Scientology rings in 2026 with Tom Cruise in Los Angeles: The photos!
As 2026 began last night at midnight on the East Coast, Scientology once again posted photos from its New Year’s Eve celebration, which was actually taped a couple of weeks ago in Los Angeles.
And once again, Scientology says it had “more than 6,500 attendees” at the Shrine Auditorium that night.
Here’s a shot of the overall crowd, for our head-counters who want to check on that number.
If you click on that image, it will enlarge and you can get some sense of who was there.
We noted that in the center of the front row, which is usually reserved for Scientology celebrities, we saw a couple of interesting figures.
The tall woman in the maroon suit is definitely Jenna Elfman — we’ll show you another angle on her that makes it no doubt. But how about the shorter man next to her with the full head of hair? He’s turned away from us in this shot, but we were immediately seized with the thought that this was Tom Cruise.
Alex Barnes-Ross had told us that Tom’s plane was in Los Angeles during these dates in December, and the local media there had reported on him being seen there. We had a feeling that he was in town to attend the Scientology event.
Let’s take a look at this figure from a couple of different angles to show you why we are pretty certain that it is, in fact, Top Gun.
In this shot, Cruise has Jenna Elfman on his left, and it appears that he has Australian singer Kate Ceberano on his right. And we know that Ceberano was scheduled to perform at the event that night.
Here’s that better angle showing that the woman in the maroon suit is Jenna Elfman.
Also in the front row was Nancy Cartwright, who was wearing the Freedom Medal she was awarded at the IAS Gala in England on October 31.
It’s not unprecedented for Cruise to attend two major events back to back like this. He also did so in 2019, that we remember. (In that case, he was at the Birthday Event and the IAS event.) But we can’t remember the last time we saw him attend a New Year’s party. Just a few years ago, the tabloids were telling us that Tom’s absence in Los Angeles meant that he was leaving Scientology. It wasn’t true then and it’s not true now.
As for the event itself, it was the usual hours-long rah-rah from church leader David Miscavige about new missions opening in places where they aren’t needed, and WISE businesses — companies run on Scientology principles.
One announcement did interest us, however. And that was confirmation that the Puerto Rico “Ideal Org” will open in 2026. (The folks there had announced it’s happening in February.)
And one other situation we couldn’t help noticing.
The “Fabos Factor” — dessert entrepreneur Steve Fabos — was celebrated just a month ago as a “Patron Excalibur” for donating $20 million to the IAS, and it earned him and wife Peggy the right to be photographed with Miscavige.
But at the New Year’s Event, he was very conspicuously stuck several rows back, and didn’t look very happy about it.
That appears to be soap actress Michelle Stafford next to him. What’s up, Steve? Are you in some kind of trouble?
Imagine, donating $20 million dollars, and you still don’t get to stand in the front row.
Well, we’re sure everyone had a great time, and once again Dave was dwarfed by the massive stage dressing, which Scientology always pays a pretty penny for.
Hip, hip, hooray!
This planet will be cleared in no time!
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One thing that comes to mind, is seating arrangements. Shelly I believe, used to wear that hat, and of course get all the big seatings okayed by Miscavige.
But even 92 to 95, in my final months as ASI staff, I was being promoted "upwards" into an executive position, and had to hang out more and more with Barbara Ruiz, who herself came from a rich family, had lived overseas, came from money, and knew high level hosting.
I observed the times I was in Barbara's office meeting with her, she'd get calls from Shelly or one of the Misavige office persons, OR from a CC Int celeb manager type of person, and Barbara would get John Alcock from ASI to go out and do errands, and Barbara did a lot of coordinating on "gifts" purchasing, and make sure not duplicative gifts.
And on seating arrangements at the big events.
I believe Shelly and someone else from CC Int, or several from CC Int, would coordinate who bigwigs and celebs sat where.
If you notice, in the middle section of the Shrine are so and so's. And then the top top celebs will sit just a little to their left, or right as we look at the front from in front of the front, our right.
And years past, if the celebs didn't wish to be so prominent, they'd sit slightly to the left looking at them from in front looking at them.
The year by year seating chart arrangements, thus, all add up to "who's who" of course, but there are consistencies.
Shelly used to be in on this, and all these years she's been gone, whoever is the one presenting the seating chart for Miscavige's final approval, that'd be an interesting behind the scenes ex member or ex CC Int members, who likely know of that.
Yea, 20 million accumulated from the one less than happy looking big roller, is kind of for many reasons. My first thought, if the pretty bigger celeb is sitting by him, it's been asked of her to do so, and he's kind of only in "hot water" with his wife, because the wife of the big roller whale is possibly disaffected, and he's playing along and taking his perk seating next to the actress.
-------------------------------------------
In the foreground of the first top photo, sure looks to me like the Scientologists have a lot of very rich and almost rich followers in their fold, that's to me more of a crowd, and new type of richer dupe crowd, like only stuck into Scientology in the last 10-15 years, or less, in their lives.
Wish we had more ex's defecting to share the stats, and stats of the FSM commissions gained from the newbie rich crowd, is a good way to see how the big money is being sucked into Scientology.
It might be that the "regges" (sales people) are less the ones preying on the richer folk and that FSM between each other, is being pushed more, meaning the richer ones are urged to "reg" (fundraise donations) from each other, and Scientology's giving them their Hubbard regulations allowed "cut" of the donation sucked out of the richer dupes, which since the rich donate bigger chunks, then FSM commission paybacks are bigger, and thus that group of the richer folks might just look a little happier, as they seem to me.
So rich Scientologists preying upon each other, and tamping down on the regges doing all the "hard selling" work, and spreading the "cuts" in paybacks more to the richer newbie-ish group of not quite wised up whale dupes class of these unfortunate persons group that keep this Scientology fake quackery pseudotherapy and exorcism business parading as a religion, afloat.
Each richer Scientologists does there part this way, and giving them their FSM commissions, rather than have the "hard selling" super predatory industrious regges do the ripping off, let the rich people do their own FSM commission (Hubbard's regulations) payback system, to their group pyramid scheme like operation.
That's how I look at the crowd.
Steve Fabos and his wife paid 20 million dollars to be photographed with Miscavige. I'm sure it was worth every dollar.
As I've stated a few times, it's unbelievable that anyone can be so successful in business and yet be so foolish and naive to donate millions to Scientology. The internet has been a godsend in exposing this despicable cult. When are all of these businesspeople and celebrities going to wake up to reality?