Posted on 11/29/2016 12:45:43 PM PST by BBell
As the first episode of her "ballsy" A&E series premieres, the actress/author-turned-investigative reporter reveals what everyone from pal Jennifer Lopez to co-star Kevin James felt about her former religion — and shares the memory of an awkward phone conversation she once had with the CBS chief at the 'Mission: Impossible' star's behest.
A&E's legal department is no doubt burning the midnight oil to usher its latest series, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, on-air. The network has already received multiple threatening letters from the Church of Scientology, in which the show's host, Leah Remini, is described as a "has-been actress" and "spoiled, entitled diva." A defiant Remini, meanwhile, responded by having her attorney send a letter to the church demanding it retract the letters and pay her $1.5 million in compensation.
That the church objects to the eight-part series is hardly a surprise. It sees the 46-year-old King of Queens star — who documented her flight from the church in the 2015 best-seller Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology — turn investigative journalist as she documents "shocking stories of abuse, heartbreak and harassment" alleged by former church members.
The Hollywood Reporter spoke to Remini ahead of the show's premiere Tuesday, addressing everything from church accusations that she is only "in it for the money" ("Are they going to give me back my $3 million?") to an extremely awkward phone conversation she once had with CBS chief Leslie Moonves at Tom Cruise's behest.
A&E received a lot of aggressive pushback from the Church of Scientology regarding Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. How close did the network come to pulling it?
I don’t know how close they came to pulling the show. They certainly weren’t letting on to me that they were thinking about that. But I’m sure that this is the first network
(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...
I’ve got it set to record.
Me too...........:)
The Wrath of Xenu.
Is that a variegated eucalyptus tree next to her?
Spot on. The crop used to be cotton, now it’s votes.
I’ve often wondered if I could afford to rent a billboard that said, “Stay on the Plantation - Vote Democrat”. Of course, someone would burn down my house, I suspect.
Oooh. Forgot that part. Nice catch.
http://www.aetv.com/shows/leah-remini-scientology-and-the-aftermath
I highly recommend it.
I long understood that Scientology was cult-like and a scam disguising itself as a religion in order to separate gullible people from their money, but I had no idea just how bad it really was – the way it separates and destroys families, not only the mental indoctrination and the mental abuse but also the physical and sexual abuse, the harassment and the stalking of any they deem to be detractors and former members and the way the “church” smears and slanders former members, those who dare question or dare to leave and speak out.
I think Leah Remini and other former Scientologists like Mike Rinder and others are very brave for speaking out knowing that they will be vilified by the “church” for doing so and kudos to A&E for broadcasting this series despite all the threats from Scientology to try to have it suppressed.
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