Leah Remini has really been on fire lately. Yesterday we told you about the Twitter thread she unleashed about the LAPD and Shelly Miscavige that went viral. Her tweetstorm kicked up such a fuss, the LAPD felt forced to respond.
Well, of course Leah has also been keeping an eye on the Danny Masterson trial.
She noticed that we’ve been describing who is sitting in the Masterson family section. And that in particular Danny’s wife Bijou Phillips has been joined by her sisters, singer Chynna Phillips and actress Mackenzie Phillips.
Various observers have noted that it’s interesting to see the three sisters sitting together because of past rancor between them. But Leah had another reason to be intrigued that Mackenzie Phillips is making a show of supporting her Scientologist brother-in-law as he faces forcible rape charges for sexually assaulting three women who were Scientologists at the time of the incidents.
Why? Well, Leah had a few tweets to show us.
On August 8, 2013, we broke the news that Leah, whose defection from Scientology had gone public just the month before, had filed a missing-person report about Shelly Miscavige with the LAPD.
That day, look who congratulated her for standing up to Scientology and reporting the vanishing of the wife of its leader…
And then, two years later, Leah’s gripping memoir Troublemaker hit the New York Times bestseller list, in October 2015. A few months later, look who gave Leah a rave review…
So yeah, it’s interesting to see that at one time Mackenzie Phillips was rooting on a woman who had left Scientology and was taking it on with guns blazing.
Now, a few years later, as three more women have come forward to risk the wrath of Scientology’s retaliation machine and to describe how they were victimized by one of its celebrities, Mackenzie is instead making a very public show of support for the Scientology celebrity at the defense table.
Leah, thank you for sharing these tweets with us. You are killing it right now.
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A special message from your proprietor
Yesterday afternoon we sent out a special Saturday message to our subscribers while we’re on a short break from the Danny Masterson trial. We’re releasing the short video to everyone this morning, and here’s also the version at our YouTube channel.
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Technology Cocktail
“Auditors have a tendency to overlook the fact that each one of these techniques made man the owner of a better psychotherapy. Auditors are not aware of this and don’t understand this mostly because they don’t understand the general lack of psychotherapy and its absence in man’s knowledge prior to 1950. If an auditor knew and had worked in the field of psychoanalysis or psychology prior to 1950, he would know — oh, so well — that the techniques of Dianetics put a real weapon in his hands.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1953
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.
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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?
— The Underground Bunker Podcast
[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH
— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see
[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf
— SPECIAL: Your Proprietor’s updates on the Danny Masterson trial
[1] Sep 21 [2] Sep 28 [3] Oct 4 [4] Oct 10 [5] Oct 11: Day One [6] Oct 12: Day Two [7] Oct 13: Day Three [8] Oct 17: Day Four [9] Oct 18: Day Five [10] Oct 19: Day Six [11] Special interview with Chris Shelton, Oct 19 [12] Oct 20: Day Seven [13] Oct 21: Day Eight [14] First week in review, with Jeffrey Augustine [15] Oct 24: Day Nine [16] Oct 25: Day Ten [17] Oct 27: Day Eleven [18] Oct 28: Day Twelve [19] Second week in review, with Jeffrey Augustine [20] Halloween special [21] Nov 2: Day Thirteen [22] Nov 3: Day Fourteen [23] Nov 4: Day Fifteen [24] Third week in review [25] Nov 5, Saturday special [26] Nov 6, Sunday special [27] Nov 7, Day Sixteen [28] Lisa Marie Presley breaking news [29] Nov 8, Day Seventeen [30] Nov 9, Day Eighteen [31] Nov 10, Day Nineteen
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Jon Atack and Karen de la Carriere
“I myself had a rig worked out in order to take care of witch doctors down in Africa. Ran this way: I was going to get an asbestos glove, you know, and — it doesn’t matter whether something is supercold or superhot, you know? They both burn and there is sensation, so the practitioner should be careful when he’s doing something like this. I was going to take an asbestos glove and I was going to put a metal disc, preferably a lead disc, in the palm of the glove, you see? And there’d be a little snap in there so that it could be taken out and put in easily. And get this little disc supercold, totally supercold, you see? Get it down there to maybe -200 or something like that — way down, you know — and then snap that quickly in the glove and go out and shake hands with the witch doctor. Well, the dampness of a palm is quite adequate there, and it would of course brainwash him. Be very, very effective. As a matter of fact, one could probably take over the entirety of witch-doctoring throughout Africa with the greatest of ease, particularly if you shook hands with all of the witch doctors in front of the tribe, and they instantly went down on their knees and went “gaggo bulla,” and you said, “Bark,” and they would thereafter bark. You see, they hold all the natives in that sort of a thrall. And so if you held them in that sort of a thrall, why, then the natives would of course do what you said twice as good as they would do what the witch doctor says; and this is already perfect.” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 13, 1956
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“ENEMY ACTION: We have discovered exactly who has been shooting at Scientology for 18 years and know all the names. They are a small group with international ambitions founded by a madman, taken over by a politically ambitious few. This is turning out to be a bitter and fundamental war. The forces which seek to bring light and freedom to the world — us — have run squarely into the No. 1 engram of the planet, kept alive by a dark and secret enemy of Mankind. These insist on torturing or killing the insane. It is the age old battle of truth and light against the powers of darkness. But, with the enemy active in legislatures and the press, we haven’t much choice but to fight. And we hav begun to fight. We have already hurt his morale and finances enough to make him move his HQ. Our forces are closing in on it again in the new location. This one we’ve got to win. We may not have another chance.” — The Commodore, November 13, 1968
