Leah’s hard-hitting docu-series turns heat on the Church of Scientology

ABOUT 2.1 million people tuned in on Tuesday night to the premiere of A&E’s Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. Remini’s eight-episode docu-series that promises a deep dive into “shocking stories of abuse, heartbreak and harassment” within the Church of Scientology. Network executives say it’s the channel’s mostwatched premiere in two years. A solid number for the show isn’t surprising – Scientology is one of those topics that’s irresistible, mostly because of the secretive nature of the famously controversial church. Remini, known for the hit-sitcom King of Queens, was a devout Scientologist for 35 years before she left the church in 2013.

She has been an outspoken critic ever since.

Here’s her history of calling out the church:

July 2013:

A Re m i n i source says she was “put through inter rog ations” and then blacklisted within the church when she started to question leader David Miscavige, particularly on the whereabouts of his wife, Shelly, who reportedly hasn’t been seen since 2007.

Remini said she also disagreed with the church’s policies that restrict members from talking to relatives who criticise the church, a practice known as “disconnecting”. “She is stepping back from a regime she thinks is corrupt. “She thinks no religion should tear apart a family or abuse someone under the umbrella of ‘religion’,” the source says. Remini files a missing-person report for Shelly Miscavige, which the Los Angeles Police Department calls “unfounded.” The church says it’s “ill-advised, ludicrous self-promotion” on her part.

August 2013:

Remini’s book is released, and

November 2015:

she spills lots of dirt, including tales of Scientology superstar Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’s wedding weekend, which is where her relationship with the church started to go downhill after Remini was accused of behaving badly. The church’s response? Remini is “pathetically exploiting her former religion”.

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath premieres on A&E, chronicling Remini’s past and the stories of former members, who allege physical and sexual abuse. (Scientology officials say all of them are lying.)

“I want to give a voice to these stories,” Remini says, “enough that people will be incensed by it to put some pressure on this organisation to stop abusing people.”

November 2016: