Ask Me Anything #2 / 2017.01.17

[trow125]

I was curious after watching the show how Steve Hassan got out of the Moon cult, and found an article here in which he talks about his deprogramming.

Quote

They hired former members to do an intervention with me. It was a very difficult experience because I was programmed to fear Satan and anyone who criticised Moon. I thought it was a test of my faith and I was convinced I hadn't been brainwashed.

[Meadow]

5 minutes ago, wings707 said:

My hunch is that he doesn't believe most if anything.  He is in it for the power, money and maybe most of all the glory. 

Let's not forget mentally deranged and in my personal suspicion, possibly possessed by the/a devil.

[DrivingSideways]

I found Rinder a little off putting both in this ep, and the last one when Sweeney, Ortega and the other guy (apologies, Other Guy) were explaining the terror they went through.  I thought both Leah and Rinder reacted kind of defensively.  However, it could also be a weird edit.  I try to keep in mind that Rinder was brain washed from a young age, but I also struggle with the things that he did which seem to defy basic human decency.  Leah is the perfect counterpoint to him, because she can always, always diffuse a dramatic or awkward situation with a well timed joke.  I love her.

Regarding her recruiting other celebs, she's besties with J Lo and her book goes into great detail about how the Scientologists used her to try and recruit J Lo (whose father is a Scientologist) at Tom Cruise's wedding.  I highly recommend her book, it's a great read.

[Giselle]

DM doesn't have to believe, only his marks do.

[RedheadZombie]

1 hour ago, EVS said:

Regarding Rinder's reaction, don't scientologists (I refuse to capitalize the s) do training where they have to sit still and not react when people yell horrible things at them?  I think that is early in their training. We've also heard comments about people being punished or beaten by Miscavige if they reacted the wrong way. I think that, having been in this cult for so long and being as high up as he was, Mike Rinder learned long ago not to let his true feelings and emotions show for his own self-preservation. I think that is a hard habit to break and Rinder is still struggling with it.  He may not be capable of showing us remorse right now, but I don't doubt he feels it for reasons others here have already mentioned. 

I think you're on the right track, but that training is reserved for Sea Org.  The Sea Org receives the majority of all the abuse, and they are all the higher ups.  And I think what you describe is why Rinder went from stone faced to sobbing a few episodes back.

[juliet73]

1 hour ago, Sup wit dat said:

 

Scientology is so good at silencing people it's unbelievable.  Leah mentioned in this episode that they are working on things they can't talk about.  If that's the case, I hope Miscavige doesn't find a way to silence her, too, because every case seems to end in a settlement with the victims silenced.

I often wonder how much they paid that pilot to stop spilling about his six year relationship with John Travolta.

I'm sure the organization silences people with money and the promise to stop stalking and harassing in exchange for their silence. If you're coming out (escaping) from the hole, you have nothing...literally. So freedom and a few bucks for keeping quiet would seem like heaven to these people. Although, Katie Holmes wasn't in the sea org/hole, she agreed to a deal. I'm sure her silence was bought with Tom's money, but also with the promise that organization was to leave her and Suri alone. To protect her daughter, the deal was worth it.  I'm sure the same thing happened with Marty Rathbun. Leah has money and is willing to put up with harassment because she's on a crusade. Leah wants to help other parishioners get out, whereas the aforementioned people were just trying to save themselves, which is not a bad thing; they needed to do what was best for them at the time. 

Edited January 19, 2017 by juliet73

[RedheadZombie]

1 hour ago, Showthyme said:

Wrong quote. Not going to fix because we all know that craziness to which I am referring.

Isn't LRH supposed to drop himself back into a baby's body? Babies don't need Kool cigarettes and they certainly don't need to have them in two different rooms. 

I wonder if David Miscavige really believes all of this crap. 

In Leah's book, she either implies or flat out says that some thought Suri was LRH.  At the wedding dinner, Suri was endlessly crying, and after it was clear that Tom and Katie had no intention of checking on her, Leah did.  She said Suri was laying on the ground and a group of adults (including a Cruise sister) were staring at her in awe.  They were not actually taking care of her, but then she's an adult and probably should have seen to her own baby needs.

