Leah Remini Breaks Silence On Kirstie Alley’s Death After Scientology Feud: It’s ‘Very Sad’
The actress said that the ‘Cheers’ star’s passing was ‘very sad,’ after many years of speaking out against Scientology.
Leah Remini mourned the death of Kirstie Alley in an interview with Rolling Stone on Tuesday, December 6. The King Of Queens actress, 52, has long been an outspoken critic of Scientology, having spent many years as a member of the church, and Kirstie clapped back at her many times throughout her career over the claims, as she was a longtime member. “The news of Kirstie Alley’s passing is very sad,” she told the outlet
While Leah and Kirstie had their share of times that they exchanged heated words about Scientology, Leah said that she was thinking about the Cheers star’s kids, William True, 30, and Lillie Price Stevenson, 28, after her death at 71 from colon cancer. “Although Scientologists don’t believe in prayers, my prayers do go out to her two children, who are now without their mom,” she said. “I hope they can, one day, free themselves of this dangerous and toxic organization.”
Leah explained that many Scientologists won’t embrace traditional medicine until it’s too late. “While it has been reported that Kirstie sought conventional cancer treatment, which gave her a fighting chance, the majority of Scientologists do not seek treatment until it’s too late,” she said. “Scientologists are convinced they can cure themselves of diseases like cancer. It’s one of the more sinister things they promise. And because Scientology claims to be an exact science, not a faith, its members are brainwashed into believing these false claims as guarantees.”
Kirstie was a member of the Church of Scientology from 1979 until her passing. Leah had been a member from age nine, until she left the church in 2013. Since leaving, Leah has publicly spoken about her experiences in the church in interviews and created the A&E series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, where she spoke to former members of the church.
The late Dancing With The Stars alum had credited Scientology with helping her stop using cocaine, after forming a habit. After Leah severed ties with the church and publicly spoke out against it, Kirstie called her a “bigot” in a 2013 interview on The Howard Stern Show. “When you decide to blanket statement ‘Scientology is evil,’ you are my enemy,” she said.