The 'Kevin Can Wait' actress says the 'Mission: Impossible' actor, who is a high-ranking Scientologist, personally doled out punishment to fellow Scientologists.
- Nov 22, 2018
AceShowbiz - Despite his status as a high-ranking member in the Church of Scientology, Tom Cruise is still popular among his fans and his films are still loved by moviegoers. But having been a part of the church herself, Leah Remini has many reasons to think that the action movie star isn't as innocent as he seems to be.
In a new interview with The Daily Beast, the actress who is a former Scientology member says how much Tom is respected by the church's members. "Scientologists are told that Tom Cruise is saving the world single-handedly, so he is considered a deity within Scientology," Remini reveals. "He is second to David Miscavige-the savior of the free world. Tom is even called 'Mister Cruise' by staff members."
The former "The King of Queens" star also says that the church "goes to great lengths to not allow Cruise to see anything disparaging about Scientology." She details, "They'll go so far as, if he's going to walk a certain place, they'll make sure there are no magazines that are anti-Scientology, so he can't see that."
Remini goes on accusing Cruise of being part of abuses that go in the church. "I think people think [Cruise is] an innocent victim in all of this," she remarks. "Where Tom is concerned, that is very different. He is very aware of the abuses that go on in Scientology. He's been part of it."
Moreover, the "American Made" star personally doled out punishment to fellow Scientologist, according to Remini. She says, "[Cruise]'s best friends with David Miscavige (Scientology's leader), so he's privy to the punishments that David Miscavige doles out, and I've been told by a senior executive of Scientology, who was there, that David Miscavige constantly threatened the staff at Gold Base with bringing Tom Cruise to Gold Base to kick their f***ing a***s."
Tom De Vocht, a former member of Scientology's Commodore Messenger's Organization (CMO), also slams Cruise. Comparing the 56-year-old actor to Miscavige, he says, "They're very similar characters-both rather absorbed by themselves, and intensely so. You don't want to look at 'em wrong, say anything wrong, and you definitely don't want to better them in any way. You had to be very careful around them."
Cruise's rep has not responded to the allegations. Meanwhile, the church denies all the claims by Remini in the new interview. "The Church rejects all of Leah Remini’s allegations as false," the church's spokesperson Karin Pouw says in a statement. "The interview is a PR stunt to promote her fake reality TV show. As long as the entertainment media will print Leah Remini's lies, her anti-religious bigotry will have a voice. Her brand of hate has dire consequences."
The rep adds, "Just last week, for example, the FBI released a report showing the alarming increase of hate crimes in the United States, including 1 in 5 traced to religious bigotry. Remini has gone out of her way to manufacture hate and instigate harm toward innocent people."
Remini has spoken out against the church since she left it in 2003. Her A&E docuseries "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath" will return for a third season on November 27.
