Actress Leah Remini’s Lawsuit Against Scientology Over Stalking, Harassment, Evolves Into First Amendment Battle

Leah Remini, recipient of the Impact Award, poses in the press room during the Critics' Choice Real TV Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on June 2, 2019. (Rich Fury/Getty Images)

The Church of Scientology has responded to a lawsuit filed this week by former member and Emmy award winner Leah Remini, who is suing the religious movement and its leader David Miscavige for alleged stalking and harassment.

In a statement released Thursday, the controversial organization called the legal action “ludicrous” and described Ms. Remini’s allegations as “pure lunacy.”

It was on Wednesday that Ms. Remini filed the lawsuit in California. Court documents detail the intimidation, emotional distress, and defamation The Church of Scientology has inflicted upon the actress/producer since the 2006 wedding of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, who is a longtime scientologist.

Remini Alleges Harassment and Threats Towards Herself and Her Family

The suit alleged that the “King of Queens” star has been “stalked, surveilled, harassed, threatened, intimidated, and, moreover, has been the victim of intentional malicious and fraudulent rumors via hundreds of Scientology-controlled and -coordinated social media accounts that exist solely to intimidate and spread misinformation” for the last decade.

Additionally, Ms. Remini claimed that it had “harassed, threatened, intimidated, and embarrassed” her family and friends, which had resulted in a loss of jobs and opportunities. She noted her desire to “recover compensatory and punitive damages for the enormous economic and psychological harm” that she has suffered because of the church.

The Epoch Times reached out to both Ms. Remini and The Church of Scientology for comment. The Church of Scientology International Spokesperson Karin Pouw replied with the church’s official statement regarding the matter.

Church of Scientology Labels Remini an Anti-Free Speech Bigot

“Remini spreads hate and falsehoods for a decade and is now offended when people exercise their right to free speech, exposing her for what she is—an anti-free speech bigot,” the statement read.

It continued: “Remini’s complaints are like an anti-Semite complaining about the Jewish Anti-Defamation League for exposing the anti-Semite’s bigotry and propaganda … Remini’s obsession with attacking her former religion, by spreading falsehoods and hate speech, has generated threats of and actual violence against the Church and its members as evidenced by multiple criminal convictions of individuals poisoned by Remini’s propaganda.”

It went on to note Ms. Remini’s “antisocial traits” and how she “has profited handsomely from her fabrications, through the sale of hate books, hate podcasts and paid-for tabloid hate television.”

Ms. Remini’s lawsuit filing and The Church of Scientology’s response to it are the latest developments between the actress and the religious movement after years of tension between the two.

Ms. Remini has long been an outspoken critic of Scientology after leaving it in 2013. Scientology itself has been defined as everything from a cult to a profit-making business to a new religious movement.

Remini’s Memoir and Docuseries Meant to Expose Scientology

Ms. Remini wrote the explosive 2015 memoir “Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology” and produced the Emmy Award-winning A&E docuseries “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.” The series followed Ms. Remini along with high-level former Scientology executives and members, including the show’s fellow executive producer Mike Rinder, and their alleged stories of abuse and harassment after they left the organization. That’s as the Church of Scientology made attempts to have A&E Network pull the series and referred to Ms. Remini as a “has-been actress” who was exploiting her former religion to make money.

In the newly filed court documents, Ms. Remini claimed the organization hired private investigators to follow her during the New York stop of her 2015 book tour, which the actress said was so “intimidating” that she feared “for her physical safety.”

The documents also allege she has been labeled a “suppressive person” by the church, which is someone who induces “serious offenses against the Scientology faith” or is seen as a non-Scientologist who tries to destroy Scientology, although Scientology also defines it as “a person who seeks to suppress other people in their vicinity.”

She also noted she’s been “declared Fair Game” by the group a year after her departure. The term “Fair Game” is seen as a Scientology policy whereby actions against a “suppressive person” are not punished by Scientology’s ecclesiastical courts. That’s as Scientology considers it an intentionally misinterpreted term.

Ms. Remini in her filing also alleged the church is barring her from “exercising her First Amendment right and moral duty to speak out about Scientology’s conduct.”

Ms. Remini has also publicly questioned the disappearance of Shelly Miscavige, David Miscavige’s wife, who hasn’t been seen in public since August 2007. According to a June 2023 story by the Daily Mail, the LAPD closed the missing person case of Shelly Miscavige in 2013.

Meanwhile, David Miscavige is still being sought by lawyers in a civil child trafficking suit brought by former church members in a federal court, according to a story by the New York Post. According to reports by multiple media outlets, process servers have tried 27 times over four months to serve Mr. Miscavige in both Los Angeles and Clearwater, Florida, where Scientology headquarters are located.

Remini Issues Statement on Social Media After Court Filing

On Wednesday, Ms. Remini posted a further statement on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

“While advocating for victims of Scientology has significantly impacted my life and career, Scientology’s final objective of silencing me has not been achieved,” she wrote, in part, adding that others should be “free” to share their experiences with the religion “without fearing retaliation from a cult with tax exemption and billions in assets.”

“While this lawsuit is about what Scientology has done to me, I am one of thousands of targets of Scientology over the past seven decades,” said Ms. Remini.

“With this lawsuit, I hope to protect the rights afforded to them and me by the Constitution of the United States to speak the truth and report the facts about Scientology without fear of vicious and vindictive retribution, of which most have no way to fight back.”