The movie star, currently in box office topper 'Focus', has been linked to Scientology in the past, but a former senior executive for the religion denies that he is a member.
Contrary to popular belief, Will Smith is not a Scientologist. That’s according to a former Scientology senior executive in a new interview ahead of the anticipated documentary movie about the controversial religion.
In a conversation with The Daily Beast, former executive director of Scientology’s Office of Special Affairs Mike Rinder and journalist Tony Ortega, who has reported on the religion for almost twenty years, both flatly denied that the blockbuster star was a card-carrying member of the church. “Will Smith is not a Scientologist,” they both plainly stated.
Will Smith, pictured above at the premiere of 'Focus', is not a Scientologist as widely believed
Ortega explained why he thought this, saying: “There’s not that many celebrities in Scientology, and the young ones were born into it, and the other ones people cite - Cruise, Travolta, and Kirstie Alley - got into it in the ’70s and ’80s,” he said.
“They have not attracted a major star in 25 years,” he added. “The only young Scientologists on the celebrity scene were all born into it. Beck was born into it. Giovanni Ribisi was born into it.”
More: ‘Focus’ falls short of expectations at box office, but still snags Number 1 spot
Smith’s link to Scientology dates all the way back to a 2007 interview with Access Hollywood and his friendship with the religion’s most famous celebrity face, Tom Cruise. The Top Gun actor had apparently introduced him to Scientology.
46 year old Smith, former star of huge alien-themed movies such as Independence Day, Men In Black and After Earth and currently top of the U.S. box office with new film Focus, was strongly linked again when rumours that the southern California private school that he and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith were involved in running reportedly used a curriculum devised by Scientology’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard.
Ever since, tabloid newspapers have hinted at the link to explain a handful of bizarre interviews given by Smith’s children, Willow and Jaden. Smith’s former business partner is also alleged to have warned the star not to let his involvement with Scientology “get in the way” of his career.
Alex Gibney’s upcoming documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief is in American theaters on March 13th.
More: Why Will Smith feels “weird” when people call him attractive
Dramas exploring the nature of death and the true meaning of life are always in...
Love, time and death connect every single human being on earth, we long for love,...
DC Comics' villains team up for an overcrowded action movie that never quite finds its...
The Suicide Squad was formed by Amanda Waller, the head of Belle Reve Penitentiary and...
When there's nowhere left to turn, the bad guys might just turn out to be...
Dr. Bennet Omalu is a pathologist who loves his job and, in many ways, the...
Is it really wise to trust your most dangerous sworn enemies? Sometimes you have little...
A very odd blend of caper action, dark drama and romantic comedy, this slickly made...
While sitting at the bar of a hotel lobby one night, a man catches a...
A solid cast bodes well for this unnecessary remake of the 1982 movie (based on...
Nicky Spurgeon is a genius when it comes to his work as a con man...
The fact that this magical romance has been retitled A New York Winter's Tale in...
Peter Lake is a wanted burglar in a desperate struggle to escape an old gangster...
Cypher Raige is a renowned military general who finds himself and his frightened 13-year-old son...