Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology

[Rivercard]

This sounds like a must read!

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http://tonyortega.org/2015/09/24/le...blemaker-surviving-hollywood-and-scientology/

Ballantine Books announced that Leah Remini’s memoir is finished and coming out soon. Titled Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, the book is scheduled to be released on November 3, and we expect there to be a tidal wave of publicity over it.

Since her very public defection from Scientology, Leah has worked hard to raise her profile, appearing on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and then in her own reality series, It’s All Relative. Along the way, she’s talked about leaving Scientology, but in largely vague terms.

What she hasn’t said, but has held back for her book, are the really amazing details about her long process of disaffection from Scientology. They include a spectacular scene in 2006 at the wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in a castle outside Rome, which included Leah daring to ask why Scientology’s leader, David Miscavige, was there without his wife, Shelly.

For daring to ask that question, and then following it up with a “Knowledge Report” about Miscavige, Leah was summoned to Scientology’s Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida, where she was subjected to three months of interrogations and behavior modification until she agreed to drop her complaint about the head of the organization. For that three months of brutal treatment, she was also billed $300,000.

These are the kinds of details we’ve been waiting to hear from Leah that she’s been keeping out of her interviews. But now, her book will be filled with them. We’re very much looking forward to it.

 

[DemsMyBoys]

I'm about half-way through Troublemaker. It reveals no deep secrets about Scientology a la "Going Clear". Still it's an interesting read and she's a very likable person. She says some less-than-flattering things about Tom Cruise. But then she says some less-than-flattering things about herself and a lot of other people. It's not an expose... more of an explanation of how she got into Scientology and why she left.

 

[Rivercard]

I'm about half-way through Troublemaker. It reveals no deep secrets about Scientology a la "Going Clear"

Going Clear didn't mention the whole missing Shelly M. controversy (comments of which apparently got Leah in hot water with the brass at COS), so at least that will be a new topic. Does Leah give any insights on where Shelly has been all these years and what she might be doing?

 

[DemsMyBoys]

Going Clear didn't mention the whole missing Shelly M. controversy (comments of which apparently got Leah in hot water with the brass at COS), so at least that will be a new topic. Does Leah give any insights on where Shelly has been all these years and what she might be doing?

I put it aside for a few days and haven't finished reading it. I got as far as Remini attending Cruise's wedding in Italy which was the start of her disillusionment with Scientology. Will let you know.

 

[DemsMyBoys]

Going Clear didn't mention the whole missing Shelly M. controversy (comments of which apparently got Leah in hot water with the brass at COS), so at least that will be a new topic. Does Leah give any insights on where Shelly has been all these years and what she might be doing?

Finished the book. She started asking questions about Shelly's whereabouts at Cruise's wedding. They were close friends and, yes, it got her in hot water. When she was told to quit asking...she kept asking. She was eventually told Shelly M. was at Gold Base. When Remini said, "Call her. I want to talk to her." she was told no one had the telephone number.

After she left the church she filed a missing person report with the LAPD. It went nowhere.

 

[Rivercard]

Finished the book. She started asking questions about Shelly's whereabouts at Cruise's wedding. They were close friends and, yes, it got her in hot water. When she was told to quit asking...she kept asking. She was eventually told Shelly M. was at Gold Base. When Remini said, "Call her. I want to talk to her." she was told no one had the telephone number.

After she left the church she filed a missing person report with the LAPD. It went nowhere.

Thanks, that's a strange story. How can the "church" leader's wife suddenly disappear and not be seen in public for years and nobody asks anything and it's never spoken of?

I think this book is lurking in a package under my Christmas tree, so I'll be reading it soon.

 

[DemsMyBoys]

Thanks, that's a strange story. How can the "church" leader's wife suddenly disappear and not be seen in public for years and nobody asks anything and it's never spoken of?

I think this book is lurking in a package under my Christmas tree, so I'll be reading in soon.

She's been missing for years. There's no way of knowing her fate unless someone who knows what happened to her becomes disaffected with church beliefs and starts talking.

Remini explains what happens to people who ask questions about Shelly M. It's not good.

 

[Rivercard]

Remini explains what happens to people who ask questions about Shelly M. It's not good.

It seems all things Scientology end in "not good".

 

[Chaplin]

It seems all things Scientology end in "not good".

Many people would disagree with you, including me.

 

[Rivercard]

Many people would disagree with you, including me.

What would be some examples of good endings? All we seem to hear about are painful disconnections, fair game, and financial ruin.

 

[Rivercard]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...ientology-harassment_56607f76e4b08e945fee617c

Leah Remini's Sister Accuses Scientologists Of Bizarre Harassment

Leah Remini's older sister says that the Church of Scientology harassed her and her teenaged daughter after the former "King of Queens" actress left the church in 2013. In an interview with Radar Online, Nicole Remini-Wiskow claimed that, in the period after her sister's departure, Scientologists started calling her around the clock.

