LA Mayor Karen Bass boosts Mr. Scientology, Tom Cruise, on world’s biggest stage
When we heard, more than a week ago, that Tom Cruise would be rappelling into the Stade de France to take the Olympic flag on a (mostly pre-recorded) trip to Los Angeles, we raised a question here at the Underground Bunker: If by tradition the mayor of Paris (Anne Hidalgo) would hand over the flag to the mayor of LA (Karen Bass) for the 2028 games, would Cruise then have to receive it from Bass?
We got our answer last night when we watched the Closing Ceremony. Karen Bass did receive the flag from Hidalgo (by way of IOC president Thomas Bach), but she handed it over to gymnast Simon Biles as they went to a different part of the stage for the playing of the US anthem performed by singer H.E.R.
When that was concluded, Cruise appeared on the roof of the stadium, mugged for the camera, then rappelled down to the stadium floor. He made his way to the stage, where he and Bass warmly greeted each other (see the screenshot, above), and then he took the flag from Biles before putting it in a motorcycle and driving off.
So yes, pretty close to what we had suggested earlier. Karen Bass was part of Tom’s stunt, a Hollywood takeover of the Paris games to promote the transfer to Los Angeles in 2028.
One element we didn’t anticipate: Having to listen to Jimmy Fallon gush about Cruise through it.
Where’s the harm in it, right? Top Gun himself helping to pass the torch, as it were, from Paris to Hollywood. The reviews have been glowing.
But not everyone is cheering.
In our August 3 article, we reviewed Karen Bass’s awkward history with Scientology. In 2010, she shilled for church leader David Miscavige by giving a speech at the grand opening of the new Los Angeles “Ideal Org” even though it wasn’t in her assembly district. When her 2022 mayoral opponent Rick Caruso brought this up in attack ads, Bass claimed that she had changed her mind about Scientology thanks to watching Leah Remini’s show, and that now she condemned Scientology’s practices.
But here she was last night, on the biggest stage in the world, helping once again to promote one of Scientology’s ornaments, and perhaps the single biggest reason that the ailing organization remains in business today: Scientology’s chief celebrity, Tom Cruise.
Last night, referring to Cruise on that stage, Yashar Ali made this great point about what it means for Scientologists to see him there.
What we know for sure, and as people like Leah Remini have talked about extensively, is that when a Scientologist is wavering in their commitment, it is images like this that keep them in.
They ask themselves if what they’re doing in Scientology is right and if it is worth it.
They’re having a hard time sleeping at night because of the crimes they’re witnessing and participating in.
Then they see Tom Cruise in such a position of great honor, and they just tell themselves they’re being crazy.
Why would Tom Cruise be involved in anything bad or criminal? Why would the Olympics place someone involved in something bad and criminal in such a place of great honor?
Why indeed.
And once again, Karen Bass was there to help out. Will anyone ask her how she felt about it this time?
In The Daily Beast: Scientology’s looming victory
Yesterday, a piece we’ve been working on for quite a while showed up at The Daily Beast, and we hope you’ll give it a look. If you don’t have a subscription to the publication, you can also find a copy of the article at Yahoo News.
Our readers know that Scientology has it in for the psychiatric profession, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in particular. But what has not been written about it before is that Scientology has focused its efforts on litigation against the two small companies that manufacture the devices that providers use during ECT treatments. (Which, they tell us, provide near-miraculous results for people with the most extreme psychiatric conditions.)
After literally decades of these lawsuits, those two small companies are on the brink. And if they go out of business, by federal regulation doctors will not be able to use their devices. This is why Scientology is quietly aiming so much effort at those firms: If it succeeds in wiping them out, ECT will become unavailable in this country and around the world.
The situation is so dire, major medical figures who would normally not give interviews spoke with us, telling us that thousands of people will die if Scientology is successful at its scheme.
We will have more detail and new developments about this story in coming days.
Want to help?
Please consider joining the Underground Bunker as a paid subscriber. Your $7 a month will go a long way to helping this news project stay independent, and you’ll get access to our special material for subscribers. Or, you can support the Underground Bunker with a Paypal contribution to bunkerfund@tonyortega.org, an account administered by the Bunker’s attorney, Scott Pilutik. And by request, this is our Venmo link, and for Zelle, please use (tonyo94 AT gmail). E-mail tips to tonyo94@gmail.com.
Thank you for reading today’s story here at Substack. For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:
Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history
Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea
Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time
Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology
Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain
Here’s the link for today’s post at tonyortega.org
And whatever you do, subscribe to this Substack so you get our breaking stories and daily features right to your email inbox every morning.
Paid subscribers get access to a special podcast series…
Group Therapy: Our round table of rowdy regulars on the week’s news
I had 52 years of being in Scientology. 46 years as a zealot and 6 years active and under the radar. I completed a major course while mentally out of the cult and feeding Tony and Mike inside information.
I’m hear to tell you that Tony’s quote from Yashir Ali, is absolutely correct:
“ What we know for sure, and as people like Leah Remini have talked about extensively, is that when a Scientologist is wavering in their commitment, it is images like this that keep them in.………..…..
Then they see Tom Cruise in such a position of great honor, and they just tell themselves they’re being crazy.
Why would Tom Cruise be involved in anything bad or criminal? Why would the Olympics place someone involved in something bad and criminal in such a place of great honor?”
I agree with that statement wholeheartedly. As a CELEBRITY MUSICIAN with more than 800 performances for Scientology and being the most effective composer for Scientology, having co-written the iconic music for the ubiquitous DIANETICS commercial, I have some first hand experience of the fact that it’s CELEBRITIES who helped get thousands into Scientology and keep them in.
It’s not the fear factor of leaving, it’s the endorphin rush of seeing Scientology celebrities at an event or in a hit TV show or movie. I saw it over and over again.
Tom Cruise’s is a vacuous stooge for Miscavige and his Karma will catch up with him and I hope it is soon.
Regarding TC: I found it amusing when reporting confirmed he came down with the theme from Mission Impossible playing. They have 4 years, but getting LA setup to host the Olympics is fairly an impossible mission itself.
Regarding ECT lawsuits: If only the medical world had their version of Trish Duggan who could 'invest' in those companies to keep them going. So much money and time spent by Scientology to attack psychiatry and psychology all because Hubbard got denied by the VA and decried by the AMA and APA and he's Source.