Leaving any religious faith or organization tends to be a major deal for anyone experiencing it, so when Orange is the New Black’s Laura Prepon revealed over the summer that she'd exited the Church of Scientology years prior, it made headlines. While many in Hollywood championed the move itself, not everyone was on board with how Prepon announced things. To be expected, one of those somewhat unimpressed people was actress and advocate Lean Remini, and the outspoken Emmy winner revealed why she didn’t care too much for Prepon’s surprise admission.
Lean Remini was rather unimpressed by Laura Prepon’s Scientology exit, or at least the subdued way she went about it. Of course, most viewers know Remini isn’t afraid of making headlines. Being the outspoken person she is, Remini didn’t mince very many words regarding Prepon leaving Scientology years early, saying this in an interview with Daily Beast Live when asked if she'd tried contacting the former That '70s Show star.
I reached out to her, and like I just said, not everybody who has a voice uses it. I was a vocal Scientologist. I got people into Scientology. I promoted it most of my life. For those of us who were in the public eye and who were speaking on behalf of Scientology, getting people into Scientology, I feel that we have a responsibility to do the work when we find out that none of those things that were not helpful and very harmful to people's lives. I think people have a responsibility to do their part. Not everybody feels that they have a responsibility.
In true Leah Remini style, the actress couldn’t help but air out her true feelings on Laura Prepon, whose lack of anti-Scientology rhetoric accompanying her exit reveal seemed to bother Remini. The rights advocate was blunt with her opinion on Prepon's silence.
You know, some people like Laura feel that they don't have a responsibility to speak out. Do I respect it? I mean, not really.
Understandably, anyone staying silent about exiting the Chuch doesn't sit well with Leah Remini. Since leaving the faith herself, Leah Remini has been very outspoken about her exit as well as her issues with it. She has even documented her post-Scientology life through several docuseries, including the Emmy-winning Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, in which the King of Queens veteran advocated for other former followers.
While on a smaller scale compared to Leah Remini’s Scientology exit, Laura Prepon's reveal made some serious waves in Hollywood. For the most part, fans didn’t know Prepon had left the faith until she revealed the news in an interview. She explained she left the religion five years earlier; around the time she and her husband Ben Foster started a family.
Leah Remini just seemed annoyed and dissatisfied with Laura Prepon’s late-stage revelation, not that Prepon needs to keep Remini happy for any specific reasons. While Remini is all about advocating for others, and has used her voice to highlight others like former Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman, that process is not for everyone. Some choose to use their voice to uplift others while others prefer to keep things closer to their vest, and at the end of the day, everyone’s journey is their own. Just don't expect Remini to stay quiet about it.
