Why Did Leah Remini Leave Scientology? Actress ‘Lost Friends’ Since Leaving Her Church [VIDEO]
Leah Remini revealed Monday that she has lost friends since she left the Church of Scientology, she told Ellen DeGeneres on the comedian’s talk show. The actress is just one of many Hollywood figures to join the much-hated "religion," but she’s one of only a very few to speak out about her former faith since quitting.
"We lost friends who can no longer talk to us who are still in the organization," Remini said on Monday's show. She confirmed that once someone leaves Scientology, they can no longer talk to people who are still in the church, or vice versa.
"But we have other friends, who are not in the church, who have stood by us and that's all we can ask for," Remini added. That’s when DeGeneres stepped in and said she was her friend and supported her. But the loss of friends isn’t the only thing that’s hurting Remini.
Remini will appear on Season 17 of “Dancing With The Stars,” which she started a week before the taped interview with DeGeneres. She has been partnered with professional dancer Tony Dovolani, and joked that she might have broken his wrists from clinging to him so tightly. If Dovolani is in pain, Remini matches him. She said she was hurting “everywhere,” including "places I didn't know could hurt. ... It's so much harder than I thought, and most people do say that, but it's true."
Why did Remini decide to suddenly leave Scientology? She explained that she had always been around the group, but as she got older she and her family didn’t think it was right for them anymore. "My mother got involved when we were very young, so it's all we really knew,” she said. “But over time, my eyes got opened and I could just no longer be affiliated with the organization, and my family felt the same, so we left."
Check out Remini on “DWTS” every Monday night starting Sept. 16 on ABC at 8/7c.
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