Leah Remini could call TOM CRUISE to give evidence at Scientology trial over claims church tormented her
Remini may call Tom Cruise as a witness in her upcoming Scientology lawsuitShe claims she was punished by the Church after attending Cruise’s weddingIn her suit she labels Cruise as ‘essentially second in command’ of the Church
Actress Leah Remini may call Tom Cruise as a witness as part of a new lawsuit she has brought against the Church of Scientology.
Remini, 53, claimed in a suit filed this month that she was psychologically punished by the Church after asking about its leader’s missing wife at Tom Cruise‘s wedding to Katie Holmes in 2006.
The wife of leader David Miscavige, Michele ‘Shelly’ Miscavige, has been missing for 16 years. Remini, a former Scientologist herself, has been vocal about her disappearance and reported it to the LAPD when she left the Church in 2013.
Cruise is an outspoken advocate of Scientology and one of its most high-profile members, having attained the powerful rank of Operating Thetan.
If he is called to a trial, it could prove hugely embarrassing for both the highly-bankable movie star and the notoriously secretive religion he practices.
Remini claims in the suit that he is at the very heart of the institution, as a ‘best friend’ of Miscavige and ‘essentially second in command’.
She alleges that after questioning the whereabouts of Shelly at Cruise’s wedding she was held at a Scientology facility for four months and put through a process that ‘nearly led her to have a psychotic breakdown’.
A source with knowledge of the case told The New York Post: ‘I think that Leah will call Tom to be a witness. She claims that she was abused after his wedding, so why wouldn’t she call him? He’s a part of this.’
Remini was introduced to it through her parents and joined as a young teenager. She became a part of it’s inner circle, known as the ‘Sea Organization’, by allegedly signing one of its ‘million-year contracts’.
She claims that since leaving in 2013 and reporting Shelly’s disappearance, the Church has allegedly responded to her dissent with intimidation – operating Twitter accounts attacking her reputation and hiring individuals to stalk her in LA.
Miscavige himself has been missing for more than six months, according to lawyers bringing human trafficking action against him.
Court documents show that she is accusing the Church of Scientology for ‘civil harassment, stalking, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage.’
She has filed eight counts against them in her lawsuit, and is asking for punitive and compensatory damages to be proven at trial.
The suit is also asking for ‘damages for the disruption of contractual relationships and lost business opportunities’ for an undisclosed amount.
It claims that she was held at the spiritual HQ of Scientology – the Flag building – and was ‘put through a process that cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars and nearly led her to have a psychotic breakdown.’
‘David Miscavige subsequently acknowledged that it was wrong to have subjected Ms. Remini to the Truth Rundown and returned at least some of her money’, the filing claims.
‘Ms. Remini was made to make ‘amends’ at Flag not only to David Miscavige but to Tom Cruise. For example, she was forced to donate money to name a seat in a theater after Suri Cruise and was to raise money for donation to Scientology causes led by Tom Cruise.
‘After reports of terrible abuse emerged from Scientology’s international base, Golden Era Productions, in Riverside County, Remini endured another six months of punishment for looking on the Internet and asking questions about the abuse.’
Remini claims that she had to hire bodyguards for her book tour after being ‘physically followed’ by people she says worked for the church.
She alleges that they sent ‘disparaging and threatening letters’ to those who were promoting her book.
The documents also claim that celebrities who are active Scientologists were ‘drilled’ on how to attack Remini’s credibility by calling her a ‘criminal’.
A meeting was allegedly organized in early 2018, and those who attended were handed a document for ‘talking points’ written by the Church.
DailyMail.com contacted the Church of Scientology for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Remini claims the church is barring her from ‘exercising her First Amendment right and moral duty to speak out about Scientology’s conduct.’
Her lawsuit claims that Scientology wrote letters to advertisers and sponsors of Remini’s series ‘The Aftermath’, including Disney, Yahoo, Nissan, Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Expedia.
They are also accused in the lawsuit of ‘harassing’ whistleblowers and former Scientologists who agreed to go on the show, as well as staff and their family members.
It states: ‘Agents of Scientology who falsely claim to be journalists also call these individuals to solicit false information about Ms. Remini for Scientology’s attack websites against her.
‘In 2016, Defendants, well aware of the falsehoods being leveled at Ms. Remini, accused Ms. Remini in tweets and on their websites of causing a man named Brandon Reisdorf, whose parents were former Scientologists, to throw a rock through a window at the Los Angeles office of Scientology.
‘Mr. Reisdorf, who was forced to disconnect from his brother and parents, was in the midst of a mental health crisis. Scientology policies ban any sort of psychiatric or psychological treatment’.
Court documents also claim that Scientology has accused Remini of inciting the murder of Taiwanese Scientologist, Chih-Jen Yeh, 24, in its Australian headquarters.
The suit adds that she was allegedly stalked by two private investigators, including a former Nassau County Lieutenant.
Her lawsuit also claims that Scientologists paid a man with ‘a history of mental illness and a violent criminal record’ to stalk her at her LA home.
She also accuses them of hiring Talon Executive Services to install ‘free security and surveillance’ at her neighbors home to ‘spy’ on her.
They are also accused of recruiting a man to steal her mail, as well as claiming that they harasses Remini’s family members and former employees as well as their relatives.
According to the court documents they pose as ‘freelance reporters’ who are writing a story on how Remini is ‘abusive to her family and friends’.
The complaint states: ‘This decade-long, coordinated harassment of Ms. Remini, as well as her friends, family, and business acquaintances, has caused severe emotional distress to Ms. Remini, has made her fear for her physical safety and that of her family, and has caused the loss of business opportunities.’
Remini also claims that Scientology operated Twitter accounts make ‘unsubstantiated claims’ that she is ‘abusive to her daughter’ and calls her a ‘c*** all the time’.
The suit states that Remini lost current and prospective business contracts and opportunities because of the alleged ‘incessant harassment’.
It claims that she lost a podcast with iHeartRadio, audio sales with Audioboom, and her People Puzzler show did not get renewed for a fourth season – because of ‘harassment’ by the Church.
Remini also states in the suit that she was dropped by ID/PR, her entertainment publicity firm, as part of a campaign against them’.
In a statement, Remini said: ‘After 17 years of harassment, intimidation, surveillance, and defamation, I am filing a lawsuit against Scientology and David Miscavige.
‘While advocating for victims of Scientology has significantly impacted my life and career, Scientology’s final objective of silencing me has not been achieved.
‘While this lawsuit is about what Scientology has done to me, I am one of 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.
‘The press has a right to report about Scientology without facing a sophisticated intelligence operation from Scientology to destroy their personal lives and their careers.
‘Law enforcement authorities have a right to investigate crimes in Scientology without fear that they will lose their jobs.
‘Children, mothers, fathers, aunts, and uncles have a right to request welfare checks on their family members without fear of an operation activated against them by Scientology for doing so.
‘Those in the entertainment business should have a right to tell jokes and stories 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.’
