Thank you to everyone who messaged or tweeted us last night about host Jerrod Carmichael’s joke about Tom Cruise, Shelly Miscavige, and Scientology on the Golden Globes broadcast.
Not only was it a pointed jab at Scientology and the missing wife of its ruthless leader, David Miscavige, but it was wrapped up in a history with the Globes that we thought we ought to briefly review to put the joke in some context.
In 2011, when he was hosting the Golden Globes broadcast, comedian Ricky Gervais quipped, “Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor — two heterosexual actors pretending to be gay, so the complete opposite of some famous Scientologists then.”
It appeared to be a reference to Scientology celebrities John Travolta and Tom Cruise without using their names. Cruise has long been the subject of jokes about his sexual orientation, but journalists who seriously cover him will tell you there’s nothing to it. Still, we have a feeling that the joke stung, and particularly because it was said on an awards program that has recognized Cruise three times, for best actor in Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire, and for best supporting actor in Magnolia. (The Oscar, meanwhile, has eluded him.)
In February 2021, the Los Angeles Times revealed that none of the 87 foreign journalists who made up the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and who nominated winners for the Golden Globes were Black. And this was at a time when some prominent, critically-acclaimed films by Black artists had not been nominated for awards. Then in April, the HFPA expelled former eight-time president Philip Berk for sending a racist email about the BLM movement. On May 6, the HFPA announced that it had voted on sweeping reforms and was committed to growing its membership and focusing on recruiting more Black members.
Despite the HFPA’s move toward reform, four days later Tom Cruise announced that he was returning all three of his Golden Globe awards. NBC, meanwhile, announced that it wouldn’t be showing the 2022 awards show, which was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel with no attendees, because of an increase in Covid cases.
This year’s program marked a return of the awards program to NBC, and a chance for the HFPA to attempt a comeback. And that’s the setup for this joke from last night’s host, Jerrod Carmichael.
Backstage, I found these three Golden Globe awards that Tom Cruise returned. Look, I’m just the host briefly, whatever, but I have a pitch: I think maybe we take these three things and exchange them for the safe return of Shelly Miscavige.
OK, he mispronounced “Miscavige” (It’s Miss-CAV-idge, not MISS-ca-vitch), but still, it was a pretty fun jab by the HFPA back at Tom Cruise, and at Scientology, which had so much influence in Hollywood in the 1990s but that is now waning.
And the best part, of course, is that a few million more people have heard Shelly’s name and might be wondering what that was all about.
Every Christmas day, we review what we know about Shelly, who vanished from Scientology’s secretive Int Base in 2005, and has not been seen since she attended the funeral of her father in 2007. We have a very good idea of where she’s being kept, and we also discuss what law enforcement has done (or not done) about her apparent banishment by her husband.
We know that Shelly may be resigned to her fate. And some former Scientologists seem to think that she may actually be content with her situation. But our own reporting suggests that Shelly knows she is a prisoner, and that she no longer even has the freedom to communicate with her own sisters or other family members.
When will the press start taking Shelly’s fate more seriously, and demand that Tom Cruise answer some questions about where his best friend Dave is keeping his wife and why she can never leave her mountain compound?
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
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There was a time when no celebrity would go near that joke. I noticed a cringe in the audience when he said it, but a few did applaud. The church of scientology is slowly going down. It's fun to watch from the cheap seats and I thank Tony and others for exposing the abuses and taking the bold stands for so many years. The courts or justice systems may not bring it down (or maybe in its final hours will do something so they can take a bow) but Tony's and a few other's perseverance is making it happen. I applaud.
Every bit of any 'where's Shelly' should get some media coverage. I give respect to the Joke Writers and to Jerrod Carmichael for fearlessly poking the $cieno clam bed. It seems that no one is afraid of $cientology any more. Good for all of us and the entire planet.
The Vox populi has spoken, $cientology is Ebola coated kiddie porn. Just keep hammering away with that meme. It does have an effect and at least may keep a few people away from the $cieno scam.