Us: Scientology is in crisis, membership is dwindling, they’re being exposed
Us Magazine is featuring this latest lawsuit against Scientology on their cover, even though the recent developments are not good for the brave soul suing the cult. Former Scientologist Valerie Haney is suing the CoS after narrowly escaping in 2016. She claims she was forced to work 100 hours a week and kept in solitary confinement. We’ve heard so many stories like this about Scientology and they’ve been exposed as committing horrific human rights abuses. Unfortunately Haney’s case has been sent to arbitration, with a panel to be chosen by Scientology, meaning that she’s going to be harassed further rather than get justice. The good news is that US decided to put this on their cover, with quotes from cult expert Tony Ortega, who says that Scientology is on the decline.
“They take these lawsuits very seriously,” Scientology critic and Underground Bunker blogger Tony Ortega explains in the new issue of Us Weekly, noting that its leader, David Miscavige, “loves a good fight. He’s going to put his best attorneys and an amazing amount of money on it.”
On January 30, a judge granted the church’s motion to take [former Scientologist Valerie] Haney’s case to arbitration. (She is accusing the institution and Miscavige of kidnapping, stalking, human trafficking, false imprisonment, libel, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.)
Lawyers for the church, however, say Haney signed documents while still a member — and shortly before she officially left in 2017 — agreeing to resolve disputes internally with the church. (The church has also repeatedly and vehemently denied Haney’s claims, slamming her lawsuit as baseless.)
And now that Haney’s case will not be heard in a court of law, she will have to face the members of the church’s internal court system called “A Committee of Evidence.” “The decision is made before anyone walks through the door,” explains Ortega. “Everyone knows it’s a joke. It’s not real justice.”
Don’t expect celebrity followers to turn their back on the institution either. It’s unlikely Cruise or other high-profile members will distance themselves from the controversial organization anytime soon, says a source.
So if Haney is going to want to come out triumphant, she and her legal team are going to have to put up a fight. “I think sometimes attorneys go into this thinking, ‘Oh I can handle these guys,’” adds Ortega. “But they really don’t know that Scientology fights everything like it’s World War III.”
In the video on US’s site they add the quote from Ortega that’s in the title of this story. He said “the church is in crisis, membership is dwindling and its practices are being exposed in ways we’ve never seen.” Thanks to brave former members like Haney and Leah Remini’s show, it’s well known among young people especially that Scientology is a dangerous cult. That said, Leah Remini shouldn’t be on the cover with the other cult members like she’s complicit in this, she’s been fighting Scientology for years! Scientology is not going to get young people to join but they still have powerful celebrities who won’t speak out and they’re going to continue to harass defectors. As Ortega said the word is out though, Scientology is on the wane.
Sidenote: I like how US is just taking ads on the cover now. No shame in that.
