Leah Remini Says Tom Cruise COVID Rant Was Staged
Leah Remini believes that Tom Cruise staged his now infamous COVID rant.
This article is more than 2 years old
Leah Remini has had more than a few opinions about Tom Cruise and Scientology in the past. And those aren’t going away anytime soon. Her history with the man and the group goes back years and there are some disturbing stories out there. And she definitely has an opinion about Cruise’s latest dustup in the press. Remini believes that the rant Cruise went on about COVID-19 social distancing was a carefully crafted publicity stunt.
Leah Remini sums up part of her thoughts with this quote:
“…Tom addressing his crew in this manner is a clear indication that he is used to abusing his power. He thinks this is normal behavior and, to be clear, this is “normal” behavior coming from a Scientologist. In fact, this is tame coming from a Scientologist. Abuse is not only taught in Scientology but also commended. Hearing Tom abuse his crew while others are praising him for showing that he cares is a farce.”
Leah Remini originally published her feelings in a statement published on Tony Ortega’s anti-Scientology blog, The Underground Bunker. Remini has a lot of opinions on this matter and her lengthy statement goes into great detail about Scientology’s feelings and beliefs concerning illnesses (COVID especially). She also describes how the group, including Cruise, conduct themselves in an overall abusive manner around their beliefs. And finally, she posits, using some historical knowledge of the actor’s behavior and relationships that Cruise’s latest rant was actually written out ahead of time for him and then purposefully recorded and distributed by his assistant.
There’s quite a bit to unpack here from Leah Remini’s detailed descriptions of the Church of Scientology’s past and current behavior and beliefs with its members. And she clearly has insider knowledge of Tom Cruise’s alleged abusive behavior to not only his own family but cast and crew members on sets before.
The incident in question that Leah Remini is addressing happened last week when an audio recording of Tom Cruise berating crew members on the set of Mission: Impossible 7 went viral. In the leaked audio, Cruise can be heard screaming at the crew about violations of COVID-19 social distancing protocols on the set. It’s a bananas tape and Cruise absolutely loses it on some crew folks he thought were putting the production at risk of punishment for not following the guidelines. Five members of the crew actually quit after this latest blow up.
Leah Remini’s accusations of the tirade being a publicity stunt wouldn’t make sense on the surface considering just how angry and unhinged Cruise sounds in the recordings. But it does begin to make a little more sense when she adds contextual information about the Church of Scientology, their overall messaging around illnesses, past behavior when it comes to the treatment of its members, and just the general gestalt of their “brand.” And Remini should know. She is a former member of the group and has been incredibly outspoken about their abusive tacts in the past. She was at the head of the documentary Scientology and the Aftermath which outlines her time with the church and some of the more disturbing parts of their religion.
If we are in the mode of “there is no such thing as bad publicity” then Leah Remini’s claim of a publicity stunt from Tom Cruise snaps a little bit more into focus. This latest news has given Mission: Impossible 7 quite a bit of talk in the news and Tom Cruise potentially virtue-signaling his ideas around social distancing in a pandemic could have been crafted to make the actor “look good.”
We surely will continue to get info on this situation moving forward. Mission: Impossible 7 is currently still filming, and Leah Remini admonishing the Church of Scientology and Tom Cruise shows no signs of slowing down.
