Life for Leah Remini has been a "constant struggle" since she left the Church of Scientology more than a decade ago, she says.
The Kings of Queens actor, who is an outspoken critic of the religion, has claimed her experiences since leaving the church have filled her with depression, anxiety and fear. She also claims that her friends and family are "in danger" following an alleged orchestrated operation from those inside the organisation.
Watch: Leah Remini talks to Bill Maher about Scientology. Post continues after video.
Remini left the church in 2013, but shared in a social media post that she's only recently begun saying "yes instead of no to opportunities that involve leaving my home and venturing out into the world".
The actor and activist wrote, "It has been a decade since I fled from Scientology with my family, but it is a constant struggle to push myself to experience my life.
"I will have a good day and think to myself, 'Okay, tomorrow I’m going to continue to do things that I want to do,' and then depression takes over. I get consumed by fear and find every reason not to go."
Since leaving the church, Remini claims she's been "followed constantly by Scientology operatives and agents".
"These people hide in the shadows to monitor my movements and who I am meeting with so they can report back to Scientology’s intelligence agency, the Office of Special Affairs," she wrote, alleging that members of the church took "unflattering photos of her" and recruited "vulnerable people living with severe mental illness" to harass and intimidate her.
In addition to the impact on her mental health, the actor said she has been struggling with the physical effects of menopause. "Not only did I, out of nowhere, break out in hives and have some allergic reaction to something for which I now have to carry an EpiPen everywhere I go, but I am also going through Perimenopause."
A spokesperson for the Church of Scientology responded in a statement, saying, "If Remini can no longer get a job, she has nobody to blame but herself. Obviously, everybody in Hollywood now knows what we already knew: That Remini is a horrible person and toxic to so many who have the misfortune to come in contact with her."
Remini first joined the Church of Scientology when she was eight years old. She says since leaving the organisation, she's been able to advance past her eighth-grade education.
"Two years ago, I had an eighth-grade education thanks to spending 35 years in a cult," she said in a post in June 2023. "And now, at age 52, I’ve successfully finished my second year at [New York University]."
In January 2022, Remini shared why she stopped receiving a formal education as a teen.
"L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, had a deep disdain for conventional education and since everything in Scientology is guided directly by his policies, with no room for interpretation, my education was interrupted," she claimed on X (formerly Twitter).
The former devotee made numerous claims about her former church — which counts Tom Cruise and John Travolta among its most famous members — in her 2016 book Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology.
She produced an Emmy award-winning documentary called Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath upon leaving the religion, and won the International Documentary Association’s Truth to Power Award in 2019.
In August 2023, Remini filed a lawsuit against the church for allegedly trying to "destroy" her life in the wake of the church exit.
The lawsuit claimed she had been "stalked, surveilled, harassed, threatened, intimidated" for more than a decade, according to US Weekly. Remini alleged she has "been the victim of intentional malicious and fraudulent rumours via hundreds of Scientology-controlled and coordinated social media accounts".
"After 17 years of harassment, intimidation, surveillance, and defamation, I am filing a lawsuit against Scientology and [the church's leader] David Miscavige," she wrote later. "Scientology’s final objective of silencing me has not been achieved."
She added that the lawsuit was not just about her.
"I am one of thousands of targets of Scientology over the past seven decades," she said.
"With this lawsuit, I hope to protect the rights afforded to them and me by the Constitution of the United States to speak the truth and report the facts about Scientology without fear of vicious and vindictive retribution, of which most have no way to fight back."
Feature Image: Getty.
As one of our readers we want to hear from you! Complete this survey now to go in the running to win a $100 gift voucher.