[juliet73]

21 minutes ago, DrivingSideways said:

I found Rinder a little off putting both in this ep, and the last one when Sweeney, Ortega and the other guy (apologies, Other Guy) were explaining the terror they went through.  I thought both Leah and Rinder reacted kind of defensively.  However, it could also be a weird edit.  I try to keep in mind that Rinder was brain washed from a young age, but I also struggle with the things that he did which seem to defy basic human decency.  Leah is the perfect counterpoint to him, because she can always, always diffuse a dramatic or awkward situation with a well timed joke.  I love her.

I agree with the other posters saying Leah and Mike were trained in the very beginning of scientology not to have a reaction. I think it's going to take many many years to overcome that "skill." Mike did break down in the Disconnection episode - 10 years ago, he might not have. At the end of this episode, his voice was a bit shaky when he said he was going to continue to fight whether the show gets renewed or not. I think he is making progress but unfortunately, he will probably always have a wall up to guard his emotions. 

[Pollock]

4 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

I agree.  This has been a long, painful journey for Leah and Mike.  Personally, I thought that Mike looked near exhaustion and like he'd been crying when they started filming this episode.  Maybe you and I aren't the people to judge whether Mike has profusely apologized to the proper extent to all of his former victims.  But we've seen him filming with many of those he victimized while he was in CO$, and it's very telling that they've clearly moved on.  John Sweeney, who was made to look like a lunatic, is now considered a friend.  That's very telling, and tells me that Rinder has done a great deal of soul searching and apologizing to these people.  He's in close contact with all of the high profile people who've blown, and they seem to be close friends.  Personally, I think he was too moved by the man telling him how frightened he once was to comment on it.  But that's just me.

It's not just you! 
Just the fact that he puts himself in this situation, being confronted (again) by his victims, speaks volume about him, in a really good way. He's not Marty Rathbun with his hero complex who couldn't handle psychologically being put in the same situation (and must be fuming Mike's front and center role in Leah's series) and finally cracked again and (probably) returned to Miscavige's fold. It's never about him, it's always about the person to whom they're talking at that point, because it's not his story, it's theirs. I personally really appreciate he's not front and center, even in his emotions.

It must be hard to ask yourself: was that ME who was doing those horrible things to those people or was it the brainwashing? Which part of me is what I'm doing? Did I enjoy torturing those people? 
He doesn't strike me as someone who just brushed those answers under "I was just following orders".

[BradandJanet]

1 hour ago, Giselle said:

DM doesn't have to believe, only his marks do.

Bingo.

[ketose]

The other thing about Mike Rinder is that he's been doing this and talking to these people for years. Leah's reactions are more authentic because she hadn't met former Scientologists and the victims of Scientology. Rinder may be all cried out.

[green]

I can't believe there is all this discussion on Rinder's reaction.  You can react emotionally or stoically.  Either way is valid.  I personally prefer stoicism to the emotional in myself and others.  It's a perfectly fine way to go through life.

[GreatKazu]

Quote

Well, that's kind of the point - clearly she tried to talk to him about Scientology because he rebuked said attempts with some crack about a "Tom Cruise glare" or some such

@iMonrey She was expected to recruit, but she didn't.

Remini admits that her choice not to try to lure her King Of Queens co-star Kevin James away from "his religion" (which, decorously, she does not identify) is something she felt "was an acceptable transgression against mankind."https://previously.tv/leah-remini-scientology-and-the-aftermath/kevin-james-was-never-a-target-for-recruitment-and-more-wonders-of-leah-remini-scientology-and-the-aftermaths-latest-ask-me-anything-special/

Leah never broached the subject with Kevin or any of her co-workers: http://www.inquisitr.com/3755382/leah-remini-says-church-of-scientology-tried-to-influence-her-career-on-cbs-sitcom/

 

Quote

Leah added that she never broached the subject of Scientology with Kevin James and that her longtime leading man was always very respectful of her beliefs.

