SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS, Episode 4: Tom Cruise’s dirty plot against publicist Pat Kingsley

 
‘The Star,’ the fourth episode of ‘Scientology Black Ops,’ a special 7NEWS Australia investigation that was cancelled by the network in July, has been leaked to the Internet.

Ten episodes were scheduled to be published to the 7NEWS website on July 14 when the network changed its mind, cancelled the program, and also pulled down a trailer it had made for the series. On August 31, we found that the first episode in the series had been leaked, and we embedded it along with a transcript we prepared. We also did the same for the second episode, ‘Witness X,’ on Sept 4 and the third episode, ‘Taken,’ on Friday.

We’ve done the same for the fourth episode, in which 7NEWS reporter Bryan Seymour reports on another dirty op by Scientology’s spy wing, this one targeting Tom Cruise’s legendary publicist Pat Kingsley. You saw a similar story here at the Underground Bunker thanks to Leah Remini on July 27. And Seymour lays out the same narrative here, that in order to convince Kingsley to walk away quietly so Cruise could talk up Scientology during his press junkets, Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis assembled a “dirt file” on Kingsley.

Here’s the video, and then the transcript. (For those confused by the length of these short “episodes,” please keep in mind that this was a nightly news investigation and these segments were created to run during a news broadcast, not as longer shows on their own.)

 

[UPDATE: After a request from attorneys representing Seven News, we have removed the embed links to the leaked ‘Scientology Black Ops’ episodes. See our reasons why in this story.]

 
Episode title: THE STAR

Bryan Seymour: It’s breathtaking. The Screen Actors Guild is the union for the stars, the crews, and the creatives who conjure digital dreams. To Scientology, it’s a source of intensely personal information. They ordered one of their own — we’ll call them Witness X, a SAG employee — to access the file of Paul Haggis to search for embarrassing information, a betrayal unthinkable to those whom the union protects. It all sounds like an absurd plot from a pulp fiction novel, like the ones L. Ron Hubbard eked out a living writing before he founded his own religion. But Witness X knew this was no elaborate joke, nor a one-off misguided foray into espionage. They knew that because years earlier, they’d been approached to do exactly the same thing. Pat Kingsley and Tom Cruise. She was the gatekeeper for the biggest names in entertainment, representing the A-list stars generations have grown up with. Her client list was crowned in the 1990s with the biggest box office draw in the world.

 
Seymour: The relationship between Kingsley and Cruise was so close, they reportedly spoke multiple times every day. She was feared and famed for saying no to reporters’ requests for access. Kingsley took Cruise to the top as the world’s highest grossing movie star, loved by millions around the world.

Leah Remini: My name is Leah Remini. I’m an actress/producer, and I was a Scientologist for 35 years. When you’re talking about Tom Cruise, you’re talking about the messiah. You know these two — it’s David Miscavige and Tom Cruise. Now, David thinks he’s here and Tom thinks he’s here, but that’s a little secret love battle they have going on, but they are both at the head of Scientology.

Seymour: Witness X considered speaking to me on camera to tell their own story. Ultimately the fear of what Scientology might do to them won out. But we can reveal, confirmed with multiple sources, that Witness X was approached by the same Scientology executive, Tommy Davis, in 2004, seeking information for another file he was compiling, this time on Pat Kingsley, Hollywood’s most powerful publicist, and the person closest to the most famous Scientologist in the world. Tom Cruise had wanted to use his movie junket for ‘The Last Samurai’ in 2003 to promote Scientology. Kingsley, as his publicist, forbade it.

 
Remini: Pat wasn’t saying, you shouldn’t talk about your religion, she was basically saying, we’re here to promote a movie and you should do your job. Right? Because this is not positive press. What you’re doing is not going to help you or the film.

Seymour: Cruise was soon awarded Scientology’s top honor, the Freedom Medal of Valor in 2004. The megastar was determined to step up his role as the public face of Scientology, by promoting Scientology on the press junket for the Steven Spielberg-directed blockbuster ‘War of the Worlds’ in 2006 [actually 2005]. Pat would not let that happen. So the plan to remove his loyal publicist was given the green light.

