Trust, does your food go beyond . Seconds. Good evening. Thanks for joining us. Hes one of the most outspoken critics of the Controversial Church of scientology. Having grown up in a religion that believes in intergalactic theology. Tonight actress leah remini, one of scientologys highestprofile exmembers, taking on its biggest star, tom cruise. Now finding herself in the crosshairs. She cat downsat down with my nightline coanchor dan harris. Reporter she was not only tv royalty starring in the king of queens. She was scientology royalty. Gracing the cover of the churchs official celebrity now, however, leah remini has. Ed from a fierce defender of the fade without any scientology organization, things are not going to change on this planet. Reporter to the most famous member to leave and go public with her new book called troublemaker about to hit shelves, the church is calling her a liar, selfabsorbed, rude, and embarrassing. As leah levels scathing criticisms against scientology and its most wellknown follower, tom cruise. I think its a privilege to call yourself a scientologist. Its something that you have to earn. Reporter in fact, as you will hear tonight, leah says the beginning of the end of her more than three decades in scientology came at the tom cruise katie holmes wedding. But leahs scientology story started, she says, when her mom vicki, fresh off a divorce, threw herself into the religion founded by Science Fiction writer l. Ron hubbard. We know the basics of human existence and so forth applied in almost any sphere. Your understanding, what is the goal and promise of scientology . To freeman kind. To make a sane world. Reporter eventually vicki decided to bring her lawyers leah and nicole in and put them on course. What does that mean, go on course . You learn how to apply the techniques of scientology. To yourself and others. For a kid who was always looking around, comparing herself to other people, to be part of a faith where you had a mission to save the planet. Save the planet. That must have been a big deal. Reporter when leah was a teenager, her mom decided to enroll her in the sea org, the fulltime religious order of the church, and to move the family to scientologys spiritual headquarters in clearwater, florida, known as the flag land base. They provide room and board and you work there and you sign a billionyear contract. Billionyear contract . Correct. You as a child signed this contract . Correct. Reporter there it is in writing. Scientologists believe in reincarnation and sea org members are expected to keep working every time they come back. Thats leah and nicole in their sea org uniforms. Smiles notwithstanding, she very quickly started causing problems in the sea org. What trouble was she getting into . I think mainly it was her mouth. Reporter sherry ellens, friend and fellow sea org member, said leah would complain about the Living Conditions, the food, the hard work. When you first get in they have you doing physical labor. Kids cleaning uniform shirts. What work were you doing . It could go from working in a laundry room to working industrial sanders to industrial sanders . Uhhuh. Reporter leah says things came to a head when she was brought up on ethics charges for her involvement with boys. I allowed my boyfriend at the time, who was like my first boyfriend, to go like this over that was enough to get you that was light, very light. It wasnt a real grab, dan. Light. Its very hard to have this discussion with a straight face. Sorry. Reporter the church says children are no longer admitted into the sea org but back when leah was a member the Living Conditions quoermed to state health codes. The church also says leah was dismissed for her inability to maintain the ethical standards relating to fraternization. They say leah petitioned to stay but failed. Leah and her family say they left voluntarily. Either way the family stayed in the church and soon ended up in los angeles where leah launched her acting career and says what she was learning in scientology proved extremely useful. How helpful was scientology in terms of getting your acting career started . Theres tools that are very, very helpful to you in your life, to you as an actor. I walked into a room where some people might feel cower in front of a casting director, i wasnt. Reporter scientology helped and so did her own natural propensity for comedy, which we saw firsthand in our interview. Look at me, im dan, very serious, look at me reporter with astonishing speed leah started landing best roles on shows such as cheers youre pregnant. That is a rude and unfair thing to say. I am pregnant. Reporter and nypd blue. What led up to him standing you . What led up to it was we had a fight, he took a knife, he tried to murder me. Reporter then the call for the show that would change her career and her life. The king of queens. Please be nice to marie. I am trying. Fy werent trying shed have a fork sticking out of her neck. Reporter the role of carrie hefer hefernen, the wife of everyman doug, turned out to be a sitcom match made in heaven. It must have been a buzz. It was amazing. It really was. Reporter her rising star also brought leah into the orbit of scientologys most famous member, tom cruise. Who declined to comment for this report. What your impressions of him . At first its very effusive, its very loving. What are you doing, how are you doing, yeah, great, great, great, great reporter this is them hugging at a movie premiere. Leah says exposure to cruise opened her eyes to his vast influence in church, exemplified by a call she got from a church official. Tom wants you to come over and teach him salsa dancing. Reporter she says two highranking scientology his home and so was his new girlfriend, katie holmes. He was like forcibly kissing katie. I said, hey, get a frigging room. I was written up for that. Reporter thats right. She says one of those officials essentially tattled on her. Leah says she continued to hang out with cruise but did not hesitate to speak up when she thought he was damaging the church in the public view, such as this infamous couchjumping before . What the hell is this guy doing . We need to rein it in. We need to stop all this. And he just needs to be an actor. Okay . I was immediately dealt with. How . Immediately. The only reason youre saying these things is because you have your own transgressions, so you then become guilty. Being credit careful tom cruise is being critical of scientology itself. You are a person who is anti the apes and goals of scientology, you are evil. Reporter leah says she became increasingly displayed by the fawning attention Church Officials heaped upon the alister who was extremely close with the head of scientology. Despite that she says she was genuinely excited when, one day in 2006, cruise invited her to his wedding with katie holmes. A threeday, starstudded affair at this grand italian castle. And when we come back, how the cruise holmes wedding would become a crucial turning point in leahs relationship with the church in which she was raised. You left the wedding on a mission to save scientology . Right. I thought, i now see where the cracks are in our church. And its the leader david, its tom cruise, they were bringing scientology down. Family . My lil buddy . And what if this happened again . I was given warfarin in the hospital but i wondered if this was the right treatment for me. Then my doctor told me about eliquis. Eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. 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Innovative sonicare technology with up to 27 more brush movements versus oral b. Get healthier gums in 2 weeks guaranteed. Innovation and you. Philips sonicare save when you buy the most loved think your heartburn pill works fast . Take the zantac it challenge zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. Nexium can take 24 hours. When heartburn strikes, take zantac for faster relief than nexium or your money back. It was clearly the biggest wedding in scientology history. But it marked the beginning of the end for actress leah remini. Scientology had been her spiritual home for more than 30 years until she says she found out firsthand the high cost of crossing one of scientologys most prominent members. Here again is dan harris. Reporter the cruise holmes wedding was an opulent, celebritydrenched affair in italy. Leah remini was captured with friends Jennifer Lopez and thenhusband marc anthony. I was hoping to get a picture where i looked gorgeous and stunning. Instead i look like that. Reporter leah says at the wedding where scientologys chairman of the board David Miscavige served as best man Church Officials took their cruise adulation to a new level. She was annoyed by what she saw as hamhanded efforts to separate her from her friend Jennifer Lopez by having them travel in separate vehicles and sit at different tables. They were trying to distract me. Why . I could only assume. Because they wanted to take jennifer a scientologist, maybe i was barring that road for them. Reporter the church tells abc news in regards to the wedding, every claim ms. Remini has made is not only untrue but ridiculous and stupid. For her part, leah says what she saw was enough for her to take a radical step. She says she filed a wideranging knowledge report to the church, complaining about various scientologists at the wedding. You left the wedding on a mission to save scientology . Right. I thought, i now see where the cracks are in our church. And its David Miscavige, its tom cruise. Down. Reporter but to her dismay she says she arrived home and learned that numerous scientologists had filed reports on her. That i had disrupted the wedding, that i basically destroyed the wedding. Reporter leah showed us this document which she claims to be holmes herself. It starts with, i was displayed at the behavior of leah remini leading up to the events during our wedding and wedding. Reporter leah says she had crossed two pillars of scientologist, tom cruise and the chairman of the board David Miscavige. And now she was being taken to task. Basically they were just trying to get me to recant what i said. To apologize for ruining the wedding of the