Karen#1
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When Scientology tried to convince the LA Times that Tom & Dave were just regular dudes
We have a fun trip down memory lane for you this fine Sunday.
tonyortega.substack.com
We have a fun trip down memory lane for you this fine Sunday.
And it’s a tribute to our dear friend Mike Rinder, who we miss terribly.
Mike, of course, was a big bad operative under Scientology leader David Miscavige until his 2007 defection. And if you haven’t done it already, we highly recommend that you get Mike’s bestselling 2022 book, A Billion Years: My escape from life in the highest ranks of Scientology. It skillfully tells the story of Mike’s rise in the church, and then the work he did after leaving to expose Miscavige.
We started interviewing Mike in 2011 while we were at the Voice, and one of our personal favorite stories that Mike told us was from the wild and woolly year of 2005.
That was the year, of course, when Miscavige tried out the idea of Tom Cruise becoming a more obvious ambassador for Scientology, with disastrous results. In May, Tom jumped on Oprah’s couch, and in June he had his combative TODAY interview with Matt Lauer.
One outfit that took notice was the Los Angeles Times, which that year decided there might be a story in Tom’s new stature in Scientology, and also what appeared to be a very tight relationship between the Top Gun star and Miscavige.
Mike told us that this sent the upper echelons of Scientology into a serious panic.
The LA Times, of course, had seriously rocked Scientology with a 1990 investigative series by top journalists Joel Sappell and Robert W. Welkos. More recently, the paper had not done much about the church. Now, they had put Kim Christensen and Claire Hoffman on the hunt for what was really going on with Cruise and Miscavige, and Mike said Miscavige was freaking out.
He had us doubled over in laughter when Mike explained that in order to throw the Times off the scent, they had actually sent the photograph of Cruise and Miscavige on motorcycles (see above) in order to give the impression that they were just normal dudes who happened to be buds.
Wait, we asked Mike, Scientology sent the Times that photo?
Yes, he said, and it obviously didn’t create the impression that Dave was going for.
Anyway, one of the things that the Times was looking into was what they were hearing about Cruise’s time doing Scientology training to become an auditor at the secretive Int Base (also known as Golden Era) around the year 1990. (This was something Marc Headley wrote about a few years later in his excellent 2009 book Blown for Good, and that we talked to him about for a Voice story. Marc detailed how Cruise actually used Marc as a test subject for this training. Hilarious stuff.)
Anyway, Mike told us that Dave was in a serious panic. It was Mike’s job to convince the Times that not only was there nothing unusual about the relationship between Tom and Dave (they were just buds), but also that there was nothing unusual about Tom getting training at the Int Base or anything else about his role as a celebrity.
Of course, the truth was that by this time, 2005, Miscavige was obsessed with Cruise, and just the previous October had given the actor a “Freedom Medal of Valor” as the most dedicated Scientologist in the world. Dave was also Tom’s best man at his wedding with Nicole Kidman and then again when he married Katie Holmes.
But it was Mike’s job to head off the Times and convince them the kinds of questions they were asking was an example of press “bigotry.”
And today, for you, we have something very interesting: An actual letter that Mike Rinder sent to Kim Christensen at the LA Times in 2005 as he was doing his best to run interference for Cruise and Miscavige. (It didn’t work, and the Times piece was one of the best they ever published about Scientology.)
In the letter, Mike refers to Paul Bloch, a publicist who was also dealing with the Times and answering questions on Cruise’s behalf.
Here’s the letter, and it really takes us back…
Dear Kim,
Notwithstanding the time
we spent together, Mr. Bloch informed me of some of the questions you
relayed to him and I see that, despite me providing you the information,
some matters continue to be misconstrued and/or mischaracterized. So
there are no confusions and so as to let there be no doubt about matters
you’ve once again raised, let me be clear:
You’ve asked me
repeatedly about Tom Cruise participating in Scientology services at the
Golden Era facility and I’ve repeatedly told you there was nothing
unusual about it. Now I see, in the questions you posed to Mr. Bloch, a
“qualifying” phrase which you never said to me—specifically, that unlike other celebrities Mr. Cruise spent a substantial amount of time at the Church’s facility. That is false. It is not unlike
other celebrities and any attempt to assert otherwise is obviously
intended to create a misleading impression. And while I am hardly going
to explain the services they participate in, virtually any well-known
celebrity Scientologist has likewise spent substantial time at this
Church facility—from John Travolta to Kirstie Alley to Chick Corea, and
the list could go on and on. As I’ve also previously told you, thousands
of other non-celebrity Scientologists have also visited and as I’ve
also repeatedly told you—those visitors have stayed in the very same guest quarters as Mr. Cruise did.