Mike Rinder: I’m Mike Rinder. I was a Scientologist for 45 years, and the international spokesperson for the Church of Scientology for more than 20 years.

Seymour: Scientology’s black ops unit, the Office of Special Affairs, planned and executed the entire operation.

David Miscavige: Please welcome Mr. Mike Rinder.

Rinder: I was the head of the Office of Special Affairs for 20 years. [In 2006:] That’s why 2006 will forever be remembered as phase one, global demolition.

 
Seymour: Mike Rinder was born in Adelaide in Australia. I did the first interview with him in 2010 after he left Scientology, followed and harassed by their goons, who filmed us as we filmed.

Rinder: This pattern of what happened is exactly the pattern that is dictated by the writings of L. Ron Hubbard. And the writings of L. Ron Hubbard are God’s law in Scientology. You must follow them.

Seymour: Despite Witness X refusing to go into Kingsley’s SAG file, Tommy Davis went ahead and compiled his ‘dirt file.’ We can reveal that file contained information on finances, sensitive health details, family issues, and intimate photographs. Out of respect for Kingsley’s privacy, we are not going to detail this information. If you could ask him one question, what would it be?

Paul Haggis: Why? Why, Tommy? How could you support this heinous organization knowing what you know — because he knows. He knows all the secrets. And he was smart enough to resign. But he’s still their hatchet man. He’s still out there being their hatchet man. How do you live with yourself, knowing that?

Seymour: In a sworn deposition, Witness X confirms Tommy Davis showed off the file and boasted, ‘We’ve got her.’

 
Witness X: I was more shocked than anything else. And it felt slimy and dirty, and it felt gross. And it felt just fully and totally inappropriate because it was very personal information I’m sure this person would not want others to have.

Seymour: Witness X could not elaborate on where she saw that file and who else was in the room due to a non-disclosure agreement she signed with her employer at the time: Tom Cruise.

Remini: He’s abusive, he’s diabolical. And he’s the example of Scientology. They chose the right guy.

Seymour: Shortly before Leah Remini’s book ‘Troublemaker’ came out in 2012 [actually 2015], she was contacted by Witness X.

Remini: She of course called and said, I want to tell you a few things. She told me what it was like working for Tom — and it’s horrible. Tom is an awful human being to Scientologists. She told me about this file, she told me about this meeting where they met, they asked her to get dirt on Pat. That wasn’t working and then they had a file, and that what Tom Davis said, if you say one disparaging word about Tom, this information will get out. What that information was I don’t know.

Seymour: You were in the Office of Special Affairs around this time.

Rinder: Yes, I was, yeah.

Seymour: What was the conversation in the Office of Special Affairs about Pat Kingsley?

Rinder: That Pat Kingsley was a problem. That was very much made clear to me by David Miscavige, who told me to go see Pat Kingsley and persuade her to allow Tom to disseminate Scientology.

Seymour: Step one in the operation was to send Mike Rinder to see Pat Kingsley and ask her politely to end her relationship with Tom Cruise.

 
Rinder: I dutifully went and had a meeting with Pat at her PMK offices. She is a lovely woman and a very, very smart woman, and a very shrewd woman. And, you know, my pitch to her was the sort of softball, of Pat look, you know, Tom really believes this and I don’t want you to think that there is something wrong with Scientology and blah, blah, blah, blah. And she basically just, you know, heard me out, out of politeness I guess, and probably some feeling that she owed it to Tom to listen to me, and didn’t get persuaded about anything. Because the bottom line is she was absolutely right. That was her job, that was her relationship with the studios…

Remini: To protect her client, she was trying to protect Tom from himself.

Seymour: The next step was a dramatic escalation.

Marty Rathbun: [In deposition] You know you ask me this question, like I told you, when you’re back then and there and you’re subjected to this and participating in it, that’s a meaningless question.

Seymour: Scientology enforcer Marty Rathbun was known in the organization for his brutal and unforgiving manner. Rathbun was their bad lieutenant, charged with carrying out the orders of leader David Miscavige.

Rinder: Marty told me that he did. I didn’t know that at the time, but Marty told me subsequently that he had gone to see Pat. And like, had brought more of the, ‘this is what you are going to do’ approach.