“People would ask him, ‘Oh my God, is she trying to get you into that crazy cult?'” Remini revealed. “And he’d say, ‘No. She’s not like the rest of them.'”

Kevin James, by the way, is a devout Catholic. I once saw him on one of those religious shows talking about his faith. It is my faith as well: http://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/comic-actor-kevin-james-wants-to-glorify-god-in-every-way/10369

I imagine the crack Kevin made to Leah was just the normal jabs they did with one another. Not unusual to mention something about the person to make fun of them.

Edited January 19, 2017 by GreatKazu

[Isle Of Why]

My understanding of that conversation between Leah and Mike about recruiting was that Leah said it make her very uncomfortable and she didn't do it. She said she "helped" people who were already Scientologists to make further advancements, and that's what she felt was the acceptable transgression.

What I've never understood about Debbie Cook's nuclear bomb email is that, okay, Scientology sued her for breaking her non-disclosure contract. Then she testified in court, it turned into a nightmare for Scientology, and they quickly dropped the suit. But why did they give Debbie a settlement? For what? She was the defendant. Did she countersue? Maybe any attorneys can weigh in because that's never made sense to me.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Isle Of Why

[GreatKazu]

1 hour ago, Isle Of Why said:

My understanding of that conversation between Leah and Mike about recruiting was that Leah said it make her very uncomfortable and she didn't do it. She said she "helped" people who were already Scientologists to make further advancements, and that's what she felt was the acceptable transgression.

What I've never understood about Debbie Cook's nuclear bomb email is that, okay, Scientology sued her for breaking her non-disclosure contract. Then she testified in court, it turned into a nightmare for Scientology, and they quickly dropped the suit. But why did they give Debbie a settlement? For what? She was the defendant. Did she countersue? Maybe any attorneys can weight in because that's never made sense to me.

This article explains what transpired and  the settlement, which was really both sides receiving NO money:

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/scientology-settles-with-debbie-cook-667723

UPDATE 4: Tobin and Childs now have the court filing ending the case. As our expert Scott Pilutik predicted, it calls for Cook and Baumgarten to keep quiet about the church, the church drops its demands for damages, and no money changes hands:

The agreement dated Monday allows both sides to essentially call it even and go their separate ways. Neither pays the other side money, and Cook and her husband are legally prohibited from ever again speaking ill of the church.

Edited January 19, 2017 by GreatKazu

[Diane Mars]

Hi there ! Not read all the posts here (this week is quite hectic) and if it has already been posted, sorry.

Well, when Leah was asked what she wanted to ask Miscavige if he was in front of her, I was really surprised by her answer, because I was waiting for something like : "Where is Shelley ?" and it then clicked in my head : OK, maybe THAT's the hot topic which will be disucssed in S2 and that's why they didn't talked about it in this season...

Am I the only one ?

[notyrmomma]

On 1/17/2017 at 9:47 PM, Jeannette said:

I'm in Illinois and there is a Doctor's office that hires young teens and college student, offers them training and them thinking its for the job, they are sending them to Florida to learn about Scientology, I  know this because my niece went not at all knowing it was for Scientology. When she returned upon her trip they asked her how she felt and she said she was not interested, it was fired on the spot. I was terrified to even find out she was there for that reason, to me it's a cult  trying to get these kids in there. What can I do to stop this.

Also, your niece could do an anonymous write up about it in glassdoor.com.  Many people check out that website before getting a job at a company.

[Ina123]

17 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I'm going to be a little critical of this episode. Both "AMA" episodes have started out with Leah answering questions but quickly changed over to guest interviews. I would have liked to have heard more questions and answers from viewers like us. I also thought they sort of glossed over a lot of the answers. For example, I found it interesting what Kevin James' reaction was to any attempt she made to recruit him, but that just raised another question: to what extent was she asked, or expected to recruit Kevin James or any other co-star into Scientology? And by whom? Then they brought up the church's position on homosexuals but didn't utter a peep about all the rumors swirling around both Tom Cruise and John Travolta. I realize they don't want to get sued but it's the big elephant in the room and they could have simply referred to unnamed celebrities who may or may not have joined the church to be "cured." We'd all know who they meant.

Also, it sometimes feels like Mike Rinder is somewhat less remorseful than he ought to be. When Steven Hassan was tearing up and saying how Mike used to scare the hell out him, Mike just sat there stone-faced. I felt he should have been a bit more apologetic.

That said, this was some pretty engrossing stuff.

Well she probably needs them for self-defense, in case any Scientologists try to drag her back to the church.

The stories of Cruise and Travolta are just that - rumors. It would have been just wrong for them to mention them specifically. Actually, had they made it an issue it could weaken their crusade, IMHO. State what they know, not rumors that can harm. They want these people wakened and out of the cult, not harmed.

I think Leah mentioned that she hated recruiting and left James alone. I don't remember what she said but she mentioned doing other things instead to compensate.

I think Rinder has apologized enough. Clearly, Hassan has forgiven him.

[Wings]

22 minutes ago, Ina123 said:

The stories of Cruise and Travolta are just that - rumors. It would have been just wrong for them to mention them specifically. Actually, had they made it an issue it could weaken their crusade, IMHO. State what they know, not rumors that can harm. They want these people wakened and out of the cult, not harmed.

I think Leah mentioned that she hated recruiting and left James alone. I don't remember what she said but she mentioned doing other things instead to compensate.

I think Rinder has apologized enough. Clearly, Hassan has forgiven him.

100 likes!  I could not agree more.  

[Meadow]

7 hours ago, green said:

I can't believe there is all this discussion on Rinder's reaction.  You can react emotionally or stoically.  Either way is valid.  I personally prefer stoicism to the emotional in myself and others.  It's a perfectly fine way to go through life.

I'm a stoic.  I do not complain or let my suffering show.  But a lack of emotional response to someone else's pain is not a perfectly fine way to go through life (and I'm sure you didn't mean it that way).  It's the sign of a sociopath (and I'm sure I don't mean that Mike Rinder is one!).  I adore Mike Rinder.  I think there is every reason to believe that he felt deep emotion in the face of Steve Hassan's pain.  For all we know, Rinder has been trained always to be non-reactive... or he and Hassan have already had this conversation in private... or the camera editing was wonky or whatever.  I just think that for the sake of everyone's healing... victims', Rinder's, audiences'... it might behoove Rinder to be extra generous with a whispered "I'm so sorry".  bam  So powerful.

[MrSmith]

12 hours ago, Meadow said:

I totally agree with your assessment.  I think Rinder is deeply pained and has probably already apologized to those with whom he is now allied (like John Sweeney and Steve Hassan).  I think it might be helpful for the viewing audience, though, if we heard him say, "I am so very sorry.  I deeply regret how I behaved."

He's said this in other episodes to other people. I don't need to see him say it to everyone he's targeted/offended who comes on this show. Jesus. Can't people just intuit that if he's said he's sorry to some  people on camera that he's apologized to the others off camera? Are we really that small minded?

16 minutes ago, Meadow said:

 it might behoove Rinder to be extra generous with a whispered "I'm so sorry".  bam  So powerful.

Not necessarily. If it doesn't look/sound/feel sincere, then it's going to look trite and contrived. Not everything needs to be on camera.

[spiderpig]

All the discussion about Rinder's being sorry reminds me of the War Room scene from Dr. Strangelove where the President is on the phone with the Russian premier:

• "I'm sorry too, Dmitri. I'm very sorry. All right, you're sorrier than I am. But I am sorry as well. I am as sorry as you are, Dmitri. Don't say that you're the more sorry than I am because I am capable of being just as sorry as you are. So we're both sorry, all right? All right."

I think Mike has shown over and over that he's sorry and that his victims have accepted it and moved on in their relationship.

[Diane Mars]

And, about  Rinder, his eyes were red and teary at the end of this ep....

[laurakaye]

12 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

I think that Leah has also attempted to protect and comfort everyone on this series, and that includes Rinder.  And if she distracted the camera in an attempt to allow him to stay composed, I understand it.

I don't know how far back Leah and Mike's friendship goes, but they seem to be able to read each other very well.  And maybe it's not a question of how long they've been friends, but that they absolutely understand what the other has gone through.  I go back to the episode where Mike finally did completely lose it and Leah jumped up, unsure of who to comfort first, but asking that the cameras be turned off.  What could've come across as manufactured drama came off to me as a very real moment.  I find both of them to be reacting in the moment, whether stoic, tearful, or just plain stunned.

Watching the end of the last episode, Leah is tearful and says, "God knows I can't let anything go."  And then she says, "except now I gotta pee."  I love her so much.

 

11 hours ago, Showthyme said:

Babies don't need Kool cigarettes and they certainly don't need to have them in two different rooms. 

What's so perfectly funny about this line is that it makes no sense whatsoever, unless you've been reading in these threads - in which case, sadly, it makes perfect sense.

 

4 hours ago, Diane Mars said:

Well, when Leah was asked what she wanted to ask Miscavige if he was in front of her, I was really surprised by her answer, because I was waiting for something like : "Where is Shelley ?" and it then clicked in my head : OK, maybe THAT's the hot topic which will be disucssed in S2 and that's why they didn't talked about it in this season...

Am I the only one ?

Not at all, I absolutely thought she'd look straight at the camera and ask that very question!  It seems that it was at Tom and Katie's wedding where things really started to turn bad for Leah, because she realized was being used to get J-Lo on board the COS crazy train, and also that she had the gall to ask about Shelley's whereabouts.

[DangerousMinds]

16 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

It finally hit me that Leah was never treated as a celebrity.  They way she was always disciplined and reprimanded, implies to me that they've always treated her as Sea Org.  I doubt other celebrities are grilled about not recruiting their cast mates.  It makes no sense, and they've brought her wrath upon them by their mistreatment of her.  It was that mistreatment that started her search for answers.  Idiots.

I think it was the Nazi thing that made Leah start to cry.  It's what devastated me.  It's evil and there's absolutely no defense. 

I wonder if other celebrities worked as hard and tirelessly as Leah did. In her book she said she would work all day, then spend hours each night at the Scientology Center. She also gave up most vacation time to COS.

[fastiller]

5 hours ago, Diane Mars said:

Hi there ! Not read all the posts here (this week is quite hectic) and if it has already been posted, sorry.

Well, when Leah was asked what she wanted to ask Miscavige if he was in front of her, I was really surprised by her answer, because I was waiting for something like : "Where is Shelley ?" and it then clicked in my head : OK, maybe THAT's the hot topic which will be disucssed in S2 and that's why they didn't talked about it in this season...

Am I the only one ?

Me too, I agree with what @laurakaye said: Remini would probably look at the camera, look at Miscavige, make sure everyone knew who all was involved in the convo and say "WHERE THE [BLEEP] IS YOUR WIFE, DAVID?!"

12 hours ago, Showthyme said:

Babies don't need Kool cigarettes and they certainly don't need to have them in two different rooms. 

&

31 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

What's so perfectly funny about this line is that it makes no sense whatsoever, unless you've been reading in these threads - in which case, sadly, it makes perfect sense.

And now, because the funny has been pointed out to me, both @laurakaye & @Showthyme: YOMANK!

[DangerousMinds]

13 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

Instead of saying they "treated" her as Sea Org, I should have said they looked at her as Sea Org.  They never truly treated her as a celebrity, because they'd already gotten in years of brain washing, and also didn't seem to think she deserved celebrity treatment.   Do we think Travolta, Cruise, or Alley were called in and reprimanded, written up, or forced to retake courses and buy books and tapes?   I don't think they did.  They tolerated Leah, and that's about it.

I don't know- after Leah got King of Queens, David Miscavige hooked her up with Tom Cruise, and Leah and her husband socialized quite a bit with Tom and Katie. She spoke at length about this in her book.

[Ina123]

I'm assuming she won't talk about Shelley M because it's a part of "what we can't talk about", as in what she started the episode with-the visit to the lawyers. As she said, a lot is going on behind the scenes and we do not need to be privy to it right now. I respect that.

[Meadow]

Oh my gosh, I was so caught up in whether my beautiful Mike Rindah is part cyborg that I missed the thing about babies not needing Kool cigarettes, lol!  

I was a little alarmed at Leah's answer to the "What would you say to David Miscavige" question (and I think My Beautiful Mike Rindah -tm was, too).  She seemed to think that Scientology is salvageable, if he would clean up his act.  Rinder and I were both looking at her like, "Uh... honey?  Are we not on the same page that the whole thing is a bunch of hooey?  'Cause I thought we were."

I'm going to Florida next month and I so want to wear a shirt that says, "Where's Shelly?".  I won't, because I'm a coward like that.  But I'd love to see that become a thing.

[funky-rat]

20 hours ago, wings707 said:

He did not look like an ass to me.  The pain under his surface is palpable.  His seemingly stoic pose, we see in each episode, is the way he has found to keep himself pulled together.   In private I would guess there are times when he falls apart.  I have the utmost respect for him. He is doing what he can to make up for what he has done.  Kudos to Rinder.  

These men have talked before they sat down to tape this.  It is logical to think Rinder has expressed his remorse to him personally.  This show is to rally the public to get behind the effort to stop the madness.  Tearful apologies would be out of place here.  Hassan was not addressing Rinder for the first time, he was repeating his story for the public.  Leah had not heard it but Rinder was aware.   

It's been discussed ad-nauseum, but yes, I believe he's sincere.  My husband was put into therapy after his dad died because he didn't "cry enough".  He felt he needed to hold it together for the sake of his little brother, but he was freaking out on the inside.

[gunderda]

You could see Rinder tearing up a bit when Leah started to cry.

But I did think it startled Rinder a bit when the Moonie cult guy got really emotional.

I almost enjoyed this episode more than any episode of the entire series.  I'm sure they could go on forever with Q&A episodes!

[EVS]

10 minutes ago, Meadow said:

I'm going to Florida next month and I so want to wear a shirt that says, "Where's Shelly?".  I won't, because I'm a coward like that.  But I'd love to see that become a thing.

That's brilliant!  I want that on a shirt now.  I would wear it everywhere even though (or maybe because) I don't live in Florida. 

[zxy556575]

33 minutes ago, Meadow said:

I'm going to Florida next month and I so want to wear a shirt that says, "Where's Shelly?".

You don't have the rank to wear that shirt!

[Rlb8031]

18 hours ago, ketose said:

Leah might be unique because she's a Scientologist who became famous. Her mother brought her into it. Many of the celebrities were recruited as minor celebrities or struggling actors taking one of their BS courses. COS knew they could use the laws of Scientology to control her, while other celebrities had to be manipulated more subtly since they had been on the outside as adults.

In her book she says that as a former SeaOrg member she was expecting to be treated poorly (former members who leave SO but remain in the church are castigated for not being committed enough to the faith) upon her return to Clearwater. She went back after she had a number of tv pilots and series and her former boss basically said she was getting a pass because she had become a celebrity and was therefore doing her part to share Scientology with the world. Seemingly, because she was a lifelong CO$ member, and has a reputation as someone hard to handle (didn't try to avoid KRs, got sent to ETF(?) as a kid, etc.) they might have recognized that trying to make her do anything was exactly the wrong way to deal with her.

[MaggieG]

15 hours ago, ketose said:

They absolutely have to retake courses. Celebrities give them PR, but they are also prized by CO$ for their money. They can't let Tom Cruise reach OT VIII. How would they explain that he really can't fly if they let him get all the way up the bridge?

This just made me stop and think. Tom Cruise is known for doing dangerous stunts himself, especially for those Mission Impossible movies. He climbed up the side of the Burj Khalifa and also clung to the side of an airplane. I wonder if he does those because he thinks he can't get hurt.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Hope there is a second season.

There almost assuredly will be unless Remini herself simply doesn't want to do it. The show has given A&E some of their best ratings in years.

