We’re in LA for the hearing in Leah Remini’s lawsuit against Scientology

Last week Judge Randolph Hammock issued a tentative ruling regarding Scientology’s attempt to cut down Leah Remini’s defamation and harassment lawsuit that she filed in August.

Scientology had filed a motion to strike, contending that Leah’s lawsuit contained allegations that really weren’t actionable but were the result of two public figures (Leah and the church) taking swipes at each other in public forums.

According to his tentative ruling, Judge Hammock agreed with that assessment and is proposing to axe numerous paragraphs from Leah’s suit. But he rejected other arguments by Scientology and kept intact important parts of the lawsuit that involve allegations of stalking and intimidation that, Leah contends, has hurt her ability to make a living.

We’re figuring that both sides at today’s hearing will be trying to convince Judge Hammock to alter parts of his tentative ruling before it becomes official, and we thought it would make for some interesting viewing.

So we’re in Los Angeles this morning, and we’ll be heading over to the courthouse to bring you our impressions.

We don’t know if Leah will be in the courtroom for this pretrial hearing, but we do know that Judge Hammock granted ABC-Channel 7’s request to have cameras in the courtroom. We suspect that means Channel 7 will put together a piece for the evening news, but if someone is also live streaming, we’ll let you know.

Since this is civil court, we may be more free to provide live updates, so check out the comments section over at the dot org website for that. Otherwise, we’ll post a new story here after we learn what’s gone down.

Until then, take a look over the paragraphs from Leah’s amended complaint that Judge Hammock has proposed will get the axe (or at least portions of them) before a jury can see them. Which of them do you hate to see go?

90. Defendants enlisted dozens of current and former Scientologists to record videotaped messages (in Scientology production studios) to make disparaging and false claims against Ms. Remini—including false and defamatory statements that she was abusive to her mother and daughter, and that she is a racist. These videos continue to be posted at https://www.leahreminithefacts.org/videos/ and https://www.leahreminiaftermath.com/videos/.

91. To discredit Ms. Remini’s truthful public comments regarding Defendants, Defendants also used and manipulated Ms. Remini’s estranged and now deceased father, George Remini and his third wife, Dana, to make false statements about Ms. Remini, including that she is a liar, that she only wanted her name in the news, that she would not help to pay for his cancer treatments, that she turned her back on her half-sister when she was in the hospital, that she ransacked her dying grandmother’s apartment, and that she has no morals. These false statements were posted to websites created and controlled by Defendants and continue to be promoted or re-posted by Scientology.

95. In addition to physically following and harassing Ms. Remini during her book tour, Defendants sent disparaging and threatening letters to third parties who were promoting Ms. Remini’s book, including but not limited to ABC News Senior Vice President, Tom Cibrowski and John Bentley. The intent of the letters was to silence Ms. Remini, damage her reputation, and in turn, her ability to earn income from her book.

97. From 2016 through 2019, Ms. Remini created, produced and hosted the award winning A&E documentary series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath (“Aftermath”). This documentary series told the stories of former members who were bankrupt, physically abused, molested, and raped by Scientologists and how the organization covered up those crimes. They told the stories of those whose families have been destroyed by Scientology’s disconnection policies, and of those who suffered retaliation for reporting crimes to non-Scientology authorities. The documentary series won two Emmy awards, a Producers Guild Award, Independent Documentary Award (Truth to Power Award), two Gracie awards (Alliance for Women in Media Foundation), and the Barbara Blaine Trailblazer Award from Child USA, again intensifying Defendants’ efforts to silence and discredit her. Scientologists have also attacked Paul Bucceri, the President & Chairman of A&E Networks Group, by creating websites on him and A&E. Due to this harassment A&E was reluctant to put themselves and their employees, their advertisers at risk out of fear of further retaliation from Scientology and their agents. Contributors appearing on the series were thereafter harassed and stalked by Scientology, including through disparaging websites that were posted almost instantly.

