Leah Remini Was Mentioned In Father's Obituary Despite Not Even Knowing He Died
By Mike Walters on September 23, 2019 at 7:05 AM EDT
Leah Remini's father passed away over a month ago, and she says she had no idea he was even sick. To make matters worse, she says the family had a funeral and she wasn't even contacted.
Remini took to social media Sunday, posting a heartbreaking message about how her father, George Anthony Remini had died in August.
The actress and her father had been estranged for some time, after she left Scientology and has been on a campaign to help survivors leaving the church. George was a member of the church up until his death.
The Blast
"On Friday, I received a message from my sister Nicole, who had been contacted by a stranger passing on his condolences for the passing of our father, George Anthony Remini. We had no idea that he had died a month ago. We weren’t aware that he had been sick leading up to his death. A funeral came and went and none of us knew anything about it. We were not able to say goodbye," the'Kings Of Queens' star wrote.
She continued, "He was not able to redeem himself, to ask for forgiveness for his failures and hurts, to become a better man to those of us who couldn’t help but love him. If you read my book, you’ll know my father and I had a difficult relationship, but I always forgave him with a daughter’s painfully endless love and hope. Regardless of his neglect and abuse, I had hoped to one day have some closure. I hoped for him to acknowledge who he had been and what he had done to us as his children. That alone would have been healing in its own way. We never got that, yet I can’t help but grieve. I am angry at myself for crying for someone who didn’t ever cry for me. I am angry that I still wanted this man’s love, I’m angry that the last chapter in our relationship was dictated by Scientology. Scientology took my dad in as a pawn against me and likely robbed him of any last ounce of heart that might have been left in him."
The actress then placed the blames solely on the church for taking advantage of her dad, and being responsible for their estranged relationship.
"I’m angry that Scientology found his personal weak spots and got him on board not with their beliefs but with their smear campaign against me. That was his last presence in my life. Knowing my father, after taking the offer from Scientology to betray me, he wouldn’t have thought that he could ever come back from that in our relationship. If he thought that, though, he would have been wrong. I would have forgiven him as I always did. The little girls inside of my sisters and me will never forgive Scientology for taking away our last chance to have the one thing we always wanted from our father... And that was for him to say “I’m sorry and I loved you," she concluded.
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Interestingly, we obtained a copy of George's obituary, and it DOES mention his actress daughter. The message written by his wife, Dana, says "George is also survived by his daughters, Elizabeth, Nicole and Leah."
According to the obit, George owned and operated an asbestos abatement company. He died August 20, 2019 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ.
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His wife posted a message to he late husband, "To my beloved husband George Remini, I’m going to miss you so much. I will always remember your beautiful smile, your laugh and hilarious personality. I will keep in my heart our memories together like going to estate sales, the beach, our trip to Hawaii and just being in each other’s arms together. Rest in peace until we meet again in Heaven."
Remini created the hit television series, 'Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath' which features ex-church members assisting the lives of people trying to leave the church.
