![]() ![]() Prior to committing his heinous act, the murderer spouted vicious anti-religious propaganda, incited by A&E and the Leah Remini series." These resulted in threats, violence, and the brutal murder of a Scientologist in Australia in January 2019. On this website, they accuse the actor of inciting violence, writing: "For three years, A&E profited from broadcasting Leah Remini's lies, distortions and exhortations to hate. In fact, the Church of Scientology created a whole website dedicated to smearing Remini's name,. As is typical with the enemies of the church, Scientology conducted a smear campaign against the King of Queens actor when the series first aired on A&E. This is likely to redraw the ire of the Church of Scientology. After arriving on the streamer at the start of November, the series from the former Scientologist has now hit the Netflix series top 10 for the first time. (Her name is in the title, after all.) Remini may have paid a price for speaking out but leaving the church has also undeniably boosted her visibility.Īnd however well-intentioned Remini seems to be, there’s something a tad ironic about an investigation of a celebrity-driven cult that plays like a star vehicle.Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath aired on A&E for three seasons from 2016-2019, but is set to find an all-new audience now it has arrived on Netflix. She comes off as authentic, even if “Scientology and the Aftermath” can also seem self-serving. Though she moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles as a teenager, she still has the sassy, straight-talking demeanor of an outer-borough New Yorker. The show is also punctuated with a truly ridiculous number of disclaimers and directs viewers to a Scientology website that issues strenuous denials regarding allegations.Īs the church surely knows firsthand, Remini is an effective ambassador for her cause. There are hokey re-creations, lots of generic stock footage, an interview with Remini that has the look and feel of a “Real Housewives” confessional and superfluous montages highlighting the drama in episodes ahead. Unlike Gibney’s “Going Clear,” this series is a strictly basic-cable affair that relies on some regrettable reality-TV conventions. It’s aimed at relative newcomers, using graphics to define lingo like “suppressive person.” Xenu, the prehistoric space tyrant spoofed in a 2005 episode of “South Park”). “Scientology and the Aftermath” takes a human-interest approach to its subject, barely delving into the origins of the religion or its more bizarre teachings (e.g. Her painful experiences are echoed by Mike Rinder, former spokesperson for the church, who says his greatest regret is introducing his estranged children to Scientology. Scobee walked away from Scientology in 2005, forcing her mother, a still-devout parishioner, to disconnect. She ascended the ranks and eventually ran the Celebrity Centre where, among other tasks, she was responsible for making sure everyone around Cruise, down to household staff, was a Scientologist. It tells the story of former executive Amy Scobee, who joined Sea Org, the church’s quasi-military religious order, as a teenager and for decades barely had any contact with her father. The premiere episode focuses on the church’s harsh treatment of apostates like Remini and its policy of “disconnection” - shunning friends and family members who’ve left the organization. ![]() After she and her family were submitted to expensive interrogations, she publicly broke with Scientology in 2013. Her disillusionment began in 2006 at Tom Cruise’s wedding to Katie Holmes, where Remini was rebuked for inquiring as to the whereabouts of Shelly Miscavige, wife of church leader David Miscavige. With clips of Remini making hyperbolic claims about the power of Scientology - “we are the most ethical group you’re ever going to find,” she gushes in a 1999 interview - the series is frank about her role in promoting and defending the church.Īll of which lends greater heft to Remini’s eventual denunciation. ![]() As Remini’s career thrived, she became, as she puts it, a “thought leader” in the organization. The first episode opens with an abbreviated recap of Remini’s involvement in the church, which she joined as a child and provided a support network for her mother following a painful divorce. (She is also an executive producer on “Scientology and the Aftermath.”) Remini, who starred for nine seasons on the popular Kevin James sitcom “The King of Queens,” was once one of Scientology’s most enthusiastic proponents but has become one of its highest-profile celebrity defectors.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |