Tony Ortega is a journalist who was formerly the editor of The Village Voice. He's written about Scientology since 1995, and in May 2015 released a book about Scientology's harassment of Paulette Cooper titled 'The Unbreakable Miss Lovely.' He continues to monitor breaking developments in the Scientology world from an undisclosed location in an underground bunker he shares with four cats and one of them wrinkly Shar Pei dogs. Despite his super-secret security protections, you can still reach him pretty easily by sending him a message at tonyo94 AT gmail.com (Drop him a line if you'd like to get an e-mail whenever a new story is posted.) [Header image courtesy John Rickard]
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Scientology quietly acquires $13.5 million converted church near Big Blue: But why?

[The former church at 4975 Sunset Blvd]

 We’re certainly used to hearing that Scientology has acquired new buildings, but the location of a new $13.5 million acquisition has us a bit puzzled: It’s a set of creative offices in a converted church just a few blocks west of the “Big Blue” Scientology headquarters complex on Sunset []

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PODCAST: Steve Cannane checks in after reporting from the war in Ukraine

 One of our favorite people in the whole world is Australian journalist Steve Cannane. We first became aware of Steve’s work because he was tearing it up at the ABC with story after story about Scientology in the land Down []

REPORT: Scientology loses captain of its Florida ‘spiritual mecca,’ a fundraising marvel

A couple of our best sources reached out to us this week to let us know they’ve heard something interesting that is coming out of Scientology’s “spiritual mecca,” the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, []

We asked a film critic: What are the odds Tom Cruise gets a statue at the Oscars this year?

 Last May we commissioned our old friend Luke Y. Thompson (AV Club) to review Top Gun: Maverick for the Underground Bunker, and we still think it’s the best written about that movie. This time, we asked him what the odds are that Scientology watchers will have to witness Tom Cruise taking home an Oscar now []

PODCAST EXCLUSIVE: Jane Doe 4, actress Tricia Vessey, on testifying in Danny Masterson trial

[Tricia Vessey and Cillian Murphy in 2001’s On the Edge]

Yesterday, we brought you the first interview with a juror from the Danny Masterson trial. Today, we have the first interview with a Jane Doe witness since the case ended in a mistrial on November []

EXCLUSIVE: What the Danny Masterson jury didn’t hear — The Jane Doe 1 eyewitness

[Actor, singer, dancer, producer — and former Scientologist — Damian Perkins]

When the Danny Masterson trial began, both sides issued witness lists that we publicized on October 13. The list for the prosecution included 13 members of law enforcement, 22 civilians, and 1 expert.

Of those, the prosecution actually called 4 members of law enforcement, 9 civilians, []

Scientology down 23 PERCENT from 2011 to 2021 in England census data released today

[London’s swinging Scientology hipsters]

We knew Scientology was hurting in England, but this is really something.

In 2011, the census of England and Wales counted only 2,418 people who identified themselves as []

Scientology actually found the one guy who joined because of a Super Bowl ad

[Fabio, and the 2016 ad that got him]

In 2012, Scientology made a huge tactical mistake, suing a former Sea Org official named Debbie Cook. What was Cook’s crime? She had dared to send around an email to other Scientologists complaining about the direction leader David Miscavige was taking the []

CONFIRMED: David Boies firm now represents Jane Doe 2 & 3 in Scientology civil lawsuit

[Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Danny Masterson]

Two weeks ago, we told you that we had confirmed something we’ve suspected for months, that high-profile litigator David Boies was interested in getting in on the action of suing the Church of []

The subchaser that never was: L. Ron Hubbard’s farcical first command

 It’s Memorial Day here in the US, and once again we’ve asked Chris Owen for an excerpt from his excellent book Ron the War Hero to commemorate L. Ron Hubbard’s war service. Make sure to pick up a copy of the book if you haven’t []