Actress Leah Remini continued her war against the Church of Scientology on Sunday when she criticized the organization for allegedly brainwashing her father into disowning her to the point that she was not even informed of his death or funeral.
In a heartbreaking Instagram post, Remini shared an old photograph of her and her father, George Anthony Remini, in which she lamented about how a total stranger informed her sister about their father’s passing, which happened over a month ago and with neither one being told about it.
“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,” Remini said.
“We weren’t aware that he had been sick leading up to his death,” she continued. “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.”
Remini said that despite her father’s failings she wanted to one day have some sense of closure with him.
“Regardless of his neglect and abuse, I had hoped to one day have some closure,” said Remini. “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.”
However, she claimed this opportunity for forgiveness was denied by the Church of Scientology, which allegedly brainwashed him against her, according to the former “King of Queens” actress.
“I’m angry that the last chapter in our relationship was dictated by Scientology,” said Remini. “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.”
“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,” she concluded. “And that was for him to say ‘I’m sorry and I loved you.'”
Through her A&E docuseries “Scientology and Its Aftermath,” Leah Remini has been preaching heavily against the organization while demanding the United States government revoke its tax-exempt status.
“The church certainly knows that there are rapes, molestations and physical abuse going on — which is why I keep saying I think the FBI would be successful if they conducted a raid, as they did in 1977,” Remini recently told The Hollywood Reporter. “Every crime that Scientology has ever committed or hidden is contained in their folders. I don’t know that I’ve begun the healing process. When Scientology’s tax exempt status is revoked and people are in prison, that’s when I’ll start healing. Until then, I’m still in the fight.”
President Trump has reportedly expressed interest in potentially revoking Scientology’s tax-exempt status, though no actions have been taken at this time. Should Scientology be revoked of its tax-exempt status, which was granted to the organization in 1993, the fallout would be colossal in financial terms.