Leah Remini Calls Scientology an 'Extremist Religion'

Leah Remini and her very public break with Scientology ABC's 20/20 exclusive Friday night generated enormous interest in Romney's new book troublemaker surviving Hollywood and Scientology shooting me the top of the bestseller list Amy you sat down with Leah over the weekend and boy she did not hold back that's right George in the 20/20 interview watched by millions on Friday night Leah Remini told ABC's Dan Harris about her 30-year relationship with Scientology a religion remedies mother first introduced her and her sister to when they were just children Remini says after years of slowly questioning Scientology the beginning of the end happened at that star-studded wedding a fellow Scientology celebrity Tom Cruise - Katie Holmes Remini says she was upset to find that a number of guests including she says Katie Holmes herself had filed what Scientologists call knowledge reports complaining about her behavior before and at the wedding can you read me some key lines sure it starts with I was dismayed at the behavior of Leah Remini during the events leading up to our wedding and our wedding the behavior as a guest of friends was really upsetting well I sat down with Leah Remini on Sunday for her reaction to all of it the Church of Scientology has provided several statements to ABC News I'm going to read part of the latest one a full statement is on our website oh please go there and see that her repeated play her repeated ethical lapses and callous treatment of others led to an ecclesiastical review which resulted in her being expelled what do you say to that um uh uh what do I say to that I mean I were you expelled well I mean that's like saying I broke up with you you broke up with me I mean that I don't know when that happened that didn't I mean I don't mind didn't get the memo that I was expelled but I mean if that's what makes them feel good I was there like I said for over three decades I don't know when these lapses occurred but again not a shining endorsement of an organization who says they have the answers to mankind and certainly I was there seeking help so I really don't know what else to say about that I mean okay you write a lot about Tom what exactly is his role in the church well that's unclear but my experience and there seem to be a lot of power there I couldn't subscribe to as well was having I mean if I'm at dinner I'm you know we're going to dinner together you're not going to write that you know an internal church report on me that you thought I got a little you know tipsy at your play your dinner party and then have to deal with that financially within your church and be taken off of a spiritual path so to speak to deal with how you're interacting with this particular person and so the power seem to be enormous it was just my experience were you I mean I can't even imagine that being with someone in a social setting and being were you afraid of what you said or didn't say or how you acted were you worried about getting written up well constantly but that that again you know there's policy in the church that requires parishioners to write each other up on knowledge reports so you create an environment where everyone's writing each other up and again I was guilty of this and but what it does is it doesn't allow you to have the relationship with the person you've become a person who can't deal with your husband directly your wife directly your own child directly in the church becomes your parent in that way and then my role is pushed out Cruz's ex-wife Katie Holmes issued a statement that we saw in Friday's special and she said I regret having upset Leah in the past and wish her only the best in the future you're smiling yes I'm smiling because it almost makes me want to cry it makes me emotional because at the time the Katie and this particular crew were writing reports it caused me a lot of time and pain and my family being reprogrammed so at the time I was fighting with her I guess for the lack of a better word within the church and now I know really what she was going through because at the time I was thinking of myself and my family and what we were going through and although painful I had no idea she was going through probably a lot more and looking back now and and now seeing her and Sri sir um out there in the world and her being able to be with her daughter and live her life is you know I'm touched by it I'm touched by it because I know now she did what she did leaving in the way that she did because she had to protect her daughter which in a way connects us now and because because part of what you did was to protect your daughter right because I didn't want my daughter to choose the church ultimately which is what I felt I would be raising was that you choose your church which so many families do in these kind of extremist religions I bet there's I you like to say to Katie yes I am yes but it's really because we both left that we're able to have this kind of grace towards each other because we're back to being human

Channel: ABC News

Views: 540,936

Keywords: Leah, Remini, interview, Scientology, video, photos, Tom, Cruise, wiki, Troublemaker, entertainment

Id: o50ETZBE6Kc

Length: 6min 2sec (362 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 02 2015