Secondly, you asked Mr. Bloch why Mr. Cruise chose this
site for his studies. This is again a mischaracterization. Prior to
participating in services at the Gold property, he studied at Celebrity
Centre International. It is a matter of public record that those
facilities went under intensive restoration which lasted from 1990 to
1992. During that period both the interiors and exteriors were a virtual
construction site and hardly useable for Church services for Mr.
Cruise.
(As a side note, the substantial nature of the
restoration of Celebrity Centre is also a matter of public record—it
received the award for best historic restoration.) Since its completion,
Mr. Cruise has availed himself of services at Celebrity Centre (and
otherwise at our Church in Clearwater)—not at Golden Era.
Continuing
the trend of mischaracterization, I see you referring to the location
as a “desert facility.” While you are well aware that Palm Springs, Palm
Desert and other desert cities are resort destinations, this phrase has
been used in the past to imply a negative characterization of the
Gilman facility. For the record, the property itself is hardly a desert.
In fact, it’s a virtual greenbelt spread over 500 acres and with 3,000
trees (NOT cactuses!). Further, the property is
not located in the desert by any stretch of the imagination or
geographical mischaracterization. It is in a valley that is one of the
richest farming areas of Southern California. The facility is no more
the desert than Los Angeles, unless one considers all Southern
California a desert.
And then, once again continuing this
trend of mischaracterizing by omission or out-of-context questions
concerning Mr. Cruise’s services at the Gilman facility, you ask how
much of his training, Scientology auditing and spiritual counseling was
done at Gilman, compared to other sites such as Celebrity Centre and the
Flag Land Base. I’ve repeatedly told you it was minimal. So as to leave
no question, I have had various church records reviewed and the answer
is approximately 5%.
As you are well aware, Mr. Cruise has
been a Scientologist since 1986 – 20 years. The period you refer to was
15 years ago and since then he has continued to actively participate in
his religion. And, as I previously mentioned, even the paparazzi could
confirm for you his regular visits to Celebrity Centre – in fact, it’s
been mentioned more than a few times in entertainment tabloids such as People, Entertainment Weekly, etc.
But I am sure you are already aware that when at Celebrity Centre he is
out and about with the public, frequents the public dining room,
attends their public events, etc., just as he does when in Clearwater.
The
wording of your questions is not a mere misunderstanding. What’s
apparent is that somebody has tried to feed you a set of fictitious,
unsubstantiated, outdated and out-of-context sensational allegations
concerning a time period 15 years ago. What’s disturbing is that despite
the unprecedented access given the LA Times, you
still only seem interested in asking questions that might, in an
out-of-context way, “support” that false impression. I went to great
lengths to answer questions you had and despite spending hours with
yourself and your photographer, touring through our Los Angeles Church,
Celebrity Centre and Golden Era Productions, I was mystified to hear you
were still focusing on the same things I’d already explained. However,
for the first time, in your questions to Mr. Bloch, I’ve seen how the
mischaracterization is continuing through use of qualifying language to
create a false impression and mischaracterize events. The “unlike
others” is precisely what I am referring to and the purpose of making
Mr. Cruise’s studies seem unusual compared to other Scientologists (and
even celebrity Scientologists) is blatantly obvious and just as
blatantly false.
Moving on – after all we went over,
you are still asking to what extent Mr. Miscavige was personally
involved in Tom Cruise’s auditing and training. The answer is zero.
I will repeat it again. Mr. Miscavige is the leader of the worldwide
Scientology religion. It is in a 24/7, 365 job and it is not his job and
he is not and has not been involved in the individual auditing and
training of any parishioner, Tom Cruise or anyone else. The staff
assigned as course supervisors and auditors in churches perform this
function. Marty Rathbun was not involved in Mr. Cruise’s training.
