On a night when we were still trying to absorb the shocking news that Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter and seven other people had died in a helicopter crash in foggy Calabasas yesterday, the last thing we wanted to think about was a talentless grifter and her annual media trolling.
But it was Grammys night, and for six years now, that’s meant that Scientology donor Joy Villa would be making her annual bid for relevance.
We at least can say that ‘Princess Joy Villa’ was on our radar even before she showed up at the 2015 Grammys wearing a snow fence. We had already noticed her nutty outfits in Scientology publications, trying to grab attention with what she wore since no one really cared what she had to say.
From a former boyfriend, we learned that Joy had long been desperate to get noticed somehow, by doing extra work in Hollywood and making execrable music. And then through Scientology.
The Hollywood Celebrity Centre is a place that is built to cater to celebrities, but it’s also been a place where people who aspire to be celebrities hope that Scientology will get them there. Joy Villa’s struggle to get fame was so blatant, it was hard to look away.
One early success she scored was hooking up with a successful Scientologist, professional photographer Thorsten Overgaard, but she was still looking for her own path to fame. She tried competitive vegan bodybuilding for a while. And then tried “waist training,” showing off a scarily tiny midsection. In 2016, she showed up at the Grammys in a barely-there dress that again failed to gain her the notoriety she craved. As the primaries that year heated up, Joy signaled her support for Bernie Sanders. Her ex-boyfriend told us that she’d always leaned left (though she registered independent, apparently), and he pointed out that years earlier she had learned a valuable lesson: They were so desperate for money they took work canvassing for political initiatives in California, and he said they were literally paid more for every African-American signature they could get on conservative causes.
After the election and Trump’s victory, Joy and Thorsten were married on Christmas day at Scientology’s holiest site, the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater, Florida. And then, just a few weeks later, she finally had her transformative moment.
Helping out a designer friend who had a conservative bent, Joy this time showed up at the 2017 Grammys red carpet with another eye-catching dress, but this one exploded in the media. The Trump dress made Joy an overnight sensation, and even propelled huge sales (for a few days anyway) of her musical dreck.
She rose so high so fast, there was even talk that she would make a run at Congress, something the president himself seemed to endorse in a tweet. But as Joy’s former manager explained to us, her loyalty to Scientology had a tendency to ruin things he tried to set up for her. As her MAGA contacts began to turn on her (Milo Yiannopoulos) or faced prison (Roger Stone), her prospects for real political advancement seemed to diminish. She took down her Congressional exploratory website. But she continues to make appearances in conservative media, she parted ways with Overgaard, and at least she still has the Grammys to give her an annual boost.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Ingrid Schmidt had the most thorough story yesterday about Joy’s Grammys dresses since her big splash — the 2018 anti-abortion statement with a fetus painted on a white dress, the nutty 2019 number that was supposed to represent Trump’s wall, and last night’s “Impeached and Re-Elected” frock.
In the article, Joy said she was going “back” to movie making (referring apparently, to her work as an extra where, for example, you can see her for a split second in an episode of Californication). But she made an interesting admission. In her film project The Contrast, which she is executive producing, she had some trouble attracting some actual, you know, real actors.
“We had multiple people turn down a co-starring role, with paid money, because they did not want to work with me,” she said.
Yeah, sorry about that, Joy. This website has a pretty strong Hollywood readership, and for that we are very grateful.
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Reckless Ben’s sixth video!
Here it is, the Reckless Ben latest, premiering here at the Bunker!
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Bonus items from our tipsters
Actual caption: “49ERS FAITHFUL!!!! We’re transforming our 1st floor into the biggest, baddest Super Bowl party in the city! Come join us for BBQ, games, and whole lot of red and gold!! See you guys game day!!!”
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“There was a tribe of Indians in the United States, some say before the arrival of white men, but they should re-classify that and say before the arrival of Pilgrims — before 1602, or something on that order, 1608, whenever they arrived — because that whole coast was in good communication with Europe for many centuries. Fishing boats from northern Europe used to come over to the grand banks all the time. As a matter of fact, the fishermen called it America, and we read a big fog about Columbus and all the rest of it. I’m sure Columbus came over, but Columbus never got to America. But anyhow, this is all very confused, but that’s history.” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 27, 1954
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“A natural clear is a baby OT and it has no pictures so a Natural clear must have come from the future created NEW with no MEST (matter energy space and time) memory system. SO this makes me untraceable since they can’t hook a beam onto a static but they can hook a beam on to a physical universe (MEST) memory system. So I assume Natural Clears are the first REAL OT’S because we don’t have to erase pictures does this make sense?”
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“Ever read any of the crap the conspiracy cult followers believe in? And they number in the millions, not tens of thousands. Remember in The Mist where the people trapped in the supermarket immediately start their own cult ? That’s how most people think.”
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Start making your plans…
Head over to the convention website and meet us in St. Louis!
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Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!
We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. 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!
Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society!
Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in our weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Oh, come on: Scientology ‘detox’ quackery now being touted for miraculous cures
[TWO years ago] His words are wise, his face is beard: 10 years ago, Anonymous got some good advice
[THREE years ago] Scientology, why are you keeping a cancer patient from seeing his only daughter?
[FOUR years ago] 30 years ago today: ‘L. Ron Hubbard discarded the body he had used in this lifetime’
[FIVE years ago] Why Alex Gibney’s ‘Going Clear’ is scaring the crap out of Scientology
[SIX years ago] More fallout in France: Scientologist who asked for damages ends up paying instead
[SEVEN years ago] Sunday Funnies: Africa is Done!
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology on the High Seas: Wild Breakthroughs on OT 8!
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 1,830 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,334 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 1,854 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 874 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 765 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,072 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 1,940 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,714 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,488 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 2,834 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,400 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,319 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,487 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,068 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,329 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,367 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,080 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,605 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,132 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,695 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 2,835 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,155 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,011 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,130 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,485 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 5,788 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 1,894 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,296 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,168 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,751 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,246 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,500 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,609 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 27, 2020 at 07:00
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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. Our book about Paulette, 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, 1995-2018 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2018), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | 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 | Shelly Miscavige, 14 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…
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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 | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
