The Church of Scientology says actress Leah Remini has blood on her hands for “inspiring bigotry and violence” leading to the murder of one of its workers in Australia.
The controversial organization sent a letter condemning the “King of Queens” star and her A&E docuseries “Scientology and the Aftermath” for the death of Chih-Hen Yeh, who was stabbed Jan. 4 outside Scientology headquarters in Sydney.
“For years, A&E executives ignored our warnings that the series was inspiring bigotry and violence. You knew what you were doing,” the organization’s spokeswoman Karin Pouw wrote. “Your intent was to stir up hate and turn it into cash. Now somebody has been murdered. Your indifference and obsession with stirring hate underwrote his murder.”
The letter was obtained by The Underground Bunker, a blog run by former Village Voice editor Tony Ortega, who’s done extensive reporting on Scientology.
Yeh, a 24-year-old Taiwanese national, was stabbed in the neck with a large kitchen knife by a 16-year-old boy whose mother was undergoing a “purification ceremony” at the headquarters, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Yeh later died at a hospital. A 30-year-old man also suffered minor injuries.
The accused attacker, who was not identified for legal reasons, was held without bail. He apparently was upset after he’d gotten into a fight with his mother the day before over her involvement with the organization, according to Ortega’s blog.
The boy showed up at the center but wasn’t allowed to see his mother while she underwent the ceremony — infuriating him. He allegedly attacked Yeh when he was asked to leave.
In her letter, Pouw claimed the boy was “inspired” by a website that had a link to Remini’s Emmy-winning show, now in its third season.
But police have no indication of a link between the attack and the series or Remini, a former Scientologist who is now one of the organization’s biggest critics.
Reps for Remini didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but an A&E spokesman said, “Unfortunately, Scientology is trying to blame and start a smear campaign against Leah Remini and the show for something she had nothing to do with, for a murder that happened between their members.”
Remini has been on a crusade to expose the group and recently said she still receives threats for speaking out.
Pouw called on A&E to suspend the series.
“We urged you to stop the hate and repeatedly told you the harm it was causing, which was escalating with each paid-for, hate-filled episode,” she wrote. “Now, somebody is dead. You paid for the hate that caused his murder. And you profit. Stop your program.”
The “purification rundown” ceremony — known as “Purif” and the “Hubbard Method” — is a drug detoxification program that involves hours-long sauna sessions and taking high doses of vitamins to rid the body of chemicals.
Neither Remini nor A&E commented immediately.