98. Scientology was provided an opportunity to comment in every episode. Yet, Defendants have done everything in their power to sabotage Ms. Remini’s The Aftermath series. Between November 2016 and February 2019, Defendants designed an operation to organize and force practicing Scientologists to write at least 500 letters seeking the cancellation of Ms. Remini’s show. The letters were sent to the network heads at A&E, the CEO of Disney, and innumerable advertisers and sponsors of the series, including Disney, Yahoo, Nissan, Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Expedia, to name just a few.

102. In 2017, Defendants continued their campaign to harass and discredit Ms. Remini. For instance, when Ms. Remini appeared on the Conan O’Brien show on January 25, 2017 to promote Aftermath, Defendants’ operatives sent Conan O’Brien a personal letter criticizing Ms. Remini and claiming that Remini was only speaking out against Scientology for the fame, money and attention. Mr. O’Brien commented that he has never before received a letter of this character in his 24 years of hosting late-night talk shows.

103. Defendants also began to intentionally and fraudulently accuse Ms. Remini and her Aftermath series of inciting hate crimes. In 2016, Defendants, well aware of the falsehoods being leveled at Ms. Remini, accused Ms. Remini in tweets and on their websites of causing a man named Brandon Reisdorf, whose parents were former Scientologists, to throw a rock through a window at the Los Angeles office of Scientology. Mr. Reisdorf, who was forced to disconnect from his brother and parents, was in the midst of a mental health crisis. Scientology policies ban any sort of psychiatric or psychological treatment.

104. Both Mr. Reisdorf and his family have publicly stated that Ms. Remini had nothing to do with this episode—yet Defendants continue to stand by their fraudulent accusations and continue to disseminate this false information on social media and on its websites to this day.

105. And on January 11, 2019, Defendants falsely and maliciously accused Ms. Remini and The Aftermath of inciting the brutal murder of a 24-year-old Taiwanese Scientologist, Chih-Jen Yeh, in its Australian headquarters. Mr. Yeh was working as a security guard and was escorting a woman to begin her program to join the Sea Org, when the woman’s 16-year-old son stabbed and murdered Mr. Yeh. Without any basis, Defendants wrote letters to the President of A&E alleging that “the murderer…[was] incited by A&E and the Leah Remini/Mike Rinder series.” Ms. Remini has publicly condemned the boy’s actions, yet Scientology and Scientology operatives with over 200 Twitter accounts continually tweet and re-tweet intentionally false and libelous information regarding the incident.

113. OSA operatives pretending to be freelance journalists have implemented Noisy Investigations against Ms. Remini to harass her. Scientology has harassed Ms. Remini; Ms. Remini’s sister, Shannon Farrara, at her workplace in Los Angeles; Ms. Remini’s step-mother at her residence in North Carolina; her deceased father, George Remini; various of Ms. Remini’s former employees and their family members; her step-sons in San Jose (and a friend of one step-son who tweeted that he was a big fan of Aftermath); her sister, Nicole Remini; and her niece and nephew in Minnesota. In each case, Defendants’ agents claim to be reporters who are doing a “story” about Ms. Remini and indicate that they have information that Ms. Remini was abusive to her family and friends, and then attempt to get Ms. Remini’s friends and family to comment on the fake accusations or provide disparaging information.

114. Defendants’ OSA pseudo-journalists have written false statements and articles on Defendants’ website, Freedom Magazine, at freedommag.org.

115. Freedommag.org includes various articles and videos aimed to defame and spread fraudulent misinformation about Ms. Remini. Some of these videos are entitled, “Leah Remini: A One-Woman Hate Machine”; “Leah Remini Told Dying Sister ‘Get Charity Care,’ Family Says”; and a video comparing Ms. Remini and the A&E network to Ku Klux Klan members who incite hate crimes.

