Leah Remini sues Church of Scientology for alleged stalking and harassment
Leah Remini, former Church of Scientology member and Emmy Award-winning producer and actress, is suing the religious institution and its leader David Miscavige for alleged stalking and harassment.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in California, details alleged intimidation, harassment, emotional distress and defamation that Remini has endured since the 2006 nuptials of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, a longtime Scientologist.
The Post has reached out to reps for Remini and the Church of Scientology for comment.
In court documents obtained by The Post, Remini, 52, claims the church and Miscavige — who has reportedly evaded legal action in recent years — have “undertaken a campaign to ruin and destroy” her life.
The docs allege 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.
The documents also allege that the former Scientologist, who left the church in 2013, was labeled a “Suppressive Person,” someone who incurs “serious offenses against the Scientology faith” and was “declared Fair Game” by the religion a year after her departure.
Remini also claims that the church has “harassed, threatened, intimidated, and embarrassed” Remini’s family, friends and colleagues, resulting in a loss of relationships, contracts and opportunities.
Remini claims the church is barring her from “exercising her First Amendment right and moral duty to speak out about Scientology’s conduct.”
The lawsuit, then, seeks to “recover compensatory and punitive damages for the enormous economic and psychological harm” she has endured at the hands of the church.
“After 17 years of harassment, intimidation, surveillance, and defamation, I am filing a lawsuit against Scientology and David Miscavige,” Remini tweeted on Wednesday.
“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 continued, 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.”
Remini’s doubts surrounding Scientology seemingly began at the wedding of Cruise and Holmes — billed within the church as “The Wedding of the Century,” according to court docs — where she supposedly questioned the absence of Miscavige’s wife, Michele, known as “Shelley.”
Shelley Miscavige has not been seen in the public eye since 2007 and was reported as missing by Remini in 2013 upon leaving the religion.
The “Cheers” actress has been an outspoken critic of the church, penning the explosive 2015 memoir “Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology” and producing the Emmy Award-winning A&E docuseries “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.”
In the court docs, Remini claimed that the church 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.”
Her award-winning docuseries also drew criticism from the church, she claimed, and allegedly subjected A&E executives and advertisers to harassment as a result.
Remini alleged that the Church of Scientology enlisted the assistance of various third parties to harass and intimidate her. Incidences allegedly occurred as recently as this year, when a man with a hammer allegedly smashed her mailbox with the intent to seize her mail.
“The Man in the Family” actress just celebrated her second year at New York University, announcing on Instagram that she had only received an eighth-grade education due to “spending 35 years in a cult.”