Scientology is beautiful, insists John Travolta after TV show’s torture claims
JOHN Travolta has launched a passionate defence of the Church of Scientology after claims of torture, forced labour and blackmail were made in a documentary about the controversial religion.
The Hollywood actor, who has been a Scientologist for 40 years, described his faith as ‘beautiful’ and said it has helped him through difficult periods, including the loss of his son Jett, who died in 2009 at the age of 16.
The makers of Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, interviewed eight former followers of the church. Some of the more shocking claims detail how members who try to leave the church are thrown in prisonstyle camps where they have to endure 30 hours of hard labour broken up by only three hours of rest.
Another punishment is said to be called ‘The Hole’, where the victims are beaten and made to perform demeaning tasks such as cleaning the floor with their tongue.
The film also claims that Scientology elders have blackmailed Travolta, 61, into being a champion for their belief system. A spokesman for the church, which has around 50,000 followers, denied the allegations and accused the former members working with the documentary of being liars and ‘professional anti-Scientologists’.
Speaking to a US newspaper, Travolta admitted he had not seen the documentary, which was aired on US channel HBO on Sunday, but dismissed its allegations and said fellow Scientologist Tom Cruise feels the same way.
He said: ‘I’ve been so happy with my experience that I really don’t have anything to say that would shed light on [a documentary] so decidedly negative. ‘ I’ve been brought through storms that were insurmountable, and [Scientology has] been so beautiful for me, that I can’t even imagine attacking it.’ ÷Tom Cruise has not seen his eight-year-old daughter Suri for a year and is ‘ not part of her life’, according to US reports. While the separation has been blamed on filming commitments, it has also been claimed that Cruise, 52, and his ex-wife Katie Holmes, Suri’s mother, have drifted apart because she rejected Scientology.
He has previously angrily denied claims that he ‘abandoned’ his daughter.