The Church of Scientology has fired back at actress Leah Remini after she blamed them for her not knowing her estranged father had passed away for a month. The Church of Scientology claimed that Remini’s father was never a member, and that she had “blood on her hands” over his death.

It all started when Remini took to Instagram on Sunday to announce her father’s death, saying that his “funeral came and went and none of us knew anything about it” before arguing that Scientology destroyed their relationship. The Church of Scientology has now fired back at her with a blistering statement of their own.

“Leah Remini blames everyone but herself for destroying her relationships. It’s beyond hypocritical,” the church said. “She was estranged from her father, who was never a member of the religion, for years and now even exploits his sad passing for tabloid attention. Hate consumes her. She has caused hundreds of threats of violence and even a death. She has blood on her hands.”

 

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On Friday, I received a message from my sister Nicole, who had been contacted by a stranger passing on his condolences for the passing of our father, George Anthony Remini. We had no idea that he had died a month ago. We weren’t aware that he had been sick leading up to his death. A funeral came and went and none of us knew anything about it. We were not able to say goodbye. He was not able to redeem himself, to ask for forgiveness for his failures and hurts, to become a better man to those of us who couldn’t help but love him. If you read my book, you’ll know my father and I had a difficult relationship, but I always forgave him with a daughter’s painfully endless love and hope. Regardless of his neglect and abuse, I had hoped to one day have some closure. I hoped for him to acknowledge who he had been and what he had done to us as his children. That alone would have been healing in its own way. We never got that, yet I can’t help but grieve. I am angry at myself for crying for someone who didn’t ever cry for me. I am angry that I still wanted this man’s love, I’m angry that the last chapter in our relationship was dictated by Scientology. Scientology took my dad in as a pawn against me and likely robbed him of any last ounce of heart that might have been left in him. I’m angry that Scientology found his personal weak spots and got him on board not with their beliefs but with their smear campaign against me. That was his last presence in my life. Knowing my father, after taking the offer from Scientology to betray me, he wouldn’t have thought that he could ever come back from that in our relationship. If he thought that, though, he would have been wrong. I would have forgiven him as I always did. The little girls inside of my sisters and me will never forgive Scientology for taking away our last chance to have the one thing we always wanted from our father… And that was for him to say “I’m sorry and I loved you.”

A post shared by Leah Remini (@leahremini) on Sep 22, 2019 at 7:02pm PDT

It is believed that the church was referring to allegations from earlier this year that a Taiwanese man died after being stabbed in the neck at the church’s headquarters in Sydney. The Church of Scientology International sent a letter to A&E Networks Group blaming his death company’s show “Scientology: The Aftermath,” which stars Remini.

Remini, who quit the church in 2013, blamed Scientology for ruining her relationship with her father in the post.

“We had no idea that he had died a month ago. We weren’t aware that he had been sick leading up to his death,” she wrote. “A funeral came and went and none of us knew anything about it. We were not able to say goodbye. I’m angry that the last chapter in our relationship was dictated by Scientology. Scientology took my dad in as a pawn against me and likely robbed him of any last ounce of heart that might have been left in him. I’m angry that Scientology found his personal weak spots and got him on board not with their beliefs but with their smear campaign against me. That was his last presence in my life.”