Seymour: He’s a pretty intimidating guy, isn’t he? He can be pretty forceful.

Rinder: Well, he’s intense. He assumes that he is in the position of authority and you are just going to listen, shut up, and do what I tell you. And he’s very good at that.

Seymour: After Marty’s visit, and faced with the ‘dirt file’ on her being made public, Scientology’s black ops unit finally had their scalp. Pat Kingsley agreed to sever ties with Tom Cruise. Cruise immediately hired his sister and fellow Scientologist, Leanne Devette.

 
Oprah Winfrey: Have you ever felt this way before?

Seymour: Together, the siblings embarked on the worst year of publicity in his career.

Matt Lauer: Do you want more people to understand Scientology? Is that, would that be a goal of yours?

Tom Cruise: You know what, I, absolutely…

Seymour: After 12 months, and contemplating years of reputational and brand damage, Cruise sacked his sister Leanne. Pat Kingsley has never spoken about why she abruptly ended her association with Tom Cruise save for a single quote in a 2013 Hollywood Reporter article saying, “Tom came in and said, ‘I want you to know I’ve decided to make a change.'” It was a sudden and surprising end for a titan in the shark-eat-shark world of movie PR. Rumors have abounded for years about why she so suddenly ended her association with Tom Cruise. Now, the industry knows. There is no one Scientology thinks it cannot attack and silence. In a statement Tommy Davis told us, ‘To allege or infer I would do anything to attack Pat Kingsley, now or at any point in the past, would be an outright lie.’ The Church of Scientology and Tom Cruise deny any involvement in an alleged plot to compile a dirt file on Pat Kingsley. Tom Cruise did not respond to our questions. You can read all statements in full on our website.

 
Seymour: Next, Scientology’s black ops unit reaches their lowest level.

Haggis: They were still auditing her on her death bed. These are scumbags.

 
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Source Code

“All right now, let’s look at an engram. An engram isn’t very serious if somebody walks up and steps on your toes and says, ‘You skunk.’ That’s not very serious because there’s not very much chaos there into which to put a stable datum. But if this individual walked up to you from behind, slugged you over the head, kicked you in the ribs, wound you up in the hospital, but somewhere in the midst of all of this he said, ‘You’re a skunk,’ you’d probably start to smell like one.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 14, 1955

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“At some point (as soon as possible) we need a central organization as Ron envisioned it. I love all his ethics, tech and admin. The only time I saw it not work was when it was misapplied or abused. I completely see Scientology as the solution to this planet and it won’t happen without a large central organization. Period. We just have to get better at the 3D.”

 
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Random Howdy

“A question that has crossed my mind in the past is, if someone cynically creates a religion/spiritual movement for their own personal gain, but its followers truly believe in it, does one negate the other?”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Arraignment scheduled for September 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing is set for October 5 in White Plains, NY. Jeffrey’s is set for October 24.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29, bond raised to $350,000 on Aug 27. Prosecutors appealed denial of their motion to have bond revoked, response from defense due Sept 11, response by prosecutors on Sept 14.

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Motion for reconsideration denied on August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 29 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 7-19 (motions to compel arbitration)
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach bankruptcy appeal: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, awaiting verdict.

 
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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] Mark ‘Wise Beard Man’ Bunker: His Scientology-protesting past and political future
[TWO years ago] Jesse Prince, witness to Scientology’s ugliest behavior, spills it all in new book
[THREE years ago] Is Ohio’s newest legislator a Scientologist? ‘I had him on the cans,’ says our man in Cincy
[FOUR years ago] DRONE FLYOVER: Scientology’s secret base where David Miscavige keeps wife out of sight
[FIVE years ago] Another rare Scientology video leaks, and this time we see its long vanished president
[SIX years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: Smile while you write that check, pardner!
[SEVEN years ago] THE TEXAS POST-GAME REPORT: Scientology, Monique Rathbun, and Judge Dib Waldrip
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology Watchers: A Message from Tony Ortega
[NINE years ago] The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, No. 8: Mike Rinder

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 14, 2020 at 07:00

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