119. For instance, in 2015 the Defendants created a website and front group entitled, “Scientologists Taking Action Against Discrimination” (“STAND”) at: www.standleague.org. The Stand League Website is one of many websites that Defendants have used for years to attack, lie about, and harass people who are deemed enemies of Scientology. This website has posted 76 blog posts and 14 articles harassing and churning lies against Ms. Remini, claiming over and over that she is an “unhinged religious bigot who profits by spreading hate.” Some of these articles are entitled:
— “Are Leah Remini and A&E responsible for the Wave of Violence Against the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Kingdom Halls?”
— “Leah Remini is a Disgrace to Women of Valor Everywhere.”
— “As the World Remembers the Holocaust, Bigot Leah Remini Inspires Praise of Hitler.”

120. Defendants also created https://www.leahreminithefacts.org/, an entire website designed to attack, intimidate, and harass Ms. Remini. The main page of the website is a narrative created at the direction of Defendants with various tabs leveling outrageous accusations against Ms. Remini, including but not limited to: 1) filing a false police report and then attempting to extort Scientology, and 2) abusing family members, including her half-sister, Stephani, and father, George Remini, both of whom have since passed away. The site also includes articles entitled:
— Leah Remini to Dying Sister: “Get Charity Care,” with headline reading, “Remini’s former stepmother lets loose on how Leah ‘made a complete mockery and disaster’ of sibling Stephani Remini’s death.”
— When Vengeance Leads to Words, Words Lead to Hate and Violence, with headline reading, “Leah Remini has incited the very bigotry and hate that she herself was fearful of and abhorred as a Scientologist.”

126. For instance, since 2017, @standmonitor, created and run by Defendants, has posted thousands of malicious and harassing tweets about Ms. Remini. In March 2023 alone, they have posted over 247 tweets aimed at Ms. Remini, includes dozens of photoshopped images of Ms. Remini in “I love rapists” apparel with similar fraudulent messages purporting to show Ms. Remini’s support of rapists under the hashtag, #ReminiLovesRapists. Just a few of these photos is included herein, but hundreds of similar images appear under Defendants’ Twitter accounts:

136. On March 4, 2022, as part of its Fair Game campaign and in order to derail her podcast, Defendants directed and controlled the publication of an article at https://www.freedommag.org/blog/iheart-produces-outrageous-bigotry-and-they-wont-talk-about-it-0be7bf, claiming that iHeartRadio “allows Remini, in obscenity-laced and abusive language, to insult, defame and demean Scientologists.”

137. The article details the measures taken at the direction of Defendants to interfere with and terminate Ms. Remini’s contract with iHeartMedia. For instance, Defendants openly admit that they called and emailed iHeartMedia’s executive vice president and chief communications officer, producer, and the podcast audio editor in an attempt to prevent Ms. Remini’s podcast from airing.

148. Defendants, in their usual course of action of attacking and harassing Ms. Remini, began posting open letters to the Game Show Network about how it should stop airing a show which allows an “unhinged bigot” to host, as well as claiming that the Game Show Network is employing a “rape apologist as their host” and that “Remini obviously agrees…’it’s not a big deal’ to sexually abuse women.” One open letter claimed that Ms. Remini had fomented “violent and deadly attacks” and asked “What’s next? A game show “hosted” by a KKK leader? Neo-Nazi Jeopardy?

152. Defendants also sent OSA operatives claiming to be journalists to the set of People Puzzler, asking producers about “claims” that Ms. Remini is allegedly abusive in the workplace.

236. This continuous course of conduct in which Defendants engaged against Plaintiff includes being physically harassed and surveilled by private investigators (through their lawyers), private citizens, and OSA members of Scientology at the behest of Defendants as described herein. Defendants have also engaged in stalking of Plaintiff by posting threatening information to various websites and via social media on a continuing basis.

259. Ms. Remini and Game Show Network were in an economic relationship that, if this relationship continues, likely will result in an economic benefit to Ms. Remini.

260. Ms. Remini and Vice News were in an economic relationship that probably would have resulted in an economic benefit to Ms. Remini.

