Leah Remini – best known for her starring role alongside Kevin James on sitcom The King of Queens – says that Jada Pinkett Smith is still a paid-up member of the Church of Scientology.
Like her husband Will Smith, Pinkett Smith denies that she is a member of the controversial church – but unlike him, she is a supporter, Remini claims.
‘I know Jada’s in. I know Jada’s in. She’s been in Scientology a long time,’ Remini told The Daily Beast. ‘I never saw Will [Smith] there, but I saw Jada at [Scientology’s Hollywood] Celebrity Centre.
‘They opened up a Scientology school, and have since closed it. But Jada, I had seen her at the Scientology Celebrity Centre all the time.’
Religious dispute: Jada Pinkett Smith (left) is a member of the Church of Scientology, claims Leah Remini (right). Remini grew up in the church but left in 2013 and is now a vocal critic
Pals: Remini says she never saw Will Smith at the Hollywood Scientology Centre, but wife Pinkett-Smith was a regular. Both Smiths (seen here with Tom Cruise) deny being members
Remini, 47, who was raised in Scientology, has been an ardent public critic of the religion since she left it in 2013.
Her 2015 book, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology,’ talks about her time in the church and her experiences upon leaving.
One of the most curious was an encounter with the Smiths and Tom Cruise, when the Mission: Impossible star suggested a game of hide-and-seek on his vast estate.
‘At first I thought he was joking,’ she wrote in the book.
‘But, no, he literally wanted to play hide-and-seek with a bunch of grown-ups in what was probably close to a 7,000-square-foot house on almost three full acres of secluded land.’
Remini, wearing high-heeled Jimmy Choos, declined to participate in the fun and games, she said.
At that point, she claims, Cruise walked up and said: ‘Well, good. So you’re ‘It,’ then,’ and tagged her before sprinting off.
In hiding? Remini says Cruise (both seen in 2005) challenged her and the Smiths to hide-and-seek on his estate, which she said was weird, since there were no kids around at the time
Trouble: Pinkett Smith was asked about Remini’s claim, made in her book (left), and said kids were present. Remini says that’s proof she’s ‘still in’ the church (Hollywood Centre seen left)
The odd hide-and-seek story would raise its head again this year as Pinkett Smith promoted her hit indie film Girls’ Trip this year.
‘She was on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live a few weeks ago promoting her film, and Andy [Cohen] said to her, “Have you read Leah Remini’s book?”‘ Remini recalled.
‘And he was like, “What was that whole thing about playing tag?” and she said, “Oh, she lied.”
‘He goes, “Isn’t that weird, to play tag?” and she goes, “No, the kids were there.”
‘That was untrue. Bulls**t. There were no kids there. I was like, okay, alright, you’re gonna do that? More power to ya.’
Remini said she ‘had hoped that she had left [Scientology], but this was the tell-tale sign that she was still in.’
Pinkett Smith’s management have been contacted for comment.
The Smiths have both long denied being involved in the Church of Scientology, although they came under fire in 2008 when they funded the New Village Leadership Academy in California.
The school, though ostensibly secular, employed a number of Scientologist staff, and employed ‘Study Technology,’ a teaching method developed by Scientology co-founder L Ron Hubbard.
In response to Remini’s book, the Church of Scientology released a scathing response in which it called her ‘bitter’ and claimed her fellow ex-Scientologists were a ‘collection of deadbeats, admitted liars, self-admitted perjurers, wife beaters and worse.’