Leah Remini, author of "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology," has revealed quite interesting and weird tales about the Church of Scientology in her new book out Tuesday.
In Alex Gibney's documentary, "Going Clear," it is pointed out how you cannot talk about Scientology without talking about its most famous member, Tom Cruise, its most famous member. Indeed, in "Troublemaker," Remini's most shocking revelations about Scientology involve experiences with Tom Cruise.
Below are some interesting, and some downright weird accounts from Remini in her new book, "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology," as reported by Vulture:
- Meeting Tom Cruise for the first time had been "magical."
Remini said that because Cruise was a really big deal in the Church of Scientology, the entire Celebrity Centre building would need to be locked down whenever the Hollywood actor enters. One special day, she was told by a handler that she could "walk through" the building while Cruise was there. Normally, she would have to wait in the courtyard or waiting room. She said she had a "brief but pleasant conversation" with the "Mission Impossible" actor, which was apparently enough reason for her to be included in his entourage.
- Tom Cruise told Leah Remini to play hide-and-seek at his house with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith.
"At first I thought he was joking, but no, he literally wanted to play hide-and-seek with a bunch of grown-ups in what was probably close to a 7,000-square-foot house on almost three full acres of secluded land," Remini wrote in her book. When she told the actor she couldn't play since she was wearing Jimmy Choos, he simply said, "Well, good. So you're It, then," after which he tagged her and hid.
- Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' Rome wedding was "official church business."
According to Remini, the wedding was constantly monitored by Tommy Davis and Jessica Feshbach, two Scientology members. David Miscavige, the Church's leader, was Cruise's best man. Despite being official church business however, she said there were behaviour from the members that did not follow Scientology rules. Wedding officiator Norman Starkey reportedly got "handsy" with Brooke Shields and Jessica and Tommy had been flirting.
- Suri Cruise crying was ignored while crying on the bathroom floor during the wedding.
Remini wrote in her book about Scientology that she heard Suri Cruise from the bathroom. When she went to investigate, three women, including Tom's sister and his assistant, was standing over her and looking and talking to her like an adult.
· Katie Holmes submitted a "Knowledge Report" stating that Remini's behavior at the wedding was disturbing.
The report said Remini had been "very upsetting" and was a "poor example to others." Later, Leah had to do a "Truth Rundown" involving an "Ethics Officer" and an "auditing" session. She eventually cracked, pleaded, and after weeks of 12-hour-a-day auditing sessions, she "retracted almost everything" and admitted to being the source of most of the wedding's problems.
According to People, Leah Remini left Scientology in 2013 after more than three decades. On Tuesday, the 45-year-old told Howard Stern's SiriusXM radio show that she knew backlash would ensue as soon as she speaks out against the religion. She even added that she understood why Kristie Alley, a longtime Scientologist, called her a "bigot" when she first left in 2013.
Let's just hope the backlash doesn't affect her as much as the auditing sessions did.
