In an exclusive interview with ABC News promo clip for the ”20/20”, actress Leah Remini reveals how Tom Cruise was one of the factors that led her to break from the Church of Scientology.
45-year-old actress stated in the interview set to air on Friday, October 30 that, "Being critical of Tom Cruise is being critical of Scientology itself ... you are evil."
Scientology's poster boy is Tom Cruise, hence it's difficult to talk about one without talking about the other. That's an alarming but unsurprising mindset.
What may be disturbing is that, the affiliation might even indicate that he gets the same sort of unquestioned authority as Scientology leadership.
Explaining her depth of her struggles, she said “The decision to leave is… you’re giving up everything you’ve worked for your whole life,” she added. “I think people need to understand that this was my whole life, and I want them to understand that this is how it happened.”
Remini was still very young when her family became part of Scientology . She reveals how and why, after 30 years of being a member of the church, she finally decided she no longer wanted to be involved with it.
It was in 2013 when Remini and her family left the controversial Church. She has spoken out against the organization from time to time, leading her to be repeatedly hit by Scientology leaders.
“As time goes on, you begin to lose touch with the real world,” she says. “The mindset begins to be ‘Us against them.’”
In an interview, a spokesperson of the church told Us Weekly that, "Given Leah Remini's insatiable desire for attention, it comes as no surprise that for two years she has been incapable of moving on with her life and remains obsessed with shamelessly exploiting her former religion in a pathetic attempt to get publicity."
Remini's upcoming tell-all book about Scientology will reportedly include some shocking allegations, including how she was forced to endure "behavior modification" after confronting the church's leader.
On November 3, Remini's "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology" by Ballantine Books will be released.
Remini and her husband are now practicing Catholics, and had their 10-year-old daughter Sofia baptized in September 2015.
