When we learned that musician Beck Hansen was splitting up with his wife, actress Marissa Ribisi of the legendary Scientologist Ribisi clan, we wondered if it meant he was also moving away from Scientology.
But we’ve always assumed that if Beck left the church, he’d do so very quietly and probably never say anything about it.
We were wrong about that.
In a new interview that appears in the Sydney Morning Herald but was conducted in Los Angeles, Beck made it very clear that he’s no longer a part of the church he grew up in:
Beck was born into art. His father, David Campbell, is a celebrated Canadian composer and arranger; his mother, Bibbe Hansen (Beck later took her surname), was one of Andy Warhol’s Factory “superstars” in the 1960s. They separated when Beck was 10. Bibbe is Jewish, Campbell a Scientologist, as is Beck’s ex-wife, actor Marissa Ribisi, with whom he has two children, son Cosimo (aged 15) and daughter Tuesday (12).
This has led to persistent speculation and curiosity about Beck’s own beliefs. “I think there’s a misconception that I am a Scientologist. I’m not a Scientologist. I don’t have any connection or affiliation with it. My father has been a Scientologist for a long time, but I’ve pretty much just focused on my music and my work for most of my life, and tended to do my own thing … I think it’s just something people ran with.”
Well, there’s no question that Beck grew up in Scientology, but we never perceived that he was at all active in the coursework. He did go to Scientology events with other Scientology celebrities, as for example this 2005 Celebrity Centre gala, here with Erika Christensen and Danny Masterson…
In other words, he was definitely in the club, regardless of what he’s saying now. But it’s remarkable that he’s now making it very clear he’s no longer a member.
We’ll keep him in our list of Scientology celebrities a little longer, but we have to give him credit for leaving no doubt about where he stands.
