Leah Remini Denies Filing Missing Person’s Report for Shelly Miscavige to Create ‘Publicity Stunt’ as She Fights Scientology in Court
Leah says her case should proceed.
Dec. 4 2023, Published 10:20 a.m. ET
Leah Remini demanded her lawsuit against Scientology move forward despite the church’s attempt to have her bombshell case thrown out — and denied she filed a police report as a “publicity stunt.”
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, the actress responded to Scientology’s motion to dismiss her claims of defamation, harassment, and stalking.
Remini sued the church earlier this year.
In her motion, Remini argued the statements made by the church were not free speech and pointed out all the times she felt they had defamed her.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, earlier this year, Remini sued The Church of Scientology and its leader David Miscavige.
Remini was a member of the controversial church for over 40 years until she left in 2013. The actress spoke out against the church and accused it of mistreating members.
In the years since leaving, Remini launched a television show and podcast that focused on speaking to ex-Scientologists.
Remini said due to her speaking out, the church and its agent have attacked her and tried to ruin her professional career.
"Defendants have 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," the lawsuit reads.
David Miscavige at a Scientology event.
Remini said for the past decade she’s been, “under constant threat and assault by the Defendants as a result of her public departure from Scientology.”
A couple of weeks later, Remini demanded a temporary injunction be issued. She claimed Scientology agents were harassing her and her family.
Remini claimed she believed an agent of the church attempted to make his way into her gated neighborhood in August 2023. She claimed agents also showed up at her mom’s home as a threatening message to her.
She said, “My mother lives on a steep hill on a dead-end street, and the drivers of the car, two white men dressed in black, were captured on her home’s surveillance camera surveilling the home while talking on a mobile phone. After knocking on the door, the two men, who parked on the side of the street down the hill, departed the area.”
Remini even claimed her mom’s restaurant had been vandalized and her credit cards were hacked after she filed the lawsuit.
One of the church's buildings in Los Angeles.
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The Church of Scientology has denied all of Remini’s allegations. They accused her of using the Church to stay relevant.
The Church of Scientology said about Leah’s lawsuit, “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.”
Recently, the church demanded the lawsuit be thrown out. It argued they had not harmed the actress and any statement they made were free speech.
Now, Remini has demanded her lawsuit not be thrown out. She argued the statements made by the church are not protected speech and it is engaging in personal attacks.
“Defendants have failed to show that she has achieved such pervasive fame to be a public figure for all purposes and in all contexts—including assassinations of her character and attacks of her family. By 2013, when Defendants’ campaign of vilification of Remini began, Remini’s role on the TV sitcom The King of Queens had been over for six years. Defendants themselves agree that Remini is not a general purpose celebrity, having repeatedly attacked her as “a failed actress,” a “washed-up actress,” and “discarded by Hollywood.””
Remini said she takes issue with the church labeling her a bigot, comparing her to the KKK and a neo-Nazi, and calling her a racist. The church also argued that Remini’s statements against the church led to others being violent against the church or its members.
Further, Remini denied the church’s claim she filed a false police report. She admitted she filed a missing person’s report in 2013 related to her long-time friend Shelly Miscavige.
Remini filed a bombshell declaration in the case.
Shelly is David’s wife but has not been seen by Remini in years. “Remini had not seen her friend for years, did not know of her whereabouts (or even whether she was still alive), and was genuinely concerned for her friend’s health, safety and security,
The LAPD claimed they spoke to Shelly and closed the case. A rep for the police said, "In 2014, Los Angeles Police Department detectives assigned to the Missing Persons Unit (MPU) went to Shelly Miscavige’s location and personally made contact with her and her attorney. Detectives found her to be alive and safe and subsequently closed the missing persons investigation.
The church accused Remini of filing the report as a “publicity stunt.”
Remini said, “This too is false.”
The actress said due to all of the reasons listed her lawsuit should not be thrown out.
The Church of Scientology's statement on Remini's lawsuit read, "This lawsuit is ludicrous and the allegations pure lunacy. Remini spreads hate and falsehoods for a decade and is now offended when people exercise their right to free speech, exposing her for what she is—an anti-free speech bigot."
"Remini’s complaints are like an anti-Semite complaining about the Jewish Anti-Defamation League for exposing the anti-Semite’s bigotry and propaganda," the church said, "Remini’s obsession with attacking her former religion, by spreading falsehoods and hate speech, has generated threats of and actual violence against the Church and its members as evidenced by multiple criminal convictions of individuals poisoned by Remini’s propaganda."
"All the while, Remini has profited handsomely from her fabrications, through the sale of hate books, hate podcasts and paid-for tabloid hate television," the church added.
"Now that Remini’s propaganda has been exposed, Remini has spun entirely out of control by filing a frivolous lawsuit attempting to stop free speech exposing her false propaganda. Remini’s decade of harassment and fabrications are all coming back to haunt her," the church continued.
The church said, "While Remini was in the Church, she had to restrain her antisocial traits. She said so herself—that Scientology was the only thing keeping her “monster” at bay. The Church is not intimidated by Remini’s latest act of blatant harassment and attempt to prevent truthful free speech. If Remini does not believe in free speech, then she should consider emigrating to Russia."