Jump to content
JJFP reunite for 50 years of Hip Hop December 10 ×
Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince Forum

Will Smith, Jada the new faces of Scientology?


Ale

Recommended Posts

By Courtney Hazlett

The Scoop

updated 9:56 a.m. ET March 17, 2008

hummmgu6.jpg

Are Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Kimora Lee Simmons the new celebrity faces of Scientology? The case is certainly made in “Scientology Under Siege,” Radar magazine’s April cover story.

In the piece, the magazine said, “The Church has also set its sights on African Americans, opening up a center in Harlem in 2003 and making a strong play for Hollywood supercouple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett.”

Despite a fervent denial from Smith’s rep—“I can tell you with 100 percent certainty this is not true”—sources close to Smith earlier told this column that the actor definitely is becoming a member of the religion. “He’s been getting more and more involved (in Scientology),” said one source. “And it isn’t just him, it’s definitely Jada, too.”

“It’s not so much that anyone is upset that Will is becoming a Scientologist,” the source added after seeing a copy of the nine-page Radar piece. “It’s that as he becomes more involved, you’d think he’d sort of help fly the flag with Tom (Cruise), who seems to only get a bad rap for it, while Will does this and comes through just fine.”

As for Kimora Lee Simmons, the Radar piece makes the case for including her among the ranks of celebrity Scientologists. The magazine points to a 2006 gathering where Scientology leader David Miscavige “spoke glowingly of Kimora Lee Simmons’ efforts to distribute a personalized edition of Hubbard’s “The Way to Happiness,” featuring her image on the cover, to school kids in New Jersey.” Simmons’ rep said that the designer/model is not a Scientologist.

If you’re curious about the other celebs that take part in the religion, Radar covers that ground, too. Ones you’re probably aware of are Kirstie Alley, Lisa Marie Presley and Jenna Elfman.

Some you might not have known about include musician Beck, former “South Park” chef Isaac Hayes (Hayes reportedly quit the show after it spoofed the religion), Juliette Lewis, Giovanni Ribisi (whose sister happens to be married to Beck), FNC reporter Greta Van Susteren and the voice of Bart Simpson, Nancy Cartwright.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23664621

Never ending story...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

lol who is this source? A scottish newspaper probably. Its amzing how ive watched this story unravel, they all have the same quotes from Will, it started as, he may be involved, its lilely thats hes involved and ive read the other week he definatly is involved.

i wish Will would tell them straight and shut them all up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Will Smith Not A Scientologist, Confirms Rep

Will Smith's representative has confirmed to TheCelebrityTruth.com that the movie star is not a Scientologist, after reports continue to circulate on gossip blogs and tabloids that he has joined the controversial religion.

According to the April edition of Radar magazine (via msnbc.com), "The Church has also set its sights on African Americans, opening up a center in Harlem in 2003, and making a strong play for Hollywood supercouple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett."

The article quotes an 'unnamed source' who claims that Smith is "getting more and more involved (in Scientology)... and it isn't just him, it's definitely Jada, too."

The story has been picked up by numerous gossip sites including Perez Hilton, however, when TheCelebrityTruth.com checked in with Pat Kingsley – Smith's representative – Kingsley vehemently denies the Scientology speculation.

"As Will Smith's publicist I can tell you with 100 per cent certainty that Will is not a Scientologist," Kingsley says.

http://thecelebritytruth.com/will-smith-no...irms-rep/001178

Link to comment
Share on other sites

lol who is this source? A scottish newspaper probably. Its amzing how ive watched this story unravel, they all have the same quotes from Will, it started as, he may be involved, its lilely thats hes involved and ive read the other week he definatly is involved.

i wish Will would tell them straight and shut them all up.

I think Will has read your comment, Julie... :lolsign:

Will Smith and Jada: Don't know much Scientology

Tuesday, March 18th 2008, 4:00 AM

amd_smiths.jpg

Will Smith, Jada Pinkett and Kimora Lee Simmons are loudly denying Radar magazine's claims that they've been recruited into — dun dun dun! — the Church of Scientology.

Smith, a good buddy of Scientology poster boy Tom Cruise, denies he is a church member. "You don't have to be Jewish to be a friend of Steven Spielberg. You don't have to be a Muslim to be a friend of Muhammad Ali. And you don't have to be a Scientologist to be a friend of Tom Cruise," Smith tells us. "I am a Christian. I am a student of all religions. And I respect all people and all paths."

Despite reports she distributed the Scientology book "The Way to Happiness" to N.Y. school kids, Simmons' reps also denied her involvement.

But while celebs are distancing themselves from the cultlike religion, Radar's blistering six-page expose of the church says leaders are more concerned by the dissension of its former members, namely the shadowy network of ex-Scientologists known as "Anonymous."

The group is credited with leaking the now-infamous recruiting tape of Cruise laughing maniacally (in an equally creepy turtleneck). The pranksters/hackers also managed to crash the church's Web site for three days and post confidential Scientololgy documents and lectures on YouTube.

Said Church spokeswoman Karin Pouw: "This group of cyber-terrorists ... has targeted the Scientology religion with hate speech and hate crimes" and has even left "threats to plant nitroglycerin bombs in churches."

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/03/...much_scien.html

END OF STORY!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

lmao, cover your tracks before you get sued

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2008...ogist-radar.php

Am I the only one who's bothered by the way they presented that article ?

