Leah Remini On Scientology: ‘It Formed Who I Am, Good And Bad’
Leah Remini left the Church of Scientology two years ago. However, it seems like the King of Queens actress is still coping with their fallout.
During a recent interview for Oprah’s Where Are They Now?, Remini opened up about her decision to leave the church and reveals the moment she knew she had to get out.
“My mother was in Scientology my whole life. Most people don’t know that we were raised in it — I didn’t decide to get into it,” Remini clarified. “I was brought into it by my mom.”
“When you are raised in something, and you are taught to think a certain way, a lot of times you grow up thinking, ‘That’s the way I think.’ I’m learning there’s a new world out here, and there shouldn’t be any kind of judgment toward somebody who has a belief system that is not yours.”
Leah dedicated over 30 years of her life to the organization and explained that the dedication they require can really take a toll on your family life.
“I don’t think people know the amount of dedication it takes to be in this organization,” she explained, according to Perez Hilton. “I mean it was every day, three-and-a-half hours minimum, seven days a week usually. You know, I’m working most of my time, and then the other time was spent at the church, so minimal time is really spent with your family.”
There was one moment in particular that made Leah realize that she had been putting her priorities into the church, rather than in her daughter Sofia. She was working on her Scientology coursework, which is part of the organization’s “betterment courses,” when she looked outside and saw her daughter swimming for the first time.
“I was on course one day. I was at one of these hotels in Florida, and I saw my daughter swimming for the first time, while I’m… reading this thing. A tear came down my face,” Remini recalled. “I was like, ‘What am I doing?’ The moment hit me that I was now doing the same thing to my daughter that my mother [had conveyed] to me, that what she was doing was more important.”
In July 2013, Remini and her family made the difficult decision to leave the Church of Scientology, according to the Huffington Post. She explained that it was a decision she still has trouble coping with today.
.@LeahRemini graced our TV screens for years. Catch up with the beloved star on #WhereAreTheyNow tonight at 10/9c.https://t.co/ncPb09vUiN
— OprahWinfrey Network (@OWNTV) May 16, 2015
“It’s not just something you get over. It’s people and a lifestyle you’ve known all your life,” she said. “It formed who I am, good and bad; it formed the way I think, good and bad. So, there’s a lot of pain connected to it… It’s still coming to me.”
Following Leah’s episode, the church released a statement to Us Weekly, calling her out for constantly putting down the church, claiming she only does it to get publicity.
“Given Leah Remini’s insatiable desire for attention, it comes as no surprise that for two years, she has been incapable of moving on with her life and remains obsessed with shamelessly exploiting her former religion in a pathetic attempt to get publicity,” a spokesperson for the church said in the statement.
[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]
