Top 10 Celebrities Who Left Scientology

they may have some big names but they couldn't keep these notable ones welcome to watchmojo.com and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 celebrities who've left Scientology before we begin we publish new content every day so be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos for this list we're looking at celebrities who joined dabbled in or showed interest in Scientology before leaving it for good we'll only be including well-known individuals on this list so people like Jenna Miscavige Hill will not be included despite their bravery I was the only option I had I mean they had taken everything else away from me they'd taken away my family they moved me away from my friends number 10 Jerry Seinfeld while Seinfeld never officially joined the church he has admitted to dabbling in Scientology you're telling the world I give up I can't compete in normal society I'm miserable so I might as well be comfortable Seinfeld told Access Hollywood Billy Bush that he enjoyed experimenting in self-help when he was in his 20s which included studying karate yoga meditation and Aikido however that list also includes Scientology Seinfeld admits to only taking a few Scientology courses but claims that he enjoyed it nonetheless a Seinfeld was more interested in experimenting than committing to one specific practice he left Scientology to pursue other avenues of self-help Scientologists that can be pretty sensitive number 9 Brad Pitt while the church has one of the biggest movie stars and Tom Cruise they nearly snagged another a-lister in Brad Pitt in the early 1990s Brad Pitt dated Juliette Lewis a self-identified Scientologist who worked with Pitt on California and the TV movie too young to die no fair when she won thanked I did according to Jenna Miscavige Hill who left the church in 2005 Brad Pitt quote took the first step towards Scientology while dating Lewis at first he wasn't really interest but while he was dating Juliette Lewis he actually did come in and he did some courses and then he found out it really wasn't for him however the couple broke up sometime around 1993 and Pitt lost all interest in the church soon after Lewis still identifies as a Christian and Scientologist to this day it's also things we've done ourselves you know where you do something and you're like I should know better than this number eight William s Burroughs William S Burroughs was an important figure in The Beat Generation of authors well it's always to be remembered that that junk or any kind of opiate is a painkiller and therefore it will lessen your he penned notable works like junkie which is considered an important book on addiction and Naked Lunch which time called one of the best english-language novels written between 1923 and 2005 what do you mean it's a literary high it's a calf cahoy you feel like a bug after publishing these seminal works Burroughs joined Scientology and vouched for its philosophies of self-help however he soon grew disinterested after realizing that it did not accept criticism or discussion and left the Church Burroughs would later have fierce debates with Scientologists in the letter section of Rolling Stone magazine number 7 Don Simpson Don Simpson was one half of Simpson and Bruckheimer the production team known for making a bunch of hit movies like Flashdance Beverly Hills Cop and Top Gun in the 1970s before he made his big break in Hollywood Simpson was full-on committed to practicing Scientology it was a lot of fun go to church three times a week get on your knees on a concrete floor thank God for the fact that he didn't kill you that day in jannat reichman's book inside Scientology the story of America's most secretive religion she sources an interview from 1993 in which Simpson claims to have nearly gone clear after spending $25,000 on the church however instead left after realizing that he blew a ton of money on what was in his view a con I knew they were full of and I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could number six Katie Holmes Mimi Rogers and Katie Holmes are notable as ex-wives of Tom Cruise but they're also notable as high-profile ex members of his church in fact it was actually Rodgers who introduced Cruz to Scientology as for Holmes she became quote really excited about Scientology when she began dating Cruz in 2005 and made claims that it was making her a better person Holmes and Cruz married in a Scientologist ceremony in 2006 Holmes split with both Cruz and the church nearly six years later and cited fears of being followed and intimidated by Scientologists and living in a constant state of anxiety as a result the examiner also asks if Holmes ever indicated that she divorced Cruz in order to protect Surrey from Scientology - which Cruz said that was one of her assertions yes number 5 Jason leave do good things and good things happen to you do bad things and I'll come back to haunt you making a name for himself on the big screen in projects like the Alvin and the Chipmunks movies and on the small screen as Earl Hickey and My Name Is Earl Jason Lee was once one of the most famous Scientologists Lee was married to photographer Carmen Llewellyn from 1995 to 2001 but they allegedly split after Llewellyn read a book that critiqued Scientology it became very apparent if you're not into Scientology we are we do not exist according to her Lee sent her a disconnection letter after learning of her betrayal we later moved to Denton Texas with his family and admitted to its local paper the den tonight that he is not currently practicing Scientology number four Christopher Reeve Superman himself was almost a Scientologist before making a name for himself as Superman on the big screen Reeves briefly dabbled in Scientology and partook in a few auditing sessions according to Reeve he managed to fool the e-meter device and told a story from Greek mythology during one of his auditing sessions in every lie after the Scientologists believed his Greek mythology story he grew disillusioned with the organization and wrote in his memoir quote the fact that I got away with a blatant fabrication completely devalued my faith in the process I'm here to fight for truth and justice the American Way number three Lisa Marie Presley the problem with me is that nobody ever tells me what to do oh my god I would repel I mean that would be I wouldn't be like their worst nightmare the only child of elvis and Priscilla Presley Lisa Marie followed in her father's musical footsteps by releasing three studio albums between 2003 and 2012 she also gained notoriety by marrying notable celebrities like Nicolas Cage and Michael Jackson and just think nobody thought this would last Presley was introduced to Scientology as a child and became an important member of the organization developing the literacy education and ability program within the church but by 2008 Presley began to grow disinterested in the organization and officially left it in 2016 her mother as well as her daughter Riley Keough meanwhile remain in the church number two Paul Haggis I was ashamed of my own stupidity of how it could have been so purposely blind for so many years Paul Haggis is an Academy award-winning screenwriter known for penning movies like Casino Royale Million Dollar Baby and crash haggis joined Scientology when he was in his early 20s and remained with the church for over 30 years until he grew disillusioned with its beliefs and policies the smear campaigns against its defectors and its vocal support of the banning of same-sex marriage suggesting that you know you should be able to think for yourself and then tell you exactly how you have to think or get out and if you get out there will be consequences it was this that eventually led haggis to leave the church haggis would later appear in the documentary going clear Scientology and the prison of belief to make fun of the religion he had devoted half of his life to I'm going what are you talking about I'm down for the self-help stuff I'm down for okay I can be clearer I can you know I can get rid of those two negative emotions but what's off is this number one Leah Remini as you go and as you get further and further indoctrinated you can't get out without huge damage to yourself and to your family and if you decide to leave and speak out as most do their policies say to attack Leah Remini is undoubtedly Scientology's most well-known defector best known for her role in the king of queens and the CBS talk show the talk Remini was introduced to Scientology when she was nine years old and subsequently defended Scientology in interviews if the crap works the crap words people will go does it work at this man yeah what is it yeah however Remini left the church in 2013 due to its numerous controversies and for refusing to allow criticism of its leader David Miscavige she since become a devout anti-scientology activist releasing a memoir and an Emmy award-winning documentary detailing the problems with the church not only does it turn its back on you but it goes after you it tries to destroy you and then it tries to take away the family that you were fighting to keep together do you agree with our picks check out these other great clips from WatchMojo and subscribe for new videos every day

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Keywords: celebrities who left scientology, celebrity scientologists, famous scientologists, ex scientologists, celebrities who used to be scientologists, people who left scientology, scientology, church of scientology, people who escaped scientology, scientologists, celebrity, jerry Seinfeld, brad pitt, William s burroughs, don simpson, Katie holmes, Jason lee, Christopher reeve, lisa marie Presley, paul haggis, leah remini, watchmojo, top 10, list

Id: BfwjhOZPOh8

Length: 10min 4sec (604 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 17 2018