261. Ms. Remini’s business relationships with AudioBoom, iHeartMedia, Vice News, and the Game Show Network contained the probability of future economic benefits to Remini in the form of revenues.

262. Defendants knew of the economic relationship between Ms. Remini and AudioBoom, iHeartMedia, the Game Show Network, and Vice News and intentionally took outward measures to destroy these relationships.

265. Defendants intentionally interfered with Ms. Remini’s economic relationship with the Game Show Network by engaging in conduct that included: sending disparaging and false open letters to the Game Show Network claiming that Ms. Remini is an “unhinged bigot,” a “rape apologist” and someone who believes “it’s not a big deal to sexually abuse women;” sending disparaging letters to the Game Show Network’s advertisers, encouraging them to pull their support from the Game Show Network for airing Ms. Remini’s show; and sending Defendants’ operatives to the Game Show Network with false claims that they were investigating allegations of Ms. Remini’s alleged abusive behavior in the workplace. Upon information and belief, Defendants intentionally interfered with Ms. Remini’s economic relationship with Vice News by harassing employees and directors at Vice News and encouraging them not to work with Ms. Remini.

266. By engaging in the aforesaid conduct, and based on the policies and practices under the Fair Game banner, Defendants intended to disrupt the economic relationships with Ms. Remini and AudioBoom, iHeartMedia, the Game Show Network, and Vice News, and ID/PR or knew that the disruption of these relationships was substantially certain to occur.

273. Since 2013, and continuing to this day, Defendants knowingly and willingly published, or caused to be published, false and defamatory statements about Ms. Remini. These false and defamatory statements include, but are not limited to:
a. Statements accusing Ms. Remini of inciting hate crimes:
i. A January 31, 2023 article on standleague.org, a website owned, operated and/or controlled by Defendants, which claims that Ms. Remini’s “hate speech has resulted in violent and deadly attacks on innocents[.]”
ii. An August 4, 2022 article on standleague.org which fraudulently claims that: “In 2019, a man incited by Leah Remini’s hate speech murdered a 24-year-old Scientologist, Aaron Yeh, outside the Australasian headquarters of the Church.” iii. An April 13, 2023 tweet from Hate Monitor, a twitter account owned, operated, and/or controlled by Defendants that falsely claims that Leah Remini “is responsible for hundreds of threats and multiple acts of violent hate crime against Scientologists.”
i. A tweet dated April 18, 2023 from Hate Monitor, a twitter account owned, operated, and/or controlled by Defendants that falsely stated “On January 3, 2019, a man incited by Leah Remini’s hate speech murdered a 24-year-old Scientologist. @LeahRemini has blood on her hands.” The tweet then refers readers to Scientology-run standleague.org.
iv. An undated article on leahreminithefacts.org, a website owned, operated and/or controlled by Defendants which falsely alleges: “Remini’s series generated unprecedented waves of hate and threats against Scientologists, the Church and its leadership in the hashtag name of #LeahRemini and/or her TV show and its incendiary bigotry, including threats of bombings, arson, assassinations and mass murder.”
b. Statements on social media that Ms. Remini supports rapists:

i. In March of 2023 alone, twitter accounts owned, operated and/or controlled by Defendants have posted over 247 false and fraudulent photoshopped images of Ms. Remini wearing apparel that says, “I love rapists.”
ii. ii. A January 29, 2023 statement on standleague.org, a website controlled and operated by Defendants and Defendants’ operatives, that fraudulently claims that Ms. Remini is a “rape apologist” and “obviously agrees with the actions of these men [accused of rape] or feels that ‘it’s not a big deal’ to sexually abuse women[.]””
iii. An April 10, 2023 tweet from Hate Monitor, a twitter account owned, operated, and/or controlled by Defendants that falsely claims that “@LeahRemini is a bigot who inspires violent hate crimes and defends rapists.”
c. Statements on social media and Defendant-run websites claiming that Ms. Remini is a religious bigot who has inspired praise of Hitler:
i. A February 2, 2022 article on standleague.org entitled “As the World Remembers the Holocaust, Bigot Leah Remini Inspires Praise of Hitler.”
ii. A January 29, 2023 statement on standleague.org that maliciously and fraudulently claims that Ms. Remini is “a vicious, lying, narcissistic, deranged, demented and dangerous bigot.”
d. That Ms. Remini had her 18-year-old daughter involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility, including:
i. A March 9, 2023 statement made on a Twitter account operated by a Scientology operative, at the behest of Defendants, that states: “I wonder where Sofia, @leahremini daughter is? Last time she was in NY and came back to LA and Leah sent her to a psych and then back to NY.”

