Two years after protests and an LAPD investigation put the episode on hold, Leah Remini’s Scientology exposé finished its takedown.
On Tuesday night, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, defied the infamously predatory cult of Scientology and aired its final episode. In it, the ex-Scientologist interviewed two of the four women who have accused the former Ranch cast member of sexual assault.
The Church of Scientology issued a statement to the New York Post regarding the show and Masterson’s accusers, saying Remini “has blood on her hands.” It reads:
Leah Remini has blood on her hands. Her show’s lies, distortions and exhortations to hate and bigotry generated assassination threats against the leader of the Scientology religion, physical attacks on Churches, and the murder of a Scientology religious worker whose throat was slashed by a madman egged on by Remini’s horrendous distortions. Perpetrators who were jailed for their crimes named Remini as their inspiration. Viewers complained and advertisers demanded action be taken, many withdrew their sponsorships. Finally, A&E pulled the plug on Leah Remini’s hate machine.
The allegations facing Masterson are dire, and include one woman’s account of being repeatedly drugged and assaulted by the 70’s Show alumnus. Masterson, through his lawyer, has called the alleged victims’ stories “beyond ridiculous.”
But the finale does not stop at Masterson’s accusations. It features other victims, like Joey Chait, who said the Church of Scientology forced him into “auditing” an older man as a young teen.
“When I was 13 I had to audit an older man. In one of our sessions, he began to tell me about one of the times when he committed the sin of molesting his 5-month-old niece,” Chait said. “Here’s a 13-year-old kid asking a 50-year old man, ‘What fingers did you use?’”
Of course, the church has stridently proclaimed its innocence, denying that it ever “ignores any allegations of criminal behavior, especially at the expense of alleged victims,” and claiming the stories are “manipulated to push a bigoted agenda.”
But Remini is not having it, and her voice has only grown louder as accusers seek justice.
“Scientology likes to pretend that it’s just like every other religion and should be respected like any other religion,” Remini said during the episode. “And yet it’s the only business on the face of the planet that has never done anything wrong, never admitted to any wrongdoing in its history.”
Following his exit from the popular Netflix series, Masterson will next be seen as a sixth grade teacher in Killing Winston Jones.