Who is actually writing Scientology’s nasty online attacks turns out to be a shocker
Last week we took notice of a couple of berserk attacks on a Daily Mail reporter that showed up at the website of Scientology’s “grassroots” organization the Stand League.
Normally, we tend to ignore the Stand League and its constant attacks on people like Leah Remini and Mike Rinder, but this broadside against Daily Mail writer J. Peterson was instructive, we thought, for a few reasons. First, because the “scandal” it accused Peterson of was laughably nonexistent. Also, that it was pretty representative of the way Scientology accuses reporters of “religious bigotry” for daring to write about the church’s controversies. And we also wanted to shine a light on how nasty, sarcastic, and unhinged the writing of these attacks tends to be. How, we wondered, did a thing that called itself a “church” get away with such ludicrous behavior?
At the end of our article, we noted that the pieces about Peterson were supposedly written by someone named “Martin Landon,” and there was a photo and a bio to go with the byline…
We noted that there didn’t appear to be any books or movies credited to someone named “Martin Landon,” and so we assumed the Stand League had created a fake profile for whoever was penning this dreadful, hateful material. And we assumed the photo was just some stock art.
But then, we heard from a couple of people who told us they actually recognized the person in the photo wearing the Washington Nationals baseball cap.
And when they told us who it was, we simply didn’t believe them. There was just no way, we thought.
But after looking into it further, we did have to agree with our two sources: Yes, “Martin Landon” really is none other than goofy, sunny, and comically earnest Scientology life coach (and Washington Nationals fan) Michael Lewis.
We’ve been writing about Lewis for years, and the last time we made note of him, in 2020, we couldn’t help pointing out that his trademark optimism and happy outlook was actually at inappropriate levels for a man who had been through so much recent tragedy.
Let us remind you…
On September 26, 2012, Sons of Anarchy actor Johnny Lewis went on a rampage, killing his 81-year-old landlord Cathy Davis and her cat, then attacking a gardener and a neighbor before either falling or jumping to his death at the Los Feliz home where he’d been living for a few days. It was the sad culmination to a series of violent incidents since he’d left the FX show after the 2009 season.
Lewis was the son of two OT 8 Scientologists, Michael and Divona Lewis, and over the years Michael’s advertisements as a Scientology field disseminator have appeared here at the Bunker on occasion.
Michael Lewis told Los Angeles magazine that Scientology’s famous hatred for psychiatry had not been at fault in his son’s death. “[Michael] discounts that assumption, claiming that he pursued and encouraged psychiatric treatment for his son. It was Johnny who refused to comply.”
Now, we have another update on Michael Lewis, and once again, it involves news about an OT 8 Scientologist in Florida succumbing to cancer, just a few days after we learned about Kelly Preston’s demise.
In this case, it was Michael’s wife Divona. According to an obituary, Divona Tyrrell Lewis died on October 25 [2020] in Clearwater after a lengthy battle with melanoma. She was 72.
Michael has coped with this loss by throwing himself into expensive Scientology auditing levels. He was already OT 8 and had reached the top of the “Bridge to Total Freedom,” so he turned to experiences that are adjacent to the Bridge…
We’ve written often about Scientology’s Super Power package (about $30,000), and the “L’s” (about $50,000 to $70,000 each). As we’ve noted many times, the “Cause Resurgence Rundown” (about $2,500) is literally just running for hours and hours around a lighted pole under a large dome for days until the subject has some kind of epiphany.
Here’s what Lewis had to say about his splurge at the Flag Land Base…
“I routed into Flag early this year having just lost my wife and having just been scraped up off the floor by the Freewinds. Shortly before my wife passed away she said, ‘It’s your turn now. You’ve been taking care of me — now you need to take care of yourself.’ I routed in and did Super Power, then L11, then L12, then Cause Resurgence — all the while feeling myself come back and then some. I had thought I would never be happy, really happy again. Now it’s difficult to imagine being happier than I am right now. Thanks to FSO, I’m now living a new life, a rewarding one that helps both myself and many many others. I feel younger and more hopeful, and looking over my days and my activities there is absolutely nothing I am doing right now that I don’t love. I appreciate the care, love, persistence and insistence of the FSO staff. They have helped me through the worst time of my life and helped make it the best time of my life instead. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Michael Lewis”
Again, we want to point out that what we found so remarkable in 2020 was that Michael Lewis, known for being such an upbeat optimist, was saying he’d never been happier after spending tens of thousands of dollars on nutty Scientology nonsense following the deaths of his wife and son.
It simply struck us as sort of batshit crazy.
