26 October 2023 , 16:12
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The Church of Scientology has instructed Hollywood actor Danny Masterson's wife to shun him and cut all remaining ties after declaring him a "suppressive person", according to an investigator who used to be an insider.
Masterson, who starred in the American sitcom That '70s Show, alongside Aston Kutcher and Mila Kunis, is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted of raping two women more than 20 years ago. Kutcher and Kunis were publicly blasted for standing by their former co-star after he was found guilty of two counts of forcible rape, hailing him as "kind and courteous" and a "role model". They both later apologised for the "pain" caused by their character letters they wrote in support of him, which were sent to the judge before his sentencing.
And nearly five months after the May 31 conviction, the Church of Scientology has expelled Masterson - not because of his heinous crimes, but because he failed to maintain the church's "ethical standards", according to private investigator Jeffrey Augustine, who has been researching the organisation for years after leaving the church himself.
Bijou Phillips has been given full custody of her child and filed divorce proceedings against Danny Masterson (zz/Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx)"According to my sources, Danny has been declared a suppressive person, which means he would be expelled from Scientology," he told DailyMail.com. "They are telling Scientologists that he will file an appeal and that he is innocent of the charges for which he was convicted. They (church officials) declared Danny a suppressive person for not maintaining the high ethical standards for the Church of Scientology, and other reasons – but not because he was convicted of rape."
Being branded a suppressive person, or SP, means all fellow Scientologists must cut ties and stop all communication with them. It means Masterson's wife Bijou Phillips, who stood by him throughout his trial and who shares a nine-year-old daughter with him, will be instructed to shun him entirely. She has already filed for divorce from the shamed actor.
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Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis were blasted for supporting rapist Masterson (Wade Payne/Invision/AP)The Church of Scientology was founded in 1954 by sci-fi writer L. Ron Hubbard and has a number of high-profile celebrity followers, including Tom Cruise, Handmaid's Tale star Elisabeth Moss and John Travolta. A far smaller number has left the church and denounced it, including outspoken American actress Leah Remini, 53, who this year filed a bombshell lawsuit against the cult and its leader David Miscavige for what she claimed amounted to "psychological torture" after she left the organisation in 2013.
In a statement to the press, Leah alleged the church uses "mob-style operations and attacks", including "defamation, surveillance, harassment and intimidation" which has "significantly impacting my life and career". "I believe I am not the first person targeted by Scientology and its operations, but I intend to be the last," she added.
In response to her lawsuit, the church called Leah a "bigot". "This lawsuit is ludicrous and the allegations pure lunacy," it said. "Remini spreads hate and falsehoods for a decade and is now offended when people exercise their right to free speech, exposing her for what she is – an anti-free speech bigot."
The church added: "Remini's obsession with attacking her former religion, by spreading falsehoods and hate speech, has generated threats of and actual violence against the Church and its members as evidenced by multiple criminal convictions of individuals poisoned by Remini's propaganda."
Leah herself was declared an 'SP' in the wake of her split from the cult, meaning she could not be contacted by any family or friends who stayed members. The church itself explains: "To be declared a Suppressive Person is extremely rare and results in expulsion from the Scientology religion. This occurs in instances of serious offences against the Scientology faith and can also occur when an individual is found to be actively working to suppress the well-being of others."
Leah Remini is suing the Church of Scientology after being outspoken about her former organisation for years (FilmMagic)This can be through breaking the law in the country in which they live, and the commitment of "Suppressive Acts in the Scientology Justice Codes" - including publicly renouncing their faith. "When someone has been expelled from the religion, that person loses both his or her fellowship with the Church as well as with other Scientologists," the church's website explains. "The condition lasts until they have been restored to good standing. Once the person has been restored to good standing, the prohibition against fellowship with other Scientologists is lifted."
In a 2016 interview with the late chat show host Larry King, Leah said even trying to leave the church has its problems. "There's another policy that says...dealing with suppressive people remains the same, dealing with suppressive people means to go after them try to destroy their lives," she claimed, alleging church elders would "try to find any crimes they've committed, expose them, exposed them hard".
Masterson's SP status, coming five months after he was found guilty of raping two women who were in the church with him between 2001 and 2003, has reportedly baffled many ex-Scientologists. "A lot of Scientologists were complaining that they have friends and family members that they can't talk to because they were declared suppressive," claims private investigator Jeffrey. "They questioned why Danny Masterson was allowed to be a Scientologist in good standing when he's brought such a horrible public relations situation on to the church with his felony rape convictions.
"So the members are asking why were their friends and family declared [SP] for reading the internet, watching Leah Remini's show, and doing other things that are far below what Masterson was charged with?" The two women who got justice for Masterson's monstrous crimes are suing him in separate civil lawsuit, along with a third woman whose rape court case ended in a hung jury.
In a statement to the Mirror, Church of Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw said: "The source of [this] story is a completely discredited individual, a fanatical and unbalanced nutcase who announced his conviction that 'the universe' gave him his calling to be a spiritual leader. These hallucinatory revelations he claims he received from a 'voice' inside his head and 'a massive download from Infinity'."
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