ABCLeah Remini is on a crusade.
The Church of Scientology is accused of abuse, lies and sexual misconduct in her A&E docue-series, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. "My whole life I was a very dedicated Scientologist. I didn't want to find out what I'd done was a lie," says Remini, whose family left the church three years ago. "Something inside of me was saying, 'Get them out of this thing.'"
Remini interviewed former Scientology members about their experiences with the church. "Fight for your family. Fight for your daughters, your sons," says the actress, who executive produced the eight-part series. "Let's get to the abuses. Let's get to the abortions. Wake up."
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath premieres Nov. 29 at 10 p.m. on A&E.
In response, a rep for the Church of Scientology told E! News, "Desperate for attention with an acting career stuck in a nearly decade-long tailspin, Leah Remini needs to move on with her life. Instead, she seeks publicity by maliciously spreading lies about the Church using the same handful of bitter zealots who were kicked out years ago for chronic dishonesty and corruption and whose false claims the Church refuted years ago, including through judicial decisions."
"Leah Remini has become what she once declared she never wanted to be known as: 'this bitter ex-Scientologist. As USA Today wrote, Ms. Remini is 'as famous for being an ex-Scientologist as she is as an actress.' She needs to move on with her life instead of pathetically exploiting her former religion, her former friends and other celebrities for money and attention to appear relevant again," the spokesperson added. "Sadly, bitterness and anger are common threads through Ms. Remini's life. Ms. Remini is showing herself to be a spoiled entitled diva who still obsessively complains about such petty matters as her seating placement, limo ride, five-star hotel accommodations and the paparazzi's failure to recognize her nearly a decade ago."
"She also inserts herself uninvited into the family matters of others. Rather than take responsibility for self-inflicted problems, she is quick to blame others. When her firing from The Talk erupted into a public embarrassment for her in 2012, we tried to help pick her up off the floor. But she treated everyone around her in a degrading, bullying manner. Her behavior was intolerable."
"Leah Remini knows the truth she conveniently rewrites in her revisionist history," the rep said. "The real story is that she desperately tried to remain a Scientologist in 2013, knowing full well she was on the verge of being expelled for refusing to abide by the high level of ethics and decency Scientologists are expected to maintain. Her repeated ethical lapses and callous treatment of others led to an ecclesiastical review which resulted in her being expelled. She now regurgitates the tired myths the Church has repeatedly debunked, circulated by the same tiny clique of expelled former staffers bitter at having lost the positions they enjoyed before their malfeasance and unethical conduct were uncovered. Ms. Remini is now joined at the hip with this collection of deadbeats, admitted liars, self-admitted perjurers, wife beaters and worse."
"Ms. Remini also continues her obnoxious efforts to harass the leader of the Church of Scientology and his wife, with whom Ms. Remini has been obsessed and has stalked for years. This culminated in a scandalous report filed in 2013 with the Los Angeles Police Department that her book shows was a fraud from the outset. It was solely intended to get publicity and harass the leader of the religion and his wife, who had refused contact with Ms. Remini because of her disgraceful behavior that was both abusive and unethical. Ms. Remini also outrageously touts that the LAPD failed to do its job when it investigated her phony report and within hours unambiguously declared it 'unfounded,' causing her stunt to blow up in her face. Anyone knowingly making a false report to law enforcement is a bald-faced liar who should be held accountable for diverting police from protecting the public."
The spokesperson encourage people to learn more about the religion by visiting its website.
A&E announced on Oct. 27 it was planning to air the docu-series. In a press release, Remini explained, "This series is about sharing the truth about Scientology. Truth born out of very personal experiences. Truth that is shocking, things I did not expect to find when I embarked on the journey of making these shows...Even though I had been a member of the church for a long time, I was stunned by some of the things I learned. There is a lot more to this story than anyone knows. And this series is breaking ground in bringing that information to light."
"For too long, this multi-billion-dollar organization bullied victims and journalists to prevent the truth being told. It is my hope that we shed light on information that makes the world aware of what is really going on and encourages others to speak up so the abuses can be ended forever," she said. "I hope that people who have left now feel they have a safe place to go. I hope others who have also experienced abuses will come forward and help us to do something about it."