Why Leah Remini Was Estranged From Her Father Up Until His Death

In July 2013, Leah Remini broke away from Scientology. It wasn’t until her daughter, Sofia, got older that Leah realized that she didn’t want to integrate her child into that lifestyle. “The mission is to save the planet and because Scientologists view children as spiritual beings, you’re not treated as a kid. You’re given a lot of responsibility, and so your ego becomes extremely inflated,” Leah said during an interview on “20/20” that aired in 2015 (per Us Weekly). The actor stepped away to avoid repeating the mistakes that her own mother made.

And while Leah has been determined to save the relationship that she has with her daughter, she completely blames the church for destroying the one that she had with her father. When Leah left Scientology, George Remini did an interview with the church alleging that Leah had agreed to pay $1,500 for George to be tested for cancer, but never did. He and his wife, Dana, went on to do several other videos blasting Leah, presumably for money.

Leah wrote on Instagram, “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.” She added, “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.”