Leah Remini Sues Church of Scientology Over Alleged Stalking and Harassment

Actress Leah Remini is suing the Church of Scientology for several alleged grievances.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, the 53-year-old actress is suing the Church of Scientology for alleged “civil harassment, stalking, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage.”

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, the “Cheers” star claims that the Church of Scientology has “undertaken a campaign to ruin and destroy” her life and livelihood.

The court documents list Leah Remini as “a former Scientologist of nearly 40 years, a two-time Emmy-award winning producer, actress and New York Times best-selling author-after she was deemed a Suppressive Person and declared Fair Game by Scientology in 2014 when she publicly departed Scientology, a Suppressive Act as laid out by Scientology directives.”

The court documents claimed that she has been "stalked, surveilled, harassed, threatened, intimidated, and, moreover, has been the victim of intentional malicious and fraudulent rumors via hundreds of Scientology-controlled and -coordinated social media accounts that exist solely to intimidate and spread misinformation" over the course of the past ten years.

In the lawsuit, the actress alleges that the Church of Scientology has "also incessantly harassed, threatened, intimidated, and embarrassed Ms. Remini's family members, friends, colleagues, and business associates, causing her to lose personal relationships, business contracts, and other business opportunities." She claims that they are causing her "significant and ongoing economic harm" and "preventing her from exercising her "exercising her First Amendment right and moral duty to speak out about Scientology's conduct."

The lawsuit goes on to say that Remini has "worked tirelessly to advocate for current Scientologists, former members of Scientology, and non-Scientologists who have bravely spoken out against Scientology or supported Scientology survivors and whistleblowers."

She says that she is bringing the lawsuit to try to "recover compensatory and punitive damages for the enormous economic and psychological harm" that the Church of Scientology has caused her, and "punish and deter" them from continuing "their unlawful campaign of harassment and intimidation." The court documents also note that the lawsuit does not challenge Scientology's ability to defend itself through legal means.

Leah Remini previously made headlines when she took a jab at Tom Cruise amid the success of “Top Gun: Maverick.” Cruise reprised his role as Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, one of the Navy’s top aviators, training a group of young pilot’s to achieve the impossible on a highly covert mission.

Although many fans praised his performance in the highly-anticipated sequel, Remini was vocal on Twitter about some of the past controversies that Cruise had been involved in, sharing a Facebook post of a woman named Clare Headley.

“Glad all you Top Gun fans are enjoying the new movie. Personally, recent posts about this new movie only serve to remind me of Tom Cruise and his crimes against humanity. Extreme you may think?” Headley asked. “Destroying families is a crime against humanity. My opinion. Ask yourself when is the last time Tom talked to his only biological daughter, Suri? Remember Katie Holmes and her extreme efforts to break free of his and Scientology’s control?”

Headley accused the “Mission Impossible” actor of trying to promote “a dangerous cult” through the Church of Scientology, saying that it destroyed her family and almost cost her a marriage and her own life. “The same cult that forced me to have two abortions, and which I fled from in 2005 with the clothes on my back and $200 in my pocket, to which they tracked me down, across state lines, to attempt to prevent my escape. Thank God they failed,” Headley revealed.

Headley swore that she would never watch any of Cruise’s films or “approve of this scam of a man,” alleging that Cruise is well aware of the abuse that the Church of Scientology has reportedly perpetrated.

Remini shared the message from Headley, adding, “Thank you to my friend @claireheadley for your courage. You have continued to speak out despite the non-stop attacks from Scientology. And as Claire says in her post below, Tom Cruise knows exactly what goes on in Scientology. Don’t let the movie star charm fool you.”