Emmy Winner Leah Remini Jokingly Forgives Mom For Getting Her Into 'A Cult'
Updated
Leah Remini just scored her first Emmy win.
Over the weekend, the actress and former Scientologist received the Creative Arts Emmy award for best informational series or special for her A&E series, “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.”
The actress thanked mom Vicki, who had brought her daughter into the Church of Scientology when Remini was a child.
“Mom, thank you. You are officially forgiven for getting us into a cult,” the former “King of Queens” star quipped in accepting the Emmy, according to Deadline. Her mother was in the audience to celebrate her daughter’s win, the media outlet reported.
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Remini dedicated her Emmy to the “brave ones,” the former Scientologists who told their stories throughout the series.
“I’m so happy to share this,” Remini said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s not an easy job, but they were the ones putting their stories out there for everyone to hear. And we are honored to be the vessel to tell [those] stories. ... This belongs to our contributors, the brave ones, who are telling their stories.”
Remini, who left Scientology about four years ago, hopes to use the series as a tool to continue exposing the organization’s dark side.
“The way the organization has responded without taking responsibility for what they do to people, I need to continue,” Remini told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year. “It would be another [scenario] if they stopped trying to discredit everyone’s stories and said, ‘If you don’t like it, don’t be part of Scientology.’”
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Meanwhile, the Church of Scientology organization continues to dispute Remini’s claims about harmful practices within the organization. It even created a website dedicated to discrediting her.
But Remini won’t back down. She told The Hollywood Reporter, “Until the day I no longer have this platform, I won’t be silent.”
Leah Remini attends the 2017 Creative Arts Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 9, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic via Getty Images)
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