And
finally, it is insulting to me, as one of the people that is
responsible for the leadership of the Church, to have you keep asking
about Tom Cruise taking a “formal leadership role” in the Church. He is
the biggest movie star in the world. Because he is a Scientologist and
because he tells people about Scientology, does not by any stretch mean
he is or even could take a leadership role in the Church. Would you ask
the Vatican about Bono assuming a “formal leadership role” in the
Catholic Church and becoming an archbishop because he is a well-known
Catholic who has a relationship with the last Pope? And do you even
think he could do so if he wished? If you think the comparison is
inappropriate, then it’s because you are applying a
different standard to Mr. Cruise’s chosen religion—and that is the
fundamental definition of bigotry. Tom Cruise is a world famous film
actor. He is a Scientologist. There are people who are leaders of the
Church. They are Scientologists. Because you are a prominent
Scientologist doesn’t make you a leader of the Church. So, stop twisting
this. Mr. Cruise serves on no Boards of Directors of any Church and his
participation in other activities utilizing Mr. Hubbard’s breakthroughs
are in the fields of education, drug rehabilitation, human rights and
detoxification of New York emergency workers. All have been extensively
covered in the media who have toured those facilities and activities,
just as Mr. Cruise has openly discussed—on the most-watched television
interview programs, and to journalists from virtually every major
newspaper and magazine internationally—when and how he came to
Scientology.
None of those public facts fit your contrived
focus on Golden Era Productions or David Miscavige and anybody who tells
you otherwise is either lying or misinformed. I doubt you’d go to the
gardener at the Bel-Air hotel to get the story on Mr. Cruise although I
happen to know he stayed there for months in a single year.
Hopefully the above information is helpful in clarifying matters for you.
SUMMARY
In
our discussions I have provided you many answers and facts (concerning
other misconceptions and falsehoods you raised) which I am not repeating
here. That I haven’t done so is not intended to imply that any of those
other misconceptions are true. They are not, and as you know, this is
far from an all-inclusive listing of the answers you were provided to
those questions. Further, I have made no attempt to answer other
questions directed to Mr. Bloch regarding Mr. Cruise’s professional
career, for which Mr. Bloch and others are the only ones qualified to
respond.
Sincerely,
Mike Rinder
There are a couple of things in the letter that we wanted to comment on further. First, we have long said that Tom Cruise got into Scientology in 1986 when he began dating Mimi Rogers, and it’s good to see that Mike also asserted this was correct. (We have seen various other media cite 1988 or 1990 for some reason.)
We’ve always thought that Cruise getting into Scientology in 1986 was a very important detail. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard had died on January 24, 1986, and the death of the founder is always a huge challenge for a high-control organization like this. That Tom walked into his first Scientology location later that same year (at a North Hollywood satellite office which Mimi Rogers had at one point owned) was incredible good luck for Scientology.
Tom married Mimi the following year, on May 9, 1987. And as any Scientologist will tell you, that’s a very auspicious date. May 9 is Dianetics Day, which honors the first publication of Hubbard’s landmark book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, which occurred on May 9, 1950. To us, this is just further proof that by that point, Mimi had succeeded in getting Tom thoroughly into the church.
The second point we wanted to comment on further is something we tell other journalists whenever they ask us about this tabloid misconception that Cruise is “second in command” in Scientology.
It’s simply not true. Yes, Tom and Dave are close friends, and Dave no doubt cares about Tom’s comments and opinions. But Tom Cruise is also just a celebrity, an ornament who is intended to give Scientology an illusion of normalcy, and he’s not in any way someone who helps run the organization. Rinder is actually correct here when he says that it’s analogous to a celebrity Catholic — someone who wouldn’t be helping the Pope run things if they aren’t a bishop or cardinal.
We know it’s difficult for some people, particularly Tom Cruise fans, to understand this, but he really is just a true believer and a very dedicated Scientologist.
As Jean Brousseau, Dave’s former brother-in-law, put it to us when we interviewed him for the Voice, “Tom Cruise worships David Miscavige like a god.”
It’s a breathtaking assertion, and one we will always marvel at.
When Scientology tried to convince the LA Times that Tom & Dave were just regular dudes
We have a fun trip down memory lane for you this fine Sunday.
tonyortega.substack.com