As for his life coaching career, Lewis ran a “Life Improvement Center” — a low-level Scientology introductory facility — in the San Fernando Valley, and his advertisements were always about how he was going to help you get the most out of your life.
More recently, he seems to have moved to Clearwater, Florida (like so many LA Scientologists), and he’s still plugging away, giving out L. Ron Hubbard-inspired advice in infrequent YouTube videos that have views in the tens to hundreds.
So it’s interesting to think that, if his life coaching business continues to be obscure, he’s found the energy to become a major supplier of vitriol at the Stand League website.
As his own LinkedIn page indicates, it seems to be a major part of his life now…
“Bigotry, love, brotherhood, etc.”
Now that’s a nice touch.
He has certainly been busy writing for Scientology as “Martin Landon.” We sifted through the Stand League site to find a few examples of his vitriol, which again is so different than the bouyant life coach we had become accustomed to earlier.
On Leah Remini: “Leah Remini can’t wake up. Her life is the nightmare—a nightmare of her own creation. And all she can do is flail and snarl at imagined enemies in the futile hope that someone—anyone—will toss her a lifesaver.”
On Newsweek: “Reckless leadership. Scandals and missteps. But Newsweek had not yet hit bottom. Bottom was achieved with the unholy marriage between the magazine and obsessed bigot, Leah Remini.”
On The Daily Beast: “Looking for a source of balanced, thoughtful journalism, with news based on fact, not opinion, and with its priorities properly and prudently set forth as to what is truly meaningful and newsworthy? Run, don’t walk, from The Daily Beast.”
On The Guardian: “While the Church of Scientology, a worldwide religion, gains friends and admirers for its partnerships with humanitarian organizations across the globe offering help to communities throughout the pandemic, Marina [Hyde] occupies her time and talents rehashing long-disproven lies.”
On The Hollywood Reporter: “THR has, to date, published over 300 articles snarking about the Church of Scientology. If a Scientologist actress is honored with an award, THR covers not the award, not the creative genius that earned it, not the team that contributed to it, nor even the individual receiving the award. No, it only loudly bemoans the actress’ religion for column inch after column inch.”
On John Oliver: “Oliver’s regurgitation of debunked canards about the Church of Scientology, courtesy of has-been-actress-turned-hatemonger Leah Remini, puts him not only on the unfunny side of humor, but on the wrong side of history as well.”
On NBC 12 in Phoenix: “It’s time to put an end to antireligious bigotry in reportage. It’s time to put an end to the merchandising of fear and hate at the expense of truth. It’s time for the staff of 12 News—and all other platforms still purveying discrimination—to step up as journalists or step out as the bigots they are.”
On Chris Cuomo: “Chris says he relies on Remini for his information about the Church of Scientology—Remini, who has scuttled her own career with her hateful blatherings about the Church. She who has been unceremoniously dumped by dozens of sponsors falling over themselves to get away from her infectious bile.”
On CinemaBlend: “Heidi Venable, as a writer, needs to check her ardor at the door, splash some cold water on herself, remove the rainbow filter and confront the cold, hard truth. Bigotry is bigotry. Hate is hate. Nothing will ever change that.”
On Roger Friedman: “Like so many bigots who have nothing intelligent to say, he proceeds to prove it again and again. Like so many bigots who have nothing better to do, he feels he can slander people with impunity. And like so many bigots who have no semblance of a moral compass, he feels that such things as decency, humanity, respect and honesty don’t apply if they prove problematic to the platform he has founded on smug, supercilious scorn.”
Michael, Michael. All of this negativity can’t be good for your blood pressure. Where is that radiant goof we had gotten so used to?
We sent an email to Lewis, asking about his work at the Stand League and how lucrative it was. We’ll let you know if he gets back to us.
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Why would someone who is so intent on stamping out wrong feel compelled to hide behind a fake name? Perhaps OT VIII Jenny Good of Stand League who is actually Jenny Widmaier and has been so long enough to have a son who got his drivers license, can explain her choice. Is it because they are afraid they will be fair gamed because they spread lies? No, fair game is only for Stand League and other OSA operatives. It’s really nice to not have to hide anymore. I wonder if Michael cries at night? He’s probably so indoctrinated that he thinks he really is ok. When re reading Amy Scobee’s book recently, I came across a Scientology term which I had forgotten that describes him perfectly; glee of insanity.
Michael Lewis worked for me as a writer years ago. I watched him go deeper and deeper into insane gleeful denial. Not surprising that Michael who has been a two bit writer was recruited to work for the Scientology attack groups. The toxic organization is running out of scribes with that skill. The cult no longer attracts talent. And it has lost almost all its creative people. One more sign that Scientology continues to shrink.