"The church was calling me like crazy. When [Leah] was first declared a suppressive person they called me everyday," she said. "I would hang up and then they would call me right back." At one point, she said, members of the church even called her daughter, who was 15 at the time. While the harassment initially stopped when she threatened to sue, Remini-Wiskow believes that attacks resumed in November, when Remini released her memoir, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology. Remini-Wiscow said that all her social media accounts were hacked in quick succession; at one point, her Facebook profile picture was reportedly changed to a photo of male genitalia. Though Remini-Wiskow never positively identified the perpetrators, she believes it was the work of Scientologists.

Like her sister, Remini-Wiskow was raised as a Scientologist. Their parents joined the church when Remini-Wiskow was 8 and Remini was 6. As adolescents, they even signed on to the Sea Org, a mysterious wing of the religious group. But Remini-Wiskow left the church in 2000, more than a decade before her famous sister.

The Huffington Post's request for comment from the Church of Scientology and Leah Remini were not immediately returned.

 

[Chaplin]

What would be some examples of good endings? All we seem to hear about are painful disconnections, fair game, and financial ruin.

Not to get too much into it, but I know dozens of them and none of them are even close to what is being portrayed by irrelevant actresses trying to keep their name in the media. You are also hearing everything without any rebuttal. It's completely one-sided.

I have personal experience in this (I am not a Scientologist), but I'm also ridiculed by the rest of this board for my views on it, so I won't talk much about it.

Just know, don't believe every single thing you read. Leah Rimini isn't exactly a stable individual--unless the public has suddenly started believing has-been actresses whenever they say anything. Most people don't believe SUCCESSFUL actresses when they say anything.

 

[Rivercard]

Not to get too much into it, but I know dozens of them and none of them are even close to what is being portrayed by irrelevant actresses trying to keep their name in the media. You are also hearing everything without any rebuttal. It's completely one-sided.

I have personal experience in this (I am not a Scientologist), but I'm also ridiculed by the rest of this board for my views on it, so I won't talk much about it.

Just know, don't believe every single thing you read. Leah Rimini isn't exactly a stable individual--unless the public has suddenly started believing has-been actresses whenever they say anything. Most people don't believe SUCCESSFUL actresses when they say anything.

We hear things without rebuttal because it seems the church's basic strategy is to not acknowledge or address questions and issues, only attack it's critics, just as you have done here with this reply. The reason I asked you the question in the first place is that I'd like to hear more from the church's point of view, but scientologists and their supporters refuse to provide it! They just create a shroud of secrecy. What are we supposed to think?

Leah Remini was not even a part of my question to you, yet you trash her in your response and did not even address my question. How do you know Leah is not a stable individual? it's not like we've seen her jumping on Oprah's couch. Do you know her? Calling her a "has been" is ridiculous and petty. Leah has been in many projects since King of Queens and has had a very successful 2015. And having been in Scientology 30 years she clearly has access to the topic at hand.

I'm not ridiculing you, This board shows you to be a very smart and likable person. I'm just really disappointed that your response to my question contained no human element or insight but instead was something right out of the scientology fair game handbook. It would be nice to hear more about the dozens you know and less about an actress you've never met.

 

[BigRedRage]

Many people would disagree with you, including me.

What would be some examples of good endings? All we seem to hear about are painful disconnections, fair game, and financial ruin.

Yeah chap knows some people but I've only heard positive from him and from the religion itself. The rest seems negative.

I'm not big on organized religion anyway, to have a very new one created by a fiction writer and have people all about it is even stranger

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[DemsMyBoys]

Not to get too much into it, but I know dozens of them and none of them are even close to what is being portrayed by irrelevant actresses trying to keep their name in the media. You are also hearing everything without any rebuttal. It's completely one-sided.

I have personal experience in this (I am not a Scientologist), but I'm also ridiculed by the rest of this board for my views on it, so I won't talk much about it.

Just know, don't believe every single thing you read. Leah Rimini isn't exactly a stable individual--unless the public has suddenly started believing has-been actresses whenever they say anything. Most people don't believe SUCCESSFUL actresses when they say anything.

How do you know "dozens"?

And how do you know whether or not Leah Rimini is stable? Do you know her? Or is that what the "dozens" of Scientologists you know tell you?

 

[Covert Rain]

I have met several people from the Church (outside of Church) and never had any issues with any of them. I have met some really really nice people from the Church. Having said that A good friend of mine went through a horrid experience in Scientology with his family.

