After two “special” episodes — one about Jehovah’s Witnesses and one about the emotional pain of leaving Scientology — A&E’s Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath officially kicks off its third season tonight with an absolute blockbuster of an episode.
Valerie Haney’s story is one that we’ve been waiting to hear for a long time. We actually wrote about Valerie five years ago, but we didn’t tell you her name at that time. In fact, Valerie was still confined to Int Base then, working as a casting agent for Scientology films, and we learned her story from a close friend who was an eyewitness to what had happened to her — that she had suffered some of the blowback when Shelly Miscavige fell afoul of her husband, Scientology leader David Miscavige.
Valerie didn’t escape from the base until 2016, and now she is telling her story for the first time on tonight’s bombshell episode.
We’re not going to spoil any of the big surprises for you, but there is so much in this episode that we are going to share a few of the smaller revelations to whet your appetite.
Mike and Leah begin the show by reminding us of the shocking allegations about David Miscavige and his treatment of his Sea Org minions that came out some nine years ago when former top officials like Marc Headley and Jefferson Hawkins and Amy Scobee joined Mike Rinder to reveal their secrets in a huge series published by the Tampa Bay Times and then on Anderson Cooper’s show and other subsequent programs. Scientology denied that Miscavige was abusive, and some years have gone by now. Are things in the Sea Org still as bad?
That’s where Valerie comes in. A 37-year veteran of the church who spent 22 years in the Sea Org, she worked closer with Shelly and Dave than anyone, day in and day out, and she had a front-row seat for the beatings and the prisoners being held in “The Hole” — Miscavige’s bizarre office-prison for his executives that was first created in 2004.
Valerie now confirms what we had been hearing elsewhere — that in 2016 when she left, the Hole was still in existence, and that one of its prisoners is Heber Jentzsch, the president of the Church of Scientology International who is now 82 years old and has been a prisoner for some 12 years.
Her memory of how Heber in particular was treated, including one incident involving the filming of a video praising Miscavige — well, it’s truly astonishing and we’ll let you hear about it from Valerie.
Valerie’s own role involved working as a steward to Dave and Shelly, which had her serving meals and taking care of the most personal needs of Scientology’s most powerful couple, working in their private rooms. And she got an up-close view of how David Miscavige, over time, became more and more unhinged.
As Miscavige’s behavior became more unpredictable and abusive, his wife Shelly would ask Valerie about it, clearly concerned about the effect it was having on people. Valerie says Shelly even tried to find ways to shield people from Miscavige’s wrath by having them reassigned. But that blew up in her face when Miscavige went ballistic over her meddling. Shelly then vanished.
As we’ve reported many times before, Shelly Miscavige disappeared from Int Base in August or September of 2005, and we are pretty confident that in the 13 years since (except for a day to go to the funeral of her father in the summer of 2007), Shelly has been living and working at a very isolated small compound near Lake Arrowhead, California, the headquarters of a Scientology entity known as the Church of Spiritual Technology. Valerie doesn’t go into that here, but we believe that Mike and Leah will finally be diving into this subject later in the season.
Anyway, once Shelly was gone, Valerie was out of a position and she was reassigned to grueling manual labor that took its toll. Then she got the job of casting agent, but things didn’t really improve. She made multiple attempts to “route out” and ditch the Sea Org, but her requests were always denied — because she’d worked so closely with Miscavige, she could never leave.
But the final straw? Oh, it’s so ironic.
Scientology had decided to make a film that portrayed a historical situation that was so on point about Scientology’s own treatment of its employees, it stunned Valerie into a moment of clarity. (We’re dying to tell you about it, but again, we’ll let you find out the subject of the film for yourself).
After that shock, Valerie decided she had to make a break for it.
How she got away is easily the most amazing Scientology escape story of all time. And we won’t spoil it for you here, just make sure you bring some popcorn for tonight’s episode.
And there are more surprises in this episode besides Valerie’s brave escape. Just wait till you see how Scientology reacted when it realized that Valerie was working with Leah on the show.
You might have seen that Scientology posted a video yesterday of Valerie’s still-in Scientology relatives denouncing her for working with Leah. It’s pathetic, even by Scientology’s standards. But Scientology’s real reaction, revealed in the episode, is much more gripping. We look forward to your reactions here in the comments section tonight.
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Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!
We’re building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs.’ We’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them, in order to build a record and maintain a watch as Scientology continues its inexorable decline — and yes, we finally have comments working on these new pages! Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.
Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!
Today’s Scientology front: The Way to Happiness!
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Now on sale: Twice the Miss Lovely!
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. What a pleasure it is for us to work with her on this after we wrote about her ordeal as a victim of Scientology’s “Fair Game” campaigns in our 2015 book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, which is also on sale in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions.
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Don’t give short shrift to one of Scientology’s most defining qualities – its arrogance
[TWO years ago] What you’ll find on the menu at the clinic run by a physician who’s also a Scientologist
[THREE years ago] Scientology wants to force a drug rehab center on Maryland: Here’s the local county’s response
[FOUR years ago] An iconic Scientology building in Hollywood is in pre-foreclosure, and what that portends
[FIVE years ago] Vivian Kubrick Surfaces in the Oddest Possible Way: At an Alex Jones Rally
[SIX years ago] Stephen Kent’s New Article on Scientology’s War With Psychiatry
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Bernie Headley has not seen his daughter Stephanie in 5,281 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 1,914 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 1,394 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 457 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 345 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 3,652 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 1,520 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,294 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,068 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 2,414 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 10,980 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 6,900 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,067 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 2,648 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 2,908 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 1,948 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 1,660 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,186 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,275 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 2,415 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 2,735 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 7,591 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 2,710 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,066 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 5,368 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 1,474 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 1,877 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 1,748 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,331 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 1,836 days.
Mary Jane Sterne has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,080 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,189 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 27, 2018 at 07:00
E-mail tips and story ideas to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2017 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2017), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…
BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts
Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates
Join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news
