Scientology Strikes Back: Church Slams Leah Remini's Spying Claims In Docuseries
Dec. 7 2016, Updated 5:13 p.m. ET
After Tuesday night's explosive episode of Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, the church hit back against Mike Rinder's allegations that the controversial organization may have been watching him using 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 told Leah Remini during a casual sit-down. "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."
But it didn't take long for the church to hit back following the episode, releasing a scathing statement against the former senior executive of the Church of Scientology International and Sea Organization.
"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 encouraged viewers to visit their website, which includes damning interviews from Mike's family members who remained in Scientology.
Nevertheless, Remini is determined to keep her docuseries afloat. Last month, the actress even demanded that Scientology pay up $1.5 million as "at least partial compensation for the past, present and ongoing emotional and economic injuries and damages she has suffered, and continues to suffer, as a result of this malicious conduct."
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath airs Tuesday night at 10 p.m. on A&E.
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