They were encouraged to burn bridges with "suppressive" people...even their own family. The Church interjected in their business. The higher they moved up in the Church the more money they spent to "honor" their faith. They were "punished" for questioning any doctrine of the Church. Not to mention some of the bizarre stories he shared with me in terms of "practices". They were told they could never say anything negative about the Church to outsiders or they would face consequences.

After leaving the church for various reasons they nearly lost their business and had to move. The Church made their lives a living hell for them even after they left and harassed a couple family members that stayed in the church after they left. Which in turn made them leave the Church as well.

It appears to me knowing and meeting people in the Church is one thing but existing in the religion is another. Just like anything, I am sure not every experience is the same but when you hear stories first hand from people you know that is something entirely different. I asked him if he ever would have shared any of this with me while in the Church. His response? Not a chance.

I also ran across this site not too long ago that is for people who have left the Church and the stories that are there are very telling.

 

[Chaplin]

We hear things without rebuttal because it seems the church's basic strategy is to not acknowledge or address questions and issues, only attack it's critics, just as you have done here with this reply. The reason I asked you the question in the first place is that I'd like to hear more from the church's point of view, but scientologists and their supporters refuse to provide it! They just create a shroud of secrecy. What are we supposed to think?

No, the reason the church doesn't respond is because that they HAVE responded in the past, but it makes no difference--they aren't going to be believed now anyway, so they don't respond. All the people I know do the same thing--what's the point? Ignorance won't be cured by the information they give because most people already have made up their mind well ahead of time.

 

[Chaplin]

How do you know "dozens"?

And how do you know whether or not Leah Rimini is stable? Do you know her? Or is that what the "dozens" of Scientologists you know tell you?

I have family and friends that are Scientologists. A lot of friends, actually. They don't preach, they don't try to convince me to join, they smoke, they drink, they are normal everyday people.

And every religion has its darkness. Scientology has NOTHING on Christianity.

 

[Rivercard]

the reason the church doesn't respond is because that they HAVE responded in the past, but it makes no difference--they aren't going to be believed now anyway, so they don't respond

You might be right that they would not be believed because in the past church officials like Tommy Davis (no longer with the church) have denied in interviews the existence of certain policies such as forced family disconnections and Fair Game tactics among other things. The church hasn't officially commented on those issues in years which is probably smart because quite frankly they are indefensible if not criminal in some cases, but members in and out of the church have acknowledged those policies are indeed employed as mentioned in Covert Rain's recent post (unless of course you are willing to dismiss all those people as lying bitter has-been SP's who just happen to all have the same experiences).

 

[Rivercard]

I have family and friends that are Scientologists. A lot of friends, actually. They don't preach, they don't try to convince me to join, they smoke, they drink, they are normal everyday people.

No doubt. There are good people everywhere. Do you know any ex-scientologists?

 

[DemsMyBoys]

And every religion has its darkness. Scientology has NOTHING on Christianity.

Christianity doesn't have a leader whose wife has been missing for YEARS. A missing woman, who is married to the head of a religion, who could be dead...or scrubbing toilets with a toothbrush...or subjected to who-knows-what... is about as dark as it gets.

 

[Covert Rain]

No doubt. There are good people everywhere. Do you know any ex-scientologists?

I think that is key. The person I mentioned above and his entire family are amazing people. They have returned to a traditional church. These are the type of people who volunteer every Christmas at Children's hospitals, donate to charity and do fund raisers. They just are some of the nicest and best human beings I have ever met.

When someone like them tells you the things they experienced in the Church...I have zero reason not believe them. There is zero motivation for them to lie. They don't go around bagging on Scientology. They have not given interviews nor are they trying to sell any books.

 

[Cheesebeef]

How do you know "dozens"?

And how do you know whether or not Leah Rimini is stable? Do you know her? Or is that what the "dozens" of Scientologists you know tell you?

slamming Rimini is straight out of the Scientology playbook. Call her a drug-addict, unstable, a has-been... do everything to discredit the person, but don't try and discredit what she's said. Gotta wonder why that happens so consistently when people leave Scientology.

 

[Rivercard]

Christianity doesn't have a leader whose wife has been missing for YEARS. A missing woman, who is married to the head of a religion, who could be dead...or scrubbing toilets with a toothbrush...or subjected to who-knows-what... is about as dark as it gets.

The story out there is that Shelly had re-arranged furniture and some rooms at one of the church's compounds without her husband's approval which apparently angered him mightily. Shortly after that she went missing and has not been seen since. The church apparently wants us to believe that she is "willingly" existing hermit-like doing church business at one of the compounds, communicating with nobody. But since there is no official information available who knows what to believe?

 

[Chaplin]

No doubt. There are good people everywhere. Do you know any ex-scientologists?

Nope, but I know some ex-other religions. And it's a fill-in-the-blank thing--all religions have their problems. I won't deny that Scientology has some questions, but the generalizations we frequently see in the media are just not true.