Leah Remini Fires Back At Louis Farrakhan’s Defense Of Scientology And Comments About Her Exit From The Church

Leah Remini is going in hard at Louis Farrakhan. The Scientology and the Aftermath host has responded directly to statements made by the Nation of Islam leader during a speech last year.

During his 2017 Savors’ Day speech, Farrakhan publicly embraced late Scientology founder, science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard and the teachings of Dianetics, and he called out Remini for defecting from the Church of Scientology. Farrakhan also questioned others who have walked away from the controversial church, according to Yahoo Entertainment.

“What I ask Mrs. Remmy, or whatever her name is, she’s going in hard,” Farrakhan said of Remini last year. “She’s hurt by something. When you walked away, where did you go? What did you do? How did you gain? And what did you lose?”

Leah Remini used her forum on her Emmy-winning A&E show to respond to Farrakhan’s comments about her, reminding him that she was deep into the church for more than 30 years before she walked away from the organization in 2013.

“No one’s trying to take Scientology down for reasons that are unwarranted. And once you were in Scientology for a good 35, 45 years, maybe then ask these kinds of questions. And you should ask these types of questions to the families who have been destroyed.”

Remini also addressed the separation of families that occurs when some family members are shunned by their loved ones due to Scientology practices.

“When you go to sleep at night crying because you don’t have your daughter, or your son, or your mom, or your children have never met your grandparents because they believe in Scientology more than family, that’s when you can start questioning people, and why and how they have been hurt. And also, Mr. Farrakhan, the name is Leah Re-mi-ni. Remini.”

It’s surprising that Farrakhan doesn’t remember how to pronounce Leah Remini’s name. During her time as a Scientologist, Remini was heavily involved in introducing the Nation of Islam to the teachings of the Church of Scientology. The once devoted Scientologist sponsored NOI members and paid for them to take Scientology courses — including Nation of Islam’s Minister Tony Muhammad, who was later given the church’s highest honor, the Freedom Medal — according to a post on Tony Ortega’s The Underground Bunker.

The Nation of Islam’s publication, The Final Call, revealed that Louis Farrakhan began having NOI members take courses in L. Ron Hubbard’s Dianetics on May 8, 2010, and two weeks later, Remini was awarded an official Scientology commendation which credited her for helping to create “one of the most important dissemination cycles of Scientology in history to get LRH Tech to Black People.”

The commendation reportedly says, “Leah has always had a huge affinity and desire to help black people throughout the world. As a result of her help on this cycle, Min. Louis Farrakhan and all of the top NOI execs are now on services.”

Farrakhan has denied that he receives any money for promoting Scientology. The Nation of Islam leader told his followers, “I can prove that I didn’t get a dime from Dianetics or Scientology. We spent a lot of money buying the books on Dianetics. I saw something of value.”

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on A&E.