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“The ‘beings’ that run this planet are totally controlled by a superior AI outside of this galaxy to such an extent that we ought not think of them as beings but instead refer to them as MEST entities.”
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2000: An Attendance estimate and other details from the Lisa McPherson Trust benefit held in Clearwater were posted to a.r.s this week by the concert organizers. “We would guesstimate that between 300 and 400 people attended the event. And this does not count the PI’s and Scientologists who only listened from the parking lot or while cruising past. Earlier in the day the event was modestly attended. Later into the night the club was quite full. People came and went all day long, some leaving earlier and returning later in the evening. We feel that the event was a success on all levels, as its primary purpose was to educate the public about the Lisa McPherson Trust. The local press and radio coverage that featured the event and the MC, Jamie Kennedy. We owe a special thanks to Bubba at 98 Rock for the great time on his show, on the highest rated radio station in the Tampa Bay area.”
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“Shit, I was under the gun for suggesting there were mucho socks on board…which was later proven to be true thanks to help from Robert, StillGrace and Andrew…and I was a big meanie for ragging on the noobs for over-commenting…and then I had the audacity to merely hint that the beloved Knickers was anything less than the Virgin Mary. I wasn’t saying shit to anyone at that point.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Trial began October 11 in Los Angeles.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Arraigned on August 29.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff scheduled to be sentenced on Oct 28.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for March 1 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.
Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2. Hearing scheduled November 17 to argue the arbitration motions.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place at least through December 13.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Case settled ahead of scheduled Dec 6 trial.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.
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After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. 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 a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Betrayed by L. Ron Hubbard, and stuck in a desert prison: A Scientology horror story
[TWO years ago] Afraid to leave Scientology? Ex-members describe their lives after David Miscavige
[THREE years ago] Hubbard family member: Mary Sue griped about Scientology leader’s ‘Napoleon complex’
[FOUR years ago] Shifting gears: Leah Remini talks about tonight’s two-hour special on Jehovah’s Witnesses
[FIVE years ago] Sexual harassment allegations strike a blow against a Scientology political ally in Florida
[SIX years ago] Scientology saw a tempting target in a Tampa pastor gaining fame for her compassion
[SEVEN years ago] Why it was Scientology leader David Miscavige who declared Lisa McPherson ‘Clear’
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology Photoshopping, Part 2: A mystery disappearance on the yacht Apollo
[NINE years ago] LISA MARIE PRESLEY ON SCIENTOLOGY: “CRAZY CRIMINAL PEOPLE”
[TEN years ago] Lay Off Xenu: An Ex-Scientologist’s Plea
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology, “The Money Machine:” Explosive New Series by the St. Pete Times
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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 2,847 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,352 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,902 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,892 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,783 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,088 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,958 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,063 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,536 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,852 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,418 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,337 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,505 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,085 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,347 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,383 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,098 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,663 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 978 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,153 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,704 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,835 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,173 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,028 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,147 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,503 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,806 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,912 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,310 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,186 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,769 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,264 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,518 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,627 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 13, 2022 at 09:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post 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 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, 1995-2021 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2021), 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, 15 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, or 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 | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast