Leah Remini Dishes On ‘Ludicrous’ Lawsuit Against The Church Of Scientology

Formerly known for her role in the sitcom King of Queens, Leah Remini is now becoming more well known for the brave — some might say foolhardy — stance she has been taking against the Church of Scientology, since separating herself from the religious organization in 2013. Since that time, Remini has been outspoken and refreshingly bold in revealing secrets about the Church of Scientology that its members and leaders would rather keep quiet. Now, Leah has filed a lawsuit against Scientology for inflicting harmful and long lasting damages on her person. As outspoken as ever, Remini opens up about the lawsuit and her deeply probing expose on the Church of Scientology.

Leah Remini Is Suing The Church Of Scientology For $1.5 Million

While leaving the Church of Scientology was meant to sever her ties with the organization, ABC Action News reveals that quitting the religious community has only made matters worse. Tony Ortega, a journalist and critic of Scientology, has revealed that Leah Remini’s legal team has sent several letters to Scientology leaders in which they demand monetary compensation for “malicious conduct” committed against Remini, since her departure from the organization.

The letters state that, in addition to compensating Leah for the suffering she has endured, the Church of Scientology must also view the payment as a partial reimbursement of “the many millions of dollars that Ms. Remini has personally donated and otherwise contributed to the Church of Scientology,” throughout her years of membership.

The Church of Scientology has responded with an official statement in which they make Leah aware of their knowledge of her upcoming documentary series, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.

“Clearly Ms. Remini’s demands are nothing more than a provocative ploy to generate publicity for what will no doubt be another failed program,” states the response from the Church of Scientology.

“Ms. Remini’s ludicrous demands are soundly rejected,” added a lawyer on behalf of the Church of Scientology.

Repercussions Feared Over Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath Documentary

In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres and shared by E! News, Leah reveals that her documentary interviews several former Scientology members, exposing the organization’s dirty secrets. Remini contends that acts of abuse, deception, and sexual assaults were all too frequent, as were retaliations against members who tried to quit or bring media attention to the inner workings of the Church of Scientology.

“That’s what made me want to do the series,” said Remini. “We’re doing an eight-part series. A&E is very brave to do it. And the people who are speaking are very brave to do it because the repercussions to speaking out [are severe]. And that’s why I said, ‘OK, I can’t sit back.’ Because I left. I wrote my book. It went to No. 1, which—thank you everyone.”

Leah says Scientology isn’t selective in who it chooses to go after. She says she’s seen the organization retaliate against high-level Scientology executives who have defected with the same zeal in which they go after lower level members, like Remini, herself. This is another reason Leah chose to start the documentary, feeling that people shouldn’t have their lives ruined or risk losing their families over the decision to cut ties from Scientology.

Ms. Remini says it’s nearly impossible for people to defend themselves when the Church of Scientology utilizes $3 billion in resources to bully former members into silence. The actress says she wants to use her celebrity status to help expose the darker side of Scientology.

“I’m not going to sit back and just go on with my life and let the Church, who has $3 billion, bully people, bully victims,” Ms. Remini told Ellen DeGeneres.

In response to Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, the Church of Scientology issued a statement in which they suggest Leah is a washed up actress in search of something to put her back on top. The statement brings her documentary into question by casting doubt on the veracity of the former Scientology members appearing in interviews for the series.

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath premieres November 29 on A&E.

[Featured Image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]