century. Why didnt you just leave . I wasnt ready to leave the church. Reporter in fact, she says she was so loyal that before the wedding, shed even cut ties with her old friend sherry owens, now an exscientologist, because leah thought sherrys brother had become antagonistic toward the church. Did she formally disconnect from you . She never said anything to me. But i never heard from him. Reporter leah was, in some ways, living a double life. Outwardly a committed scientologist. But inwardly nursing doubts. Not just about the organization, but also about its cosmic theology. One example, back in 2003, when of scientologys bridge to total freedom. Operating thetan 3, a point at which she says key church secrets about the history of the universe are revealed. Written by l. Ron hubbard he tells a story about an intergalactic warlord named zenu. Who was xenu . Some galactic confederation, there was a war, there was a volcano, they took the spirits of people and they encased them into something, into a volcano, blew them up then those spirits are now inside of you. On you. In you. Things. When you read that, did you think this is true . Sp when i read that, i thought that wasnt enough to quints you what am i doing, walking away from my mother . Reporter the church would not talk about its advanced scriptures but told abc news it have confidential scriptures and practices. In 2012, another major Inflection Point in leahs relationship with scientology. Katie holmes, who leah says had written one of those knowledge reports against her, publicly left tom cruise. Leah says she felt vicinity dated. I said, wheres my apology . Reporter heres one. This week katie holmes wrote to haines news. She neither confirmed nor denied writing that knowledge report but said, i regret having upset leah in the past and wish her only the best in the future. Do i get an apology from tom and david massiscavige . Reporter she says she decided to commit a serious infraction within scientology, she went ob linenline to see what critics were saying. She saw reports of families who say they were torn apart by the churchs practice of disconnection, the shunning of exmembers by friends and relatives still in the church. I want this horribleractice of disconnection to end. Reporter she says she also saw allegations by former top officials who say they were punched or slapped by David Miscavige. I was heartprone for myself and my family. I didnt want these things to be true. Reporter scientology adamantly denies it splits up families saying disconnection is voluntary. The church repeatedly denied miscavige physically struck anyone. Leah says the situation came to a head when the church sent two highranking officials to her home, a visit that turned into an argument and according to her husband almost much more. One of them called her a name. What did he call her . He called her a bitch. Reporter leah says she was ready to leave. The church says she was actually expelled for ethical lapses and claims she tried to stay. Leah denies all of that. Either way there was still an enormous emotionally fraught question lingering would her family stand by her . Known. And cut ties with my own husband, my own mother. Because you dont know what theyre going to decide. Reporter in the end, with the reminis, that is not how it went down. How much did it mean to you that your family stood by you . It means everything. Reporter leah reconnected owens. So she emailed me a sweet email and we agreed to meet for coffee. We met and it was like no time had passed. Reporter things were much less cordial with the church, however. Leah decided to make her exit very public. Even taking her beef to the ballroom on dancing with the stars. The church is looking for me to fail so they can say to their parishioners, see what happens about you leave the church . Theyre waiting for me to fail. Reporter just this week with leah guest hosting dancing with the stars, the church is ramping up its criticism. Even handdelivering packets of information to the lobby of abc news filled with damning statements ss like this. Let me read you this. Given leah reminis insatiable desire for attention it comes as no surprise for two years she has been incapable of moving on with her life and remains obsessed with shamelessly exploiting her former religion in a pathetic attempt to get publicity publicity. I agree with them, i wish i quickly. Reporter two years out of the church, leah says her life is now better than ever. That the ordeal has reinforced the bonds within her family. I dont regret spending my life there. Because it really did teach me a lot. And because weve all survived it. Were all surviving it and living life. Its kind of like we have a gift of a Second Chance at life. Reporter for nightline this is dan harris in los angeles. Well be right back. Good. Very good. You see something moving off the shelves and your first thought is to investigate the company. You are type e. Yes, Investment Opportunities can be anywhere. Or not. But you know the difference. E trades bar code scanner. 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