Only positive thoughts! Leah Remini may be facing backlash from the Church of Scientology, but she's grateful for her fans' support. The King of Queens actress thanked her Twitter followers on Tuesday, Nov. 3, after the release of her bombshell tell-all, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology.
"I want to express my gratitude for the outpouring of support you have given me," Remini, 45, tweeted. "From my heart, thank you #Troublemaker."
The It's All Relative star has been promoting her controversial book for the past couple of days, name-dropping the celebrity face of Scientology, Tom Cruise, and describing some of her alleged experiences with him and his former wife Katie Holmes. She's made claims about their 2006 wedding, various interactions at their home, and the actor's reported ex-girlfriend Nazanin Boniadi, among other things. The Church of Scientology, however, has denied all of her claims about the religion and its members.
"Leah Remini knows the truth she conveniently rewrites in her revisionist history. The real story is that she desperately tried to remain a Scientologist in 2013, knowing full well she was on the verge of being expelled for refusing to abide by the high level of ethics and decency Scientologists are expected to maintain," the Church of Scientology wrote in a statement on their website. "Her repeated ethical lapses and callous treatment of others led to an ecclesiastical review which resulted in her being expelled."
I want to express my gratitude for the outpouring of support you have given me. From my heart, thank you #Troublemaker
— Leah Remini (@LeahRemini) November 4, 2015
Remini, meanwhile, is pushing onward and upward. On Wednesday night, she will continue her promotional tour with a book signing at a Barnes & Noble in New York City's Tribeca neighborhood. She'll be joined by Oscar-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis, a fellow former Scientologist. They struck up a friendship when Remini contacted him in 2009 after he decided to leave the church.
"Leah and I were always friendly but never close friends. Despite this, she called me as soon as she heard about my letter of resignation. Unlike the rest of my former friends, she expressed real sadness that I was leaving and concern for me and my family," Haggis, 62, recalled to The Hollywood Reporter in July 2013. "A few months later, we ran into each other at a school fair. I kept my distance for fear of putting her in an awkward position, but Leah had no such fear." (Remini left the church in 2013.)
He added: "So all I could have said at the time was that, whether it was true Leah had resigned, she had always been a class act and a lovely human being — but that wasn’t news. Millions of people know that; her character shines through everything she does."