[Carolina Girl]

I'd love to ask the CO$ why they are using a CROSS as part of the symbolism.  They are not a Christ-centered organization; indeed their whole cosmology is centered around Xenu the Crazy and volcanos, etc. - nothing to do with Christian-based faith.  The cross is a symbol for the Christ.  So they are even duplicitous in this.

[Wings]

There will definitely be another season. There is a link the Rabbit Hole thread. Very brief article from A&E saying they are proud of her series and applaud her work.  It has gotten high ratings. I don't think we will have to wait long either. She and Rinder are motivated. 

[shirazplease]

Quote

He did not look like an ass to me.  The pain under his surface is palpable.  His seemingly stoic pose, we see in each episode, is the way he has found to keep himself pulled together.   In private I would guess there are times when he falls apart.  I have the utmost respect for him. He is doing what he can to make up for what he has done.  Kudos to Rinder.  

I completely agree.  He was doing  his best to keep it together, you could see it in his (red, wet) eyes.  I understand this - I do the same thing when I'm in front of people.  He was in front of more people than I can imagine.  Not just the future viewers, but the crew, etc...  In private, I bawl like a little bitch.  I have a crush on Mike Rindah.

[DangerousMinds]

1 hour ago, Meadow said:

Oh my gosh, I was so caught up in whether my beautiful Mike Rindah is part cyborg that I missed the thing about babies not needing Kool cigarettes, lol!  

I was a little alarmed at Leah's answer to the "What would you say to David Miscavige" question (and I think My Beautiful Mike Rindah -tm was, too).  She seemed to think that Scientology is salvageable, if he would clean up his act.  Rinder and I were both looking at her like, "Uh... honey?  Are we not on the same page that the whole thing is a bunch of hooey?  'Cause I thought we were."

I'm going to Florida next month and I so want to wear a shirt that says, "Where's Shelly?".  I won't, because I'm a coward like that.  But I'd love to see that become a thing.

Wear it!

[druzy]

1 hour ago, Meadow said:

I'm going to Florida next month and I so want to wear a shirt that says, "Where's Shelly?".  I won't, because I'm a coward like that.  But I'd love to see that become a thing.

This made my day!!!!

[walnutqueen]

16 hours ago, Showthyme said:

 Isn't LRH supposed to drop himself back into a baby's body? Babies don't need Kool cigarettes and they certainly don't need to have them in two different rooms.

Pretty sure if I'd had babies they'd have popped out of the womb jonesing for Virginia Slims 120's. 

[cpansy]

Oh my gosh, I was so caught up in whether my beautiful Mike Rindah is part cyborg that I missed the thing about babies not needing Kool cigarettes, lol!  

I was a little alarmed at Leah's answer to the "What would you say to David Miscavige" question (and I think My Beautiful Mike Rindah -tm was, too).  She seemed to think that Scientology is salvageable, if he would clean up his act.  Rinder and I were both looking at her like, "Uh... honey?  Are we not on the same page that the whole thing is a bunch of hooey?  'Cause I thought we were."

I'm going to Florida next month and I so want to wear a shirt that says, "Where's Shelly?".  I won't, because I'm a coward like that.  But I'd love to see that become a thing.

I'm so glad somebody else shares the Rinder love. Yes, he's stoic, but I love his intelligence and humor and sheer Rinder-ness!

[juliet73]

1 hour ago, Meadow said:

I'm going to Florida next month and I so want to wear a shirt that says, "Where's Shelly?".  I won't, because I'm a coward like that.  But I'd love to see that become a thing.

I would say wear it, but honestly, your life would never be the same again. They'll find out where you live, work, etc. They'll probably buy the seat next to you on the airplane so you can't escape while they sec check you. You'll get your own website courtesy of the organization "WhoisMeadow.com".  Then we'll hear your story on season 2. On the plus side, you'll get to meet your beloved Mike Rindah :) 

[Darian]

5 hours ago, Diane Mars said:

And, about  Rinder, his eyes were red and teary at the end of this ep....

So much so that at first I thought he had a black eye they were covering with makeup. 

Oh, this show. I just want to bake cookies for everyone involved and hug them hard. I told everyone I knew about it and suggested they watch. I also got the idea here to thank A&E. I'm wicked stingy with Twitter follows (follow too many and you miss things; I don't check it often enough), but I am following Leah. She's a force of nature. And, imo, of good. That's one of the bigger tragedies, to me. How many of these people got involved because they wanted to do good? How many suffered and sacrificed because they thought they were doing good?  

In every episode, including this one, it showed that Leah wanted to present the information in the most effective manner (daunting!) and is trying hard to make a difference. I'll be glad to hear her own story because she's sure been trying to present the voices and work of others who are speaking out. And Mike could have just lived his life, but he's facing people he hurt, which is tough. A lot of brave people made a compelling product that I think will help people. 

[Wings]

13 minutes ago, cpansy said:

I'm so glad somebody else shares the Rinder love. Yes, he's stoic, but I love his intelligence and humor and sheer Rinder-ness!

Many of us do.  I adore him, too. 

[MrSmith]

42 minutes ago, Carolina Girl said:

I'd love to ask the CO$ why they are using a CROSS as part of the symbolism.  They are not a Christ-centered organization; indeed their whole cosmology is centered around Xenu the Crazy and volcanos, etc. - nothing to do with Christian-based faith.  The cross is a symbol for the Christ.  So they are even duplicitous in this.

This was asked and answered in an early episode. Has something to do with their 8 tenets or somesuch. I forget the exact wording. Go watch the first two or three episodes and you'll have the complete answer.

12 minutes ago, juliet73 said:

I would say wear it, but honestly, your life would never be the same again. They'll find out where you live, work, etc. They'll probably buy the seat next to you on the airplane so you can't escape while they sec check you. You'll get your own website courtesy of the organization "WhoisMeadow.com".  Then we'll hear your story on season 2. On the plus side, you'll get to meet your beloved Mike Rindah :) 

This is all the motivation I would need to go parade around Clearwater with that shirt on. Point me in the direction of an immovable object and I am 100% guaranteed to turn into an unstoppable force.

[veronicamers]

2 hours ago, Meadow said:

I'm going to Florida next month and I so want to wear a shirt that says, "Where's Shelly?".  I won't, because I'm a coward like that.  But I'd love to see that become a thing.

Great idea! I was actually in Clearwater for work last fall and I so wish I had thought to do this. I did a pretty extensive drive-by of FLAG and the other COS properties. I was too scared to get out of the car though. I just snapped photos from the window and sent them to my other COS-obsessed friends. I had a horrible experience with the COS personality test in Munich, Germany when I was studying abroad in college. I also used to live a few blocks from COS building in Dupont Circle in D.C. I avoid personal encounters on the street with the clams at all costs. 

[Meadow]

13 minutes ago, juliet73 said:

I would say wear it, but honestly, your life would never be the same again. They'll find out where you live, work, etc. They'll probably buy the seat next to you on the airplane so you can't escape while they sec check you. You'll get your own website courtesy of the organization "WhoisMeadow.com".  Then we'll hear your story on season 2. On the plus side, you'll get to meet your beloved Mike Rindah :) 

~dying laughing~  Especially at Lord Donia's "You don't have the rank to wear that shirt!"  

I would so wear the shirt, but I have kids and I'm not taking the slightest risk of poking the crazy and having them get harassed.  But how I would love to be on Season 2 of Rindah and Remini and have Leah open with her putting on her reading glasses and saying...

"Here is what the Church of Scientology has to say about Meadow:

Meadow is an adulteress who flirts shamelessly with a married man who has already been declared evil, abusive, and a pathological liar.  She repeatedly practices medicine without a license in a pathetic attempt to diagnose Church officials with serious psychological conditions, even going so far as to proclaim them as 'possessed by demons'.  Meadow is in desperate need of getting on with her life and getting off of her computer." 

[Wavy]

I thought Leah said they allowed you to practice a religion besides Scientology.  One of them (Juliette Lewis?) claims to be a Christian and a Scientologist.