Leah Remini has filed a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology.
On Wednesday, Remini revealed on X (formerly known as Twitter) that she filed a lawsuit against the church and its current leader, David Miscavige, following “17 years of harassment, intimidation, surveillance and defamation.“
“While advocating for victims of Scientology has significantly impacted my life and career, Scientology’s final objective of silencing me has not been achieved,” Remini wrote. “While this lawsuit is about what Scientology has done to me, I am one of (the) thousands of targets of Scientology over the past seven decades.
“People who share what they’ve experienced in Scientology, and those who tell their stories and advocate for them, should be free to do so without fearing retaliation from a cult with tax exemption and billions in assets.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Remini’s representatives for further comment.
Based on the writings of author L. Ron Hubbard in “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health,” Scientology is a religion that focuses on bettering one’s spirit “not the mind or body —and believes that Man is far more than a product of his environment, or his genes,” according to its official website. Through processes called “auditing” and “training,” a Scientologist can gain better spiritual awareness outside of their body, the religion states.
Remini was a member of the church for 35 years before leaving in 2013. Since her departure, Remini has become one of Scientology’s foremost detractors, authoring a book and hosting a documentary series.
The religion has garnered many celebrity figures over the years such as Remini, Tom Cruise, Danny Masterson, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. Remini and Masterson’s former “That ’70s Show” co-star Laura Prepon are among the few famous people who have left the religion.
In 2015, “The King of Queens” alum said in an interview that Cruise was one of the factors that led her to leave − because the actor is so tethered to the church, they view an attack on him as an attack on all of them. “He is very aware of the abuses that go on in Scientology,” Remini told The Daily Beast in 2018. “He’s been part of it.”
In the conclusion of her X post, Remini said people in the entertainment industry “have a right to tell jokes and stories” about their experiences with Scientology “without facing an operation from Scientology, which uses its resources in Hollywood to destroy their lives and careers.”
“With this lawsuit, I hope to protect the rights afforded to them and me by the Constitution of the United States to speak the truth and report the facts about Scientology without fear of vicious and vindictive retribution, of which most have no way to fight back,” Remini wrote.
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Contributing: Staff and wire reports
