Hollywood star blamed for alleged murder at Sydney Scientology headquarters
An extraordinary letter obtained by Seven News blames a Hollywood star for an alleged murder at Sydney’s Scientology headquarters earlier this month.
A 24-year-old Scientology member was allegedly stabbed to death by a 16-year-old boy on its premises in Chatswood on January 3.
Scientology leaders have accused actress Leah Remini and her Australian co-host of inciting hatred and violence.
Remini and former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder host the Emmy-winning show Scientology and the Aftermath, which features explosive interviews in season three detailing alleged abuses inside Scientology.
“They basically seek to shift the blame to our show for their abuses,” Mike Rinder said.
In a letter obtained by Seven News titled ‘Blood on your hands’, Scientology accuses the A&E television network of paying “for the hate that caused this murder”.
Scientology claims threats were made prior to the alleged incident and that “the attacker was inspired by an anti-Scientology website that featured your people and included a link to Remini’s show”.
The letter accuses Remini and Rinder of inciting hatred and demands A&E “stop the program”.
“Their statement that this is all caused by A&E and our show, because someone apparently looked at a website, that mentioned our show, that’s absurd,” Rinder said.
It has been reported that the mother of the accused was at the Sydney venue to do a “purification rundown”, a course which can lead to joining the so-called Sea Org, the group comprising the church’s most dedicated members.
The mother, her son and the victim were all from Taiwan, because Scientology is struggling to recruit locals to join.
Members are often required to disconnect from the family in order to become part of the exclusive Sea Org.
Producers of Scientology and the Aftermath say they have no plans to cancel their show.
“It’s a little more over the top than one would expect, even from them,” Rinder said.
Scientology’s response to a request for a Seven News interview can be read here.