283. Since 2013, and continuing to this day, Defendants knowingly and willingly published, or caused to be published, various statements about Ms. Remini that are not true or substantially true and which could reasonably be construed as defamatory. These false statements include but are not limited to:
a. Statements accusing Ms. Remini of inciting hate crimes:
i. A January 31, 2023 article on standleague.org, a website owned, operated and/or controlled by Defendants, which claims that Ms. Remini’s “hate speech has resulted in violent and deadly attacks on innocents[.]”
ii. An August 4, 2022 article on standleague.org which fraudulently claims that: “In 2019, a man incited by Leah Remini’s hate speech murdered a 24-year-old Scientologist, Aaron Yeh, outside the Australasian headquarters of the Church.”
iii. An April 13, 2023 tweet from Hate Monitor, a twitter account owned, operated, and/or controlled by Defendants that falsely claims that Leah Remini “is responsible for hundreds of threats and multiple acts of violent hate crime against Scientologists.”
iv. A tweet dated April 18, 2023 from Hate Monitor, a twitter account owned, operated, and/or controlled by Defendants that falsely stated “On January 3, 2019, a man incited by Leah Remini’s hate speech murdered a 24-year-old Scientologist. @LeahRemini has blood on her hands.” The tweet then refers readers to Scientology-run standleague.org.

v. An undated article on leahreminithefacts.org, a website owned, operated and/or controlled by Defendants which falsely alleges: “Remini’s series generated unprecedented waves of hate and threats against Scientologists, the Church and its leadership in the hashtag name of #LeahRemini and/or her TV show and its incendiary bigotry, including threats of bombings, arson, assassinations and mass murder.”
b. Statements on social media that Ms. Remini supports rapists:
i. In March of 2023 alone, twitter accounts owned, operated and/or controlled by Defendants have posted over 247 false and fraudulent photoshopped images of Ms. Remini wearing apparel that says, “I love rapists.”
ii. ii. A January 29, 2023 statement on standleague.org, a website controlled and operated by Defendants and Defendants’ operatives, that fraudulently claims that Ms. Remini is a “rape apologist” and “obviously agrees with the actions of these men [accused of rape] or feels that ‘it’s not a big deal’ to sexually abuse women[.]”” iii. An April 10, 2023 tweet from Hate Monitor, a twitter account owned, operated, and/or controlled by Defendants that falsely claims that “@LeahRemini is a bigot who inspires violent hate crimes and defends rapists.”
c. Statements on social media and Defendant-run websites claiming that Ms. Remini is a religious bigot who has inspired praise of Hitler:
i. A February 2, 2022 article on standleague.org entitled “As the World Remembers the Holocaust, Bigot Leah Remini Inspires Praise of Hitler.”
ii. A January 29, 2023 statement on standleague.org that maliciously and fraudulently claims that Ms. Remini is “a vicious, lying, narcissistic, deranged, demented and dangerous bigot.”
d. That Ms. Remini had her 18-year-old daughter involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility, including:
i. A March 9, 2023 statement made on a Twitter account operated by a Scientology operative, at the behest of Defendants, that states: “I wonder where Sofia, @leahremini daughter is? Last time she was in NY and came back to LA and Leah sent her to a psych and then back to NY.”

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Chris Shelton is going Straight Up and Vertical

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