Leah Remini opens up about exposing Scientology
Actress discusses her history with the controversial church in a 'Kelly File' exclusive
Actress Leah Remini is having a pretty big year thanks to her recent promotion to a series regular on the show “Kevin Can Wait.” However, the star has a second show running in tandem with the sitcom, and the subject matter is a lot more serious.
Following her nine-year run on CBS’ “The King of Queens,” Remini’s profile dipped a with just a few failed sitcoms and a run on “The Talk.” Her star rose again when she turned her views on Scientology into a TV show. The 47-year-old actress spent most of her life in the Church of Scientology before having a very public split from it in 2013. Last year, she debuted “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.” The series gained a lot of acclaim for featuring stories about people, like herself, who say they were shunned from the church. Undeterred, she recently told The Hollywood Reporter that Season 2 of the show, which premieres August 15, will take a step into the realm of activism. She claimed that the new episodes will shine a light on what she calls, “the abusive practices of Scientology.”
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When asked about these “abusive practices,” Remini shares some graphic details about what she says the church’s outlook is on such things as molestation.
“Scientology policy dictates that children are grown men and women in little bodies. They believe a 7-year-old girl should not shudder at being passionately kissed. That's in ‘Dianetics,’" she says, referencing church founder L. Ron Hubbard's 1950 book. “If you join the Sea Org [a clergy class with a nautical heritage] as a child, your parents give you over to Scientology. Children are treated as crew. They are assets. And if a child is molested, that child and/or parent cannot go to the police, because it's against policy. They handle it in Scientology. They will usually bring the molester in and give them spiritual 'auditing,' or counseling."
The star says that, with her work on Season 2, she hopes to cause enough of a stir to warrant some kind of federal investigation into the church and its practices.
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