The Church of Scientology has responded to ex-Scientologist Leah Remini’s lawsuit against it for harassment and stalking. However, rather than clear its name, the response seems to be an example of the Church using the “fair game” policy, which it claims to have canceled in 1968.
Remini filed her lawsuit on August 2, 2023, alleging that, for over a decade, the Church of Scientology had subjected her to harassment, stalking, and psychological torture in retaliation for her speaking out against it. She left the church in 2013 and began spreading awareness for the Church’s many controversies, including the disappearance of Shelly Miscavige (the wife of the Church’s current leader, David Miscavige), allegations of abuse coverups, and the Church’s fair game and disconnection policies which seek to shun and punish anyone who leaves or criticizes the organization. In her lawsuit, she listed dozens of instances of the Church’s harassment, including the Church using its tax-exempt funds to launch a defamation campaign against her on social media.
Remini’s lawsuit has raised hope that a trial by jury might uncover more of the Church’s nefarious doings and prevent it from using retaliation and harassment to avoid an investigation and accountability. The Church has now filed a motion responding to Remini’s lawsuit, but its bizarre defense may be more incriminating than the original suit.
The Church claims harassing Remini is protected by the First Amendment
The Church of Scientology has officially filed an anti-SLAPP suit in an attempt to get Remini’s lawsuit thrown out. SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation; anti-SLAPP laws exist to ensure that individuals can’t be silenced or intimidated by the threat of lawsuits for exercising their freedom of speech. So, the Church isn’t denying any of Remini’s claims. Instead, it’s claiming that its actions against Remini are protected by the First Amendment. Meanwhile, the suit is also excusing its defamation of Remini because she allegedly attacked the Church first.
The Church’s motion states, “Refusing to remain silent in the face of the threats and violence Plaintiff inspired, the Church fought back.” It also concludes, “This lawsuit is nothing but an attempt by (Remini) to stop (the) Church of Scientology International and Religious Technology Center from responding to her hateful attacks with truthful speech … Indeed … plaintiff has not identified a single statement by the church that is neither an opinion nor true.” What the Church really seems to be saying is that this is an instance of fair game.
Fair game is a policy introduced by Scientology founder Ron L Hubbard in the 1960s. The policy states that any perceived opponents of the Church are “fair game” to be punished by the Church. It claimed these individuals could “be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist” and that they could be “tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed.” The Church has claimed that the policy was canceled decades ago due to “misinterpretation” and that it only ever meant that Church defectors would no longer be protected by the Church. However, there’s evidence that the policy meant precisely what it stated and that the Church never gave it up. Remini is just one alleged victim of the fair game policy. Danny Masterson’s victims are also suing the Church for using harassment and intimidation to try to silence them.
Now, even the Church’s response to Remini invokes the fair game policy. There’s this attitude that, since Remini spoke out first and was perceived as a threat to the Church, the Church was wholly in the right to do what it did. It even believes the First Amendment protects its horrific campaign against her because Remini dared to criticize the Church. However, the Church’s First Amendment defense is ludicrous. Harassment, stalking, defamation, and psychological torture are not “free speech.” Even though Remini did criticize and question the Church, any rational person would agree that doesn’t somehow give the Church the right to attempt to destroy her life by any means necessary. It remains to be seen what the outcome of the Church’s motion will be, but it’s startling that the Church’s fair game policy is so normalized that it seems to be Scientology’s primary defense against Remini’s lawsuit.
(featured image: Aexelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty)
