The Moment Leah Remini Knew She Had To Leave Scientology

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission.

Leah Remini has made it her mission to reveal the controversial inner workings of the Church of Scientology since leaving in 2013 and has now hit the Church with a major lawsuit after allegedly facing threats from the group. Remini joined Scientology as a child after her mother converted but, since leaving, has been an outspoken critic of her own childhood in the Church and of the organization in general.

On August 2, the King of Queens star filed a lawsuit claiming that, over the past decade, she was “stalked, surveilled, harassed, threatened, intimidated, and, moreover, has been the victim of intentional malicious and fraudulent rumors via hundreds of Scientology-controlled-and-coordinated social media accounts that exist solely to intimidate and spread misinformation.”

Related story Mike Myers Looks Like a Totally New Person in This Ultra-Rare Red Carpet Appearance

Remini says that she first began to feel doubts about safety within the Church in 2006 after asking questions about the whereabouts of Shelly Miscavige, the wife of Scientology leader David Miscavige, when she was absent from fellow Scientologist Tom Cruise’s wedding to Katie Holmes. Remini would later report Shelly, who has not been seen publicly since 2007, missing in 2013. The actress, now 53, has said over the years that there were many reasons for her defection but her final turning point with the Church was the realization of what lay ahead for her daughter when she got to an age where she would be required to began studying Scientology.

Remini had fears that her then-9-year-old daughter, Sofia, who she shares with her husband Angelo Pagán, would be unable to leave the Church. “She was getting to the age where the acclimation into the Church would have to start,” Remini told Buzzfeed in 2014. She revealed that the Church puts children through an auditing process that allegedly requires them to answer questions like, “Have you ever pretended to be ill? Have you ever decided you didn’t like some member of your family? Have you ever been a coward?”

“I started thinking of my own childhood and how I grew up resenting my mother because she was never home,” Remini added. “It’s funny; somehow my father, the guy who left his kids and never paid child support, was excluded from my resentment and I grew up resenting my mother for not being home to make food, like all my friends’ moms were. But my mom thought she was doing something good; she thought she was helping the planet. That’s what the Church tells you.”

Despite controversy ensuing around Scientology over the past few years, many celebrities stand by the religion. See which celebrities below: https://t.co/TUL8fYtEsK

— SheKnows (@SheKnows) September 18, 2022

Related story Mike Myers Looks Like a Totally New Person in This Ultra-Rare Red Carpet Appearance

Remini claims that devotion to Scientology requires members to put the Church first, often above their own family — especially if any family members have left or are not part of Scientology. “In my house, it’s family first — but I was spending most of my time at the Church,” Remini added. “So, I was saying ‘family first,’ but I wasn’t showing that. I didn’t like the message that sent my daughter.”

Remini’s vocal dissent of the Church has, since 2013, lead her to give numerous interviews, write a book, and engage in legal action against the Church in the form of Shelly Miscavige’s missing persons case, which was closed earlier this year, and now her own lawsuit against Scientology.

Before you go, click here to see celebrities who have left the Church of Scientology.