Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for August 2
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Leah Remini announced she has filed a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology and its leader David Miscavige for harassment, stalking, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress in addition to other unlawful conduct.
The 53-year-old actress revealed in a Twitter post she had filed the lawsuit and linked to her Substack, where she shared a press release accusing the defendants of "mob-style operations and attacks" on her and other alleged victims.
The "King of Queens" star became a Scientologist at 9 years old but left the church in 2013 and has since become an outspoken critic.
"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 the press release.
Leah Remini revealed she is suing the Church of Scientology and David Miscavige for alleged harassment, stalking, defamation and other unlawful conduct. (Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
Remini also attached her complaint in her Substack post. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday and names the defendants as the Church of Scientology, Miscavige and Religious Technology Center, Inc. In the press release, Remini alleged the Religious Technology Center "manages policing operations and principally enforces Scientology’s punishment orders."
"This lawsuit is ludicrous and the allegations pure lunacy," the Church of Scientology wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Remini spreads hate and falsehoods for a decade and is now offended when people exercise their right to free speech, exposing her for what she is—an anti-free speech bigot. Remini’s complaints are like an anti-Semite complaining about the Jewish Anti-Defamation League for exposing the anti-Semite’s bigotry and propaganda."
The statement continued, "Remini’s obsession with attacking her former religion, by spreading falsehoods and hate speech, has generated threats of and actual violence against the Church and its members as evidenced by multiple criminal convictions of individuals poisoned by Remini’s propaganda. All the while, Remini has profited handsomely from her fabrications, through the sale of hate books, hate podcasts and paid-for tabloid hate television."
"Now that Remini’s propaganda has been exposed, Remini has spun entirely out of control by filing a frivolous lawsuit attempting to stop free speech exposing her false propaganda. Remini’s decade of harassment and fabrications are all coming back to haunt her. If Remini can no longer get a job, she has nobody to blame but herself."
"Obviously everybody in Hollywood now knows what we already knew: That Remini is a horrible person and toxic to so many who have the misfortune to come in contact with her. While Remini was in the Church, she had to restrain her antisocial traits. She said so herself—that Scientology was the only thing keeping her "monster" at bay. The Church is not intimidated by Remini’s latest act of blatant harassment and attempt to prevent truthful free speech. If Remini does not believe in free speech, then she should consider emigrating to Russia," the statement concluded.
A former Scientologist turned outspoken critic of the religion, Remini alleges the church and its leader, Miscavige, pictured, inflicted "psychological torture" on her. (Church of Scientology via Getty Images)
The press release stated that the lawsuit "seeks to require Scientology, and any entity it controls and funds, to cease and desist its alleged practice of harassment, defamation, and other unlawful conduct against anyone who Scientology has labeled as an 'enemy.'"
According to the complaint, Remini is also seeking punitive and compensatory damages for the "enormous economic and psychological harm" she alleges the Church of Scientology, Miscavige and the Religious Technology Center inflicted on her personal life and career.
The press release also stated that the lawsuit concerns the actions of Scientology's Office of Special Affairs (OSA), which it alleges engages in monitoring both Scientologists and those outside the religion and takes retaliatory actions against individuals deemed an "enemy" of Scientology. The retaliatory actions are allegedly a "series of directives" known as OSA Network Orders issued by the late founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard.
"Under the organizations’ rules, directives originating from Hubbard cannot be changed," the lawsuit states. The complaint alleges Remini and her family, friends and professional associates became the target of "coordinated campaigns" that were "financed and ordered" by Scientology leaders starting in 2006 while she was still a member of the church.
According to the release, the "attacks" carried out by "OSA and its operatives" were intended to "totally restrain and muzzle," "obliterate," and "ruin utterly" Remini.
Remini became a Scientologist at the age of 9 and left the religion in 2013. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"With this lawsuit, I hope to protect my rights as afforded by the Constitution of the United States to speak the truth and report the facts about Scientology. I feel strongly that the banner of religious freedom does not give anyone license to intimidate, harass, and abuse those who exercise their First Amendment rights," Remini stated in the release.
In her Twitter post, Remini wrote, "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.
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"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," she added.
Since her departure from Scientology, Remini co-produced and hosted the Emmy-winning A&E documentary series "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath." (Michael Kovac/Getty Images)
"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."
Leah Remini attends the International Documentary Association's 35th Annual IDA Documentary Awards at Paramount Studios Dec. 7, 2019, in Hollywood, Calif. (Michael Tran/Getty Images)
Since her departure from Scientology, Remini has spoken out against the religion in her 2015 memoir, "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology." The following year, she served as host and co-producer of the A&E documentary series "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath," which ran for three seasons and won two Primetime Emmy Awards.
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Miscavige, 62, was nowhere to be found in December when multiple attempts were made to serve him with a child trafficking lawsuit filed by three former Scientology members that names him as a defendant. According to court documents filed at the time, process servers attempted to serve papers to Miscavige 27 different times over the past few months.
In February, U.S. Magistrate Judge Julie S. Sneed ruled Miscavige was "actively concealing his whereabouts or evading service" and declared that he had been officially served, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
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