Leah Remini files harassment lawsuit against Church of Scientology and leader David Miscavige
LOS ANGELES - Emmy award-winning actress Leah Remini filed a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology and its leader David Miscavige on Wednesday, August 2, alleging incidents of harassment, defamation and "mob-style attacks."
"For 17 years, Scientology and David Miscavige have subjected me to what I believe to be psychological torture, defamation, surveillance, harassment, and intimidation, significantly impacting my life and career. I believe I am not the first person targeted by Scientology and its operations, but I intend to be the last," Remini said in a statement released today.
In the 60-page lawsuit filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court, Remini noted a string of "coordinated and malicious assaults" on behalf of the religious organization, which she says were intended to "muzzle", "obliterate" and utterly ruin her.
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The church posted claims online that Remini was allegedly abusive toward her mother and daughter, that she made racist statements and incited hate crimes, according to the lawsuit.
Remini joined the church as an 8-year-old after her mother converted and was a member for over 35 years, according to the lawsuit. As a child, Remini said she endured the church's mandated "training sessions," which involved "verbally, physically and sexually abusive practices," the lawsuit alleges. "Bull baiting" is one such training session noted in the lawsuit, which allegedly involved "[Remini], a young girl, with an older male Scientologist who is required to find her ‘buttons’ (vulnerabilities that would bother her), screamed expletives at her, made sexually suggestive remarks to her, and verbally abused her for hours in an effort to condition her to not react to abuse."
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Since her departure in 2013, Remini has been vocal about her criticism of the organization. In the lawsuit, Remini stated that the Church of Scientology and its leader David Miscavige have "undertaken a campaign to ruin and destroy" Remini's "life and livelihood."
In addition to compensatory and punitive damages, Remini hopes this lawsuit will allow herself and others to "speak the truth and report the facts about Scientology, without fear of vicious and vindictive retribution."