Church of Scientology Denies Claims From Leah Remini's Docu-Series That They Spied on Former Members

Former member Mike Rinder speaks out on his experience since leaving the church

By Mike Vulpo Dec 07, 2016 3:50 AMTags

The Church of Scientology is fighting back against claims made in the second episode of Leah Remini's docu-series.

In Tuesday night's all-new Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, former member Mike Rinder opens up about his life after leaving the church. At the same time, he drops an allegation that the church may have been watching him with a hidden camera.

"We got an anonymous letter in our mail box saying you shouldn't be associating with your neighbor. And I go, 'Wait a minute? Where are they watching from?'" he explained to Leah. "So I walked up around the street and I went, ‘Oh, right there.' There's this stupid bird house that I've seen a hundred times, never even giving it a second thought to and so I went and got a ladder and I walked over there, opened the lid and there's a camera  inside of the bird house pointing at our house."

While a sneak peek of the episode features home video of the camera in question, the church is adamant that Mike cannot be trusted.

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"Spreading lies and misinformation about Scientology is how Mike Rinder makes his living. Mike Rinder has not stepped inside a Church in nearly a decade. The Church expelled him for severe malfeasance and has had nothing to do with him since," a spokesperson for The Church of Scientology said in a statement to E! News. "Rinder is trying to do what he knows anti-Scientologists have done for years, intentionally misinterpret and unfairly tarnish the Church. The truth is that current Church leadership never has and never would tolerate unethical conduct, which is why individuals like Rinder were removed."

The church also guides viewers to their website where it claims they can learn more about Mike including what his family has to say about him.

As Leah presents more stories from former church members, the former King of Queens star maintains that the "brave" people who left the church deserve the opportunity to have their voices heard.

"The people who are just average people who dedicated their lives to this organization and are willing to tell me their stories, these are the brave people of the world," Leah recently shared with E! News. "With the series, they will hopefully get the acknowledgement they deserve."

As for the Church of Scientology, they have repeatedly denied Leah's claims and allegations. "Leah Remini's ‘reality' show, like her last one, is nothing more than a scripted, rehearsed, acted and dramatized work of fiction," a previous statement read in part. "She and the other anti-Scientologists in her program have been expelled from the Church for unethical conduct."

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath airs Tuesday night at 10 p.m. on A&E.

—Reporting by Holly Passalaqua