All the Weird Tom Cruise Stories From Leah Remini’s Book About Scientology

Tom Cruise in 1989 | Image: Alan Light

With the release of the HBO documentary Going Clear, new attention is being paid to the allegedly dishonest, unethical and illegal practices of the Church of Scientology. Though other articles that detail the behind-the-scenes goings on within the church have preceeded the documentary, the doc has delved the deepest, revealing unprecedented detail about Scientology's strongarm tactics, illegal wiretapping, stalking, threats and other alleged deplorable behavior. 

Leah Remini is an actress who famously parted ways with the church several years ago. She has written a book elaborating on her involvement with Scientology and its more famous devotees. The memoir, entitled Troublemaker, has plenty of information about actor Tom Cruise, as he is one of the most powerful Scientologists. Here are a few of the incidents Remini relates that involve Cruise:

Bella and Connor Cruise don't talk to their mom, Nicole Kidman, because she's "a f**king SP."

Remini was going back to the airport with Bella and Connor Cruise, the kids Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman adopted when the pair was married. When Remini asked them about their mom, Bella replied, "Not if I have a choice. Our mom is a f**king SP." An SP, you'll remember, is a Suppressive Person, which is basically Scientology lingo for scum. She observed:

"Connor just looked out the window. There was something more human about his silence and the sadness I felt in it. My heart broke for him, his sister, and their mother as we rode the rest of the way to the airport without saying another word."

There was an incident with cookie dough.

Remini writes that people were "terrified of offending Tom." Once, he wanted to make cookies, and there was a package of prepackaged cookie dough on the counter. He asked, "Guys, where's the cookie stuff?" The assistants fluttered around but they didn't point out to him that it was right there on the counter. "Tom seemed like a child who had never been told no," Remini observes. "Get in the f**king present time, is what you need to do!" he screamed at his assistant. He then gave a rundown of the hierarchy:

Still not noticing the log of pre-made dough on the counter, Tom raised his hand above his head. "LRH [L. Ron Hubbard] is here," he said, then lowered his hand to his chin and said, "And Dave and I are here." Then, with his hand down at his waist, he said, "And you are here."

Read about other Cruise-control, Scientology-related incidents at Vulture.