Leah Remini Once Again Takes Aim at Scientology As She Learns of Her Estranged Father's Passing
Leah Remini has concentrated her efforts on taking down the Church of Scientology.
Leah Remini did not hold back in an emotional Instagram post in which she announced her estranged father's passing.
Remini very publicly left the Church of Scientology in 2013 along with several of her family members; however, her father had remained with the organization. They had been estranged, and the former King of Queens actress learned of his passing by word of mouth just days ago. In the process of opening up about the loss, Remini also blamed and criticized Scientology for keeping them apart in his final days.
"On Friday, I received a message from my sister Nicole, who had been contacted by a stranger passing on his condolences for the passing of our father, George Anthony Remini. We had no idea that he had died a month ago," she wrote. "We weren’t aware that he had been sick leading up to his death. A funeral came and went and none of us knew anything about it. We were not able to say goodbye. He was not able to redeem himself, to ask for forgiveness for his failures and hurts, to become a better man to those of us who couldn’t help but love him. If you read my book, you’ll know my father and I had a difficult relationship, but I always forgave him with a daughter’s painfully endless love and hope. Regardless of his neglect and abuse, I had hoped to one day have some closure. I hoped for him to acknowledge who he had been and what he had done to us as his children. That alone would have been healing in its own way. We never got that, yet I can’t help but grieve. I am angry at myself for crying for someone who didn’t ever cry for me. I am angry that I still wanted this man’s love, I’m angry that the last chapter in our relationship was dictated by Scientology."
From there, she took aim at the organization head on: "Scientology took my dad in as a pawn against me and likely robbed him of any last ounce of heart that might have been left in him. I’m angry that Scientology found his personal weak spots and got him on board not with their beliefs but with their smear campaign against me. That was his last presence in my life. Knowing my father, after taking the offer from Scientology to betray me, he wouldn’t have thought that he could ever come back from that in our relationship. If he thought that, though, he would have been wrong. I would have forgiven him as I always did. The little girls inside of my sisters and me will never forgive Scientology for taking away our last chance to have the one thing we always wanted from our father... And that was for him to say 'I’m sorry and I loved you.'"
Remini has been an outspoken critic of Scientology: Since she left the organization, she has penned a book, hosted an award-winning series, and has been open about her criticism of Scientology, which she has even discussed on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on several occasions (above and below).
