The world of celebrity has entertainers from diverse backgrounds, and this includes a diversity
of thought.
With the stress that fame, glamor, and a busy career bring, celebrities often turn to their
spiritual side to help them find solace and comfort.
One of the religions that have attracted many celebrities has been Scientology.
It has helped many celebrities gain an understanding of how to live life and navigate through the
challenges of their lives.
However, there are also celebrities who left Scientology after having extremely negative
experiences with it.
These celebrities have spoken out against Scientology and this has caused huge controversies
within the religion and within the larger society.
As these stories come out, controversies about Scientology as well as those who remain in
the religion continue to grow…
Join FactsVerse to learn about the celebrities who left Scientology and spoke out against
it…
HOW SCIENTOLOGY CAME TO CELEBRITIES
After promoting his ideology of ‘Dianetics’ to the public, author L. Ron Hubbard wanted
to expand these ideas to the public.
After much struggle, he founded the Church of Scientology in 1955.
The same year, the Church launched “Project Celebrity.”
This agenda was to help promote Scientology to celebrities who, of course, had a major
influence on the larger society.
He offered incentives to existing Scientologists who would recruit celebrities into the church.
Clearly, they succeeded.
In fact, the Church of Scientology operates Celebrity Centers which are branches specifically
for celebrities to learn about, discuss, and promote Scientology.
In 1976, the Church published a policy letter stating that the celebrities who are to be
recruited into Scientology should be “beyond their prime or are approaching their prime.”
L. Ron Hubbard himself stated that he believed celebrities were ‘special people’ and
that they could communicate with the public in a way the ordinary person could not.
It’s been suggested that Scientology is appealing to celebrities as it suits their
personality and the public personas they have to craft.
It’s thought of as an individualistic belief system that suits celebrities who have to
spend a lot of time focusing on themselves and their public image.
Since the 1950s, there have been a huge number of celebrities who joined Scientology and
have praised the religion for helping them find solace in life.
They’ve done their part in helping promote the religion.
But there have also been celebrities who left Scientology and spoke out against it.
Let’s look at a few of these celebrities and what they have to say about it.
LAURA PREPON
Laura Prepon is perhaps best known for her role as Donna on That 70s Show.
She’s now also known for her work in the more recent series Orange is the New Black.
She was involved in the Church of Scientology for several years.
There isn’t much information on how she got involved with the Church in the first
place but we do know that her co-star from That 70s Show, Danny Masterson, has also been
a member – so perhaps that’s where Laura Prepon learned from it.
But she surprised us all when, in 2021, she stated that she was no longer a member of
the Church of Scientology and that she had not been practicing the religion or had anything
to do with the Church for at least 5 years.
She’s stated that since becoming a mother she’s also studied other religions and philosophies.
She stated that she was raised in both the Catholic faith and the Jewish faith and that
she has spent time in both churches in temples.
She’s also spent a lot of time studying Eastern philosophies including Chinese meridian
theory.
While she’s always had an interest in learning about other religions and philosophies, she’s
made it clear that Scientology is no longer a part of her life.
Perhaps in a few years, we’ll know exactly why she left…
Hers is one of many stories of celebrities who left Scientology.
But there have been other celebrities who have left Scientology yet it seems that Scientology
has not left them alone…
One such celebrity is director Paul Haggis…
PAUL HAGGIS
Paul Haggis is a Canadian film director and producer who has directed a slew of great
films including Red Hot, In the Valley of Elah, The Next Three Days, Third Person, and
5B.
He’s also produced great films such as Million Dollar Baby and Crash.
He has also been a long-time member of the Church of Scientology – and was perhaps
one of its most successful and prominent members.
Prior to 2008, he never seemed to utter a negative word about the Church and it seems
clear that the church brought him peace.
After all, he’s had one of the most successful careers we’ve seen in Hollywood.
But in the year 2008 – things changed – and one could say that they took a turn for the
worse.
In 2008, Paul Haggis was one of the many supporters who fought against Proposition 8 which would
prevent same-sex marriage in the state of California.
This went against the Church’s teachings so he had to part ways with them.
He had been a member for 35 years and this splitting was not done quietly.
He told the Church’s spokesperson Tommy Davis that he was upset at the Church for
supporting Proposition 8.
He also stated that the Church went after ex-members and would reveal their personal
details to the public.
A nasty breakup, one could say.
But it seems that it didn’t end there.
In 2017, Paul Haggis was accused of sexual harassment.
Since then, a few women have accused him of sexual harassment.
He believes that the Church of Scientology is trying to smear him and create false accusations
to punish him.
He is not alone.
Other celebrities have stated that Paul Haggis is the victim of a smear campaign because
he spoke out against the Church of Scientology.
LISA MARIE PRESLEY
Lisa Marie Presley is the daughter of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley and is a successful
singer-songwriter in her own right.
We know that she was a member of the Church of Scientology since at least the 1990s and
was one of its most respected members.
In fact, in October 1997 she and the late Isaac Hayes who was also a Scientologist opened
a program called LEAP.
LEAP stands for Literacy, Education, and Ability Program.
This is run by a non-profit organization called Applied Scholastics – which is run by the
Church of Scientology.
A few years later in 2002, the Church would present her an award for helping promote literacy
across the United States.
It seemed as if the Church was such an important part of her life and made her a better person.
However, she stated in 2012 that she had left the Church and that she’d been having doubts
about it since at least 2008.
It’s also believed that her mother Priscilla has left the Church though these claims have
been disputed.
While Lisa Marie Presley hasn’t been explicit about why she left the church she did state
that she felt it had too much control over her life.
She even stated once that the church was “taking my soul, my money, my everything."
JEFFREY TAMBOR
Actor Jeffrey Tambor was a member of the Church of Scientology and left it eventually – and
it seems that he had one of the shortest memberships compared to most celebrities.
He seemed to need something that would help him with self-development and he initially
found it with Scientology.
However, in his memoir, he recalled that he practiced Scientology for about two years
in hopes of a better life.
But he later left the Church as he claimed he had to spend too much money on it and that
he was even pressured to leave his wife!
These tales present a chilling view of celebrities’ relationships with the Church of Scientology.
But no one seems to have been more vocal than Leah Remini…
LEAH REMINI
Leah Remini is an actress who was a part of Scientology way before she became a celebrity.
While she was baptized as a Catholic, her mother became a Scientologist and Leah joined
the Church when she was only 8.
In fact, when she was in her early teens she and her sister were made to join the Sea Organization
– which is described as the paramilitary wing of the Church.
In July 2013, when she was in her thirties she split ways with the Church – an organization
she had been part of for most of her life so far.
She stated that she believed the Church’s leader was corrupt and she didn’t like the
fact that she couldn’t challenge him.
Most notably, she questioned the whereabouts of Shelly, the wife of the leader who had
appeared to be missing.
This was in 2007 and as of this video, Shelly’s public whereabouts are still not known – though
the Church claims she has withdrawn from public life.
Leah Remini has published a book about leaving Hollywood as well as Scientology.
She’s discussed her harrowing experience with the Church and has spoken at great length
about how it has influenced actor Tom Cruise, one of Scientology’s most notable advocates.
It’s been alleged that Scientology led Tom Cruise to divorce his wife Nicole Kidman and
that he has used the Church to punish others.
She stated that a woman she knew went bankrupt due to Tom Cruise and his connections with
the Church.
She’s made a TV series entitled Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath in which she
discusses her experiences.
She’s been criticized for the show and her speaking out against the Church.
Others have also called her brave.
As to what the future relationship between the Church and celebrities will be, only time
will tell…
Are you a fan of any of these celebrities?
What do you think about their stories and their experiences with Scientology?
In fact, this brings up an interesting question that we must consider:
Do you think that today’s Hollywood climate allows for different religions and different
perspectives?
Or is it too hostile to anything that’s different
from the accepted norms?