While on TV discussing her new autobiography, she claimed that the Church used her to attempt to recruit Jennifer Lopez.
Ahead of the release of her new memoir next week about her career and her experience with Scientology, actress Leah Remini has given an explosive new interview about the religion.
Remini, most famous for her role as Carrie Heffernan on CBS sitcom ‘The King of Queens’ from 1998 to 2007, was speaking to ABC’s ‘20/20’ on Friday night (October 30th) when she made a series of claims about the religion exploiting her and then dumping her when she had outlived her usefulness.
“Being critical of Tom Cruise is being critical of Scientology itself,” she asserted. “You are a person who is anti the aims and goals of Scientology, you are evil.”
Leah Remini was speaking to ABC's '20/20' about her new memoir
She also claimed that the Church essentially used her to try to recruit her friend Jennifer Lopez and her then-husband Marc Anthony. “The Church was really the one who invited them - on Tom's behalf,” the 45 year old claimed.
Remini then alleges that not only was she separated from her friend during the three-day wedding event, she was sidelined after this and was accused of disrupting the ceremony. “They were trying to extract me,” she said. “I can only assume because they wanted to make Jennifer a Scientologist. Maybe I was barring that road for them.”
More: Las Vegas male identified as drunken driver in Jennifer Lopez, Leah Remini crash
She claims that Katie Holmes (Cruise’s ex-wife) was one of the instigators of this, filing a report about Remini’s apparent poor behaviour during the wedding. In response, Holmes said in a statement provided to People, which was read out on air, “I regret having upset Leah in the past, and wish her only the best in the future.”
The Church of Scientology responded quickly in a statement, saying that Remini’s interview said more about her than it, and amounted to an attempt to stay in the public eye. “Every claim Miss Remini has made is not only untrue but ridiculous and stupid.”
“It comes as no surprise that someone as self-absorbed as Leah Remini with an insatiable craving for attention would exploit her former faith as a publicity stunt by rewriting her history with it, including omitting that she was participating in a program to remain a Scientologist by her own choice, as she was on the verge of being expelled for her ethical lapses,” the statement continued.
Remini’s book ‘Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology’ is released on November 3rd.
More: Leah Remini reveals reason for leaving Scientology – “they didn’t care about doing the right thing”