Leah Remini on Possible Lawsuit From Church of Scientology: 'I Welcome Them to Do That'

Leah Remini isn't going to let recent statements from the Church of Scientology deter her fight.

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Complex Original

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Leah Remini is welcoming a potential lawsuit from the Church of Scientology. Remini, a former Scientologist and host of A&E's Scientology and the Aftermath docuseries, told Larry King during a recent interview that the "litigious" church's recent characterization of her series as a "dramatized work of fiction" would not be a deterrent.

"I think that says a lot about this organization," Remini told King after he read an excerpt from the church's statement. The church, Remini added, should sue them. "I mean, it's as simple as that," she said. "I mean, if we're lying… Listen. They say this on every outlet they can. They've said that about every single person who's spoken out and not one lawsuit has been brought to anybody. This is not a group that is scared of a lawsuit. They're a litigious group. So, if that were true, they would simply sue us and I welcome them to do that."

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When King asked how Scientology is still able to recruit new members, Remini argued that fresh recruits aren't exactly plentiful. "I don't think people still join," she said. "What I'm not going to stand for is an organization with this kind of money to continue to do things like that, to bully people, and to harass people, defraud people out of their lives, their money—but, more importantly, their families."

In the statement quoted by King, the Church of Scientology claimed that Remini "and the other anti-Scientologists" had been expelled from the church for "unethical" conduct. "Leah Remini has disparaged and exploited her former faith through a series of failed publicity stunts, culminating in her 'reality' television show—featuring a cast of admitted liars who have, for a profit, been telling differing versions of the same false tales of abuse for years, many reviewed and discredited in courts of law," the statement claimed. "That A&E would promote their agenda smacks of bigotry."

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