The 'Cheers' alum also says that the 'Mission: Impossible' actor tried to use her to stop a '60 Minutes' report on Scientology.
- Nov 30, 2016
AceShowbiz - Leah Remini is not done spilling secrets of the Church of Scientology. Recently releasing her new memoir "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology", she answered any questions about the church in a Reddit AMA on Tuesday, November 29 while promoting her new eight-part A&E series "Scientology and the Aftermath".
Among some of the most shocking revelations is that the church considers Tom Cruise as the "Messiah." She said, "To the 'Church,' yes [he is the 'Messiah'.] Parishioners believe that he is singlehandedly changing the planet because that is what the 'Church' is telling them."
But unlike what the church believes, Leah said in another interview with The Hollywood Reporter that she didn't think Tom was "a great example of Scientology." "I don't think he normalized it at all. I think it's just the opposite," she said. "I think there was a time where maybe Scientology was more accepted and I didn't particularly find him to be a great example of Scientology - I made that very known to my church. But Tom is very protected in the church and the church will go to any means to ensure that he stays in."
Leah also believes that Tom contributed to an exodus from the church. "Especially when [church leader] David Miscavige stood up in front of a Scientology event and said that Tom was 'the best example of a Scientologist.' And I know the heartbreak of the average person who works day and night to pay a quarter-of-a-million dollars for their 'religious freedom' in Scientology," she explained. "Those people were the example - not somebody who makes $10 to $20 million a picture."
Asked about rumors that Tom is leaving or cooling on the church, Leah answered, "No, absolutely not. I highly doubt it. Highly."
The former "The Talk" co-host also revealed that she once was asked by the church and Tom Cruise to use her influence to stop a "60 Minutes" report on Scientology. "I got pressure to call Les Moonves at CBS to try and get a '60 Minutes' report squashed. I got a call from the church and Tom to call Les Moonves and use my influence to squash the story," she said.
Leah said she did call Les Moonves, even though she "was really uncomfortable with it." She recalled the CBS boss' response to her request, "And he said, 'Listen - you're not the only one who has called me about this and I have no right to interject my opinion of what I like or don't like with the news organization of CBS and I will absolutely not engage this conversation. I'll tell you or anyone else who calls me.' He said, 'I don't give a s**t if it's you, if it's Tom Cruise, if it's Jenna Elfman, you're all going to get the same story from me.' "
The church, of course, was not happy about it. "They just weren't happy that I couldn't squash the story. I said, 'I'm just a f***ing actress on television and I can't demand that my boss take a f***ing report off the air," she said.
The 46-year-old actress said she donated millions to the church until she left in 2013. On why she decided to leave the church, she explained, "[It was a] long-term struggle, however, seeing the 'church' attack those who were speaking out, those who gave their life, life savings, their children to this organization that were once considered exemplary Scientologists or staff members of the church to being liars, bitter apostates, and what ever vile sophomoric, vitriolic adjective they can find overnight says a lot about the organization."
Leah also confirmed that HBO's documentary about the church, "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief", "was very accurate."
Since leaving the church, Leah said Scientoloy members Tom Cruise and John Travolta have never reached out to her. "They will not reach out to me. They are not allowed to reach out to me," she told E! News. She added, "They wouldn't want to reach out to me because what they've been taught is that I mean them harm, that I am an anti-social personality that means them harm, that I literally wake up in the morning and want them to fail in life. That is the mentality."
Still, she called John "one of the nicest, sweetest people you're ever going to meet."
