'Love & Hip Hop' star's terrifying moments behind locked Scientology doors
Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta star Mimi Faust recalled on Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath her harrowing experience of being abandoned by her mother when she was just 13 years old. Her mother was a member of Scientology‘s Sea Organization, and when Faust declined to sign the billion-year Sea Org contract, she was forced onto the streets while her mother stayed behind at the “Big Blue” Scientology building in Los Angeles.
Faust said, “They didn’t give me one red cent, not even a $1.50 to take the bus or a blanket. ‘Here you go, go sleep on this park bench.’ Nothing. And then they sent people up to escort me out of the building, a 13-year-old.”
For the next four years, Faust dealt with being homeless while also still going to school. At the age of 17, Faust went back to visit her mom, but members of the Sea Org quickly entered the room.
“They take over the conversation,” she said, “and then here comes the contract out of the drawer. They slide the billion-year contract over to me, and they say, ‘Sign the paper.'”
Refusing to sign the contract, Faust tried to leave the building entirely but the Scientologists had other ideas. “They close the door, lock it, and tape the contract to the door,” she said. “And they’re all surrounding me at the door, and they’re chanting again. I just lost it. And after about a good 10 minutes of me going ape s***, they let me out.”
Faust’s mother was a part of the Sea Organization until her death. And for Faust, the Scientology tactics of pulling families apart seemed to directly oppose their supposed beliefs. “If you can’t keep a mother and child together, how are you supposed to unite the planet?” she said. “Does that make any sense to you? ‘Cause it doesn’t make any sense to me at all.”
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on A&E. Watch clips and full episodes of Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath free on Yahoo View.
Check out Leah Remini call out John Travolta and other celebrity Scientologists: ‘Cut the s***’
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