Controversial Religion Sued Over “Psychological Torture”

Controversial Religion Sued Over “Psychological Torture”

Leah Remini has spent years attacking the Church of Scientology.

The “King of Queens” star was one of many of the church’s prominent members until her departure in 2013.

Remini has appeared in a documentary exposing the religion.

The powerful church responded to the lawsuit by calling her a “bigot.”

(NewsReady.com) – Leah Remini has spoken out against the Church of Scientology for years. She left the church in 2013 and believes it’s an extremist religion. The actress has now filed a lawsuit against the religion.

The Lawsuit

On August 2, news broke that Remini had filed a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology and David Miscavige, its leader. In a statement on Substack (where readers can download the lawsuit), she said the church and Miscavige subjected her, for 17 years, to “psychological torture, defamation, surveillance, harassment, and intimidation.” She said the alleged abuse has impacted both her career and her life. Furthermore, she doesn’t think she’s the first person to be targeted but intends to ensure she’s “the last.”

Remini called Scientology a “cult with a tax exemption and billions in assets.” She stated that she is just one of thousands of people who have been the victims of targeted harassment by the church in seven decades.

The lawsuit states the defendants launched a “campaign to ruin and destroy [Remini’s] life and livelihood.” She was a Scientologist for almost 40 years, joining when she was a child in 1979 and leaving in 2013. Since leaving the religion, the suit repeats the claims she made in her press release about the campaign of stalking and intimidation. It also accuses the defendants of spreading “intentional malicious and fraudulent rumors” using hundreds of social media accounts created “to intimidate and spread misinformation.”

The lawsuit provides examples of professional opportunities she believes the church caused her to lose. One of those was her Scientology podcast created with iHeartMedia. She claimed the church launched a campaign to end it by claiming she defamed church members and has admitted they “called and emailed” the production company’s executives. Her contract was later terminated.

Church of Scientology Responds

The church issued a statement on August 3, calling the actress an “anti-free speech bigot” who is a “horrible person and toxic” to many of the people who have had the “misfortune” of meeting her. It went on to suggest she move to Russia if she doesn’t believe in the First Amendment’s right to free speech. The church compared her to “an anti-Semite” who complains about the “Anti-Defamation League for exposing the anti-Semite’s bigotry and propaganda.”

David Miscavige is also being sued for alleged human trafficking.