In June we shot our series finale of The Aftermath, which will air in the next couple of weeks. A&E will announce the date soon. It will be our last show on A&E. When we began this journey, we did not anticipate more than a single season. But the response was so overwhelming and we felt strongly that the people who stepped forward deserved to be heard. We were not previously aware of some of the abuses that came to light, and we felt they compelled further episodes. And of course, Scientology’s response to the series played a role too. Scientology is a formidable opponent with … [Read more...]
The Aftermath — An Update
This is an attempt to quell some of the rumors and erroneous speculation swirling about The Aftermath. Though I am not in a position to know everything about decisions that are made outside my control (or Leah’s), I do have some insight – more than most who may claim to have “heard rumors,” rely on anonymous sources or merely speculate because they have a keyboard on which they can type. First, and most important for me, I want to dispel the lies that have been circulated (most likely by scientology) that episodes or the show as a whole are in peril because of Leah Remini’s … [Read more...]
Second Act – Go See It
I attended the premiere of Second Act last night and it is a movie worth seeing. It's also why there are no Thursday Funnies this morning. Second Act is funny, touching and uplifting without being corny. Leah of course brings the laugh out loud humor that is her trademark. Spontaneous, plenty of ad-libbed moments and yet always her heart shines through. Watching her in the movie is a lot like hanging out with her when she is not on screen. Fun, funny and endearing. But there is more to the movie than Leah. A great performance by Charlyne Yi was a standout for me - she is really … [Read more...]
Technical Difficulties and Return of the Cult Classic
There have been some technical difficulties with the blog. I have not been able to see any comments since early this morning. They vanished like Shelly Miscavige... Some bright minds are working to resolve whatever the cause of this is. In the meantime, if you have not seen it elsewhere, I thought you might enjoy the new billboard and ad... Maybe these things are connected. https://youtu.be/ZCEfComrB8Y It's a beautiful day in LA today -- but there is a hurricane heading towards Hemet... UPDATE: Comments now enabled again. All you … [Read more...]
“Waves of Anti-Religious Hate Crimes”
A new article in US Magazine that previews an upcoming interview with Leah elicited an amazing response from David Miscavige through his ventriloquist dummy Karin Pouw. Failing to address any of the substantive things talked about, it is a typical scientology "attack the attacker" response: The Church of Scientology’s spokesperson Karin Pouw responded to Remini’s allegations in a statement to Us. “While we would prefer to ignore yet another of Leah Remini’s over-the-top rants aimed at getting attention, she unfortunately continues to incite waves of anti-religious hate crimes. … [Read more...]
Scientology Coming (Further) Unhinged
A recent article by Joe Nolfi for Entertainment Weekly elicited a pretty unhinged response from scientology. The article springboarded off Leah's appearance on Ron Miscavige's podcast Life After Scientology where she and Ron discussed the upcoming Season 3. Scientology's crazy response is a study in "never defend, always attack" mentality (see my earlier blog post for a lengthier discussion of this topic Dealing With Critics of Scientology): When reached for comment on Remini’s Life After Scientology comments, a representative for the church told EW: “Even a cursory review of this … [Read more...]
A Message from Leah Remini to Scientology Operatives
Dear OSA, OSA operatives, paid off sleazy PI’s and lawyers who are bought off by Scientology, I know you are reading this because you scour our instagrams, FB Pages and twitter feeds all day and night. I also understand you are bound to follow the writings of L. Ron Hubbard which require you to discover what someone considers valuable and attack it, to "fight on the basis of total attrition of the enemy" and treat those who speak the truth about you as "Fair Game." But you should also know that what you are doing, including: -- the legal threats -- paying off family members with … [Read more...]
Concerning Paul Haggis
There is plenty of reason to worry about defending anyone accused of sexual assault in today’s climate. But the fear of consequences for speaking our truth has not held us back in the past and isn’t about to start now. We have supported victims of sexual abuse who have reached out to us and have worked with them and law enforcement to ensure justice is done for both victims and the accused. We have avoided trial by media. In this time of heightened awareness of sexual predators, it is easy to remain quiet when an injustice is being perpetrated for fear of being tarred as politically … [Read more...]
Scientology The Aftermath S2 E10: the Aftermath
True to form, BEFORE the show even aired, scientology had their smears up about Chantal Dodson and Sherry Ollins. These people literally have no shame. Nor sense. But they seem to have a limitless supply of bullshit. They begin with a clever Halloween theme: "Just in time for Halloween, Leah Remini and A&E continue their religious witch hunt." That is an award-winner. They opt for broad generalities, Chantal "ranks among the most ludicrous and transparently false yet. To say they never happened is a gross understatement. Chantal’s absurd claims fit the modus operandi for … [Read more...]
Scientology: Hollywood Reporter Writer Is Like Goebbels
Apparently, Seth Abramovitch of the Hollywood Reporter has caused some serious butthurt in the scientology world. A couple of recent articles seem to have put him on the Enemies List and scientology has responded in their typically understated fashion. On one of scientology's many Facebook smear pages, they repeatedly posted this: I guess the irony of this being posted on their own Facebook hate page "Leah Remini #AfterCash" never occurred to them? They keep repeating the big lie that Aftermath is about money... It must be obvious to even THEM by now that this docuseries does not … [Read more...]