• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Sophia Bush’s girlfriend ‘proud’ the actress has opened up about coming out as queer
  • Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!
  • Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

Leah Remini reflects on upbringing in Church of Scientology

Towleroad January 17, 2022 Leave a Comment

Published by
BANG Showbiz English

Leah Remini has been “living and working with an 8th grade education”.

The 51-year-old star has reflected on growing up in the Church of Scientology and how she was treated like an adult from a very young age, including leaving formal education in her early teens and being held accountable for anything “bad” that happened to her.

Sharing a black and white photo taken at the start of her acting career, she wrote on Instagram: “This photo was taken when I was 16. I was so proud of this headshot. I thought my side pony made me look so versatile and like the consummate actress.

“By this point, I had been living the life of an adult for years even though I was just a kid.

“Scientologists are taught that kids are no different from adults. So from a young age I was held accountable like an adult and regularly told that anything bad that happened in my life, even things that I wasn’t responsible for, was my fault.

“Even though I was just 16 at the time, I hadn’t received any sort of formal education for years. Instead, I was working to earn a living to support myself and my family.

“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.

“For the last 38 years of my life, I have been living and working with an 8th grade education.”

The ‘King of Queens’ star explained how she turned to acting as a “salvation” to raise her position in the church and lift her family out of poverty.

She continued: “Scientology was my life. Our friends were mostly Scientologists, I met my agent through Scientologists, and I worked for an insurance company owned by Scientologists.

“I saw a successful acting career as a salvation. It would help me get my family out of poverty and give me a higher standing in Scientology which I truly believed was helping to save mankind.

“At the time we were living in squalor with no furniture. Every spare cent we had went to Scientology and I was determined to get my family into better circumstances.

“I auditioned but was repeatedly told that my brash approach, and thick Brooklyn accent, was taking me nowhere fast. It wasn’t until a voice teacher and casting director discouraged me from losing my brashness and accent that I started getting acting gigs.”

Leah has recently returned to her studies and is amazed at how far she’s come since leaving the controversial faith.

She concluded: “Had you told me then that I would be a student at NYU at age 51, I wouldn’t have believed it. I had big dreams but looking back they were rooted in my desire to survive, not to educate myself.

“And the idea that I would leave Scientology and work to expose the abuses that members face was not a thought I would even conjure up. Had I heard that anyone else was doing that, I would have seen them as an enemy worthy of punishment.”

Topics: Aaon, towleroad

  • Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

    Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Mel B will “always be open” when it comes to her sexuality. The Spice Girls singer, 48, who reunited with her bandmates including the group's ex-singer Victoria Beckham for the fashion …Read More »
  • Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

    Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Megan Thee Stallion is being sued for allegedly creating a hostile work environment and forcing her cameraman to watch her having lesbian sex. The 29-year-old ‘Savage' rapper faces the salacious claims …Read More »
  • Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

    Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Jonathan Bennett's life was “changed forever” by his role in ‘Mean Girls'. The 42-year-old actor starred as heartthrob Aaron Samuels in the 2004 cult classic – which followed Lindsay Lohan, Rachel …Read More »
  • Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

    Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass a gift basket after he came out as gay. The 44-year-old NSYNC star revealed the legendary singer showed his support when Lance decided to reveal …Read More »
Previous Post: « No vaccine, no French Open for Djokovic, says French Sports ministry
Next Post: That Explains the Gaga Dog Kidnapping — Why thieves are snatching French bulldogs across the US »

Primary Sidebar

Most Recent

  • Sophia Bush’s girlfriend ‘proud’ the actress has opened up about coming out as queer

    Sophia Bush’s girlfriend ‘proud’ the actress has opened up about coming out as queer

  • Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

    Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

  • Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

    Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

  • Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

    Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

  • Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

    Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

  • Relationship status influences heterosexual women’s sexual prejudice towards lesbians

    Relationship status influences heterosexual women’s sexual prejudice towards lesbians

  • JoJo Siwa had a challenge transitioning to new grown-up image

    JoJo Siwa had a challenge transitioning to new grown-up image

  • Liz Hurley defends lesbian sex scene in new movie that was directed by her son

    Liz Hurley defends lesbian sex scene in new movie that was directed by her son

Partner Links

  • Van Orden Draws Protests And A New Sugar Daddy
    Immediately after Trump signed the Offensive Big Bag of Bullshit, Rep […]
  • MAGA Dad Denied Entry To US After Trip To Canada
    "I was definitely all for 'Make America Great Again,' and having […]
  • Weekend Round-Up: Jwan Yosef; Frankie Grande; Frankie Grande; Evan Rachel Wood; Tyler Perry & more!
    The Post-Divorce of Jwan Yosef Transformation You Can’t Miss Instinct ‘Hotel […]
  • Trump Shrugs Off TX Flood Tragedy: ‘Just Something That Happens’
    We can be sure that the only reason Donald Trump visited […]
  • Jonathan Bailey gives “Jurassic World,” shares “Wicked” gossip, and talks his “slutty” little glasses
    Jonathan Bailey joins Capital Breakfast to give an exclusive insight into […]

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

About

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy
[towleroadmr] [towleroadtn]

Footer

Ptown Hacks 2018

Read

  • Travel
  • Film
  • Law – LGBT Rights
  • Columns
  • Specials

About

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 · Log in

×
×