRinder
WhoisMarkHeadley
WhoisAmyScobee
WhoisTomDeVocht
WhoisJeffHawkins
WhoisSteveHall
The sites all look the same with unflattering photos and the same header, they’re all written in that same kind of circular fifth grade Scientology-speak, and they’re all very obviously smear sites.
So Scientology is about to do the same to Leah Remini. Radar has found “someone” has registered the domain “WhoisLeahRemini.” How is that working for you, Scientology?
Meanwhile Radar has another story in which some of the targets of those “Whois” websites are urging other public figures to also leave Scientology. Filmmaker Mark Bunker told Radar that Leah’s defection might help others escape the abuses of the cult. “For years, former members had kept silent out of fear of retribution. Lately, many have been willing to speak up and that courageousness is important because it gives others the strength to speak out and either seek changes or walk away from the abuses.”
I want to know why Scientology is still a tax-exempt organization in America when there are so many egregious examples of their human rights abuses. They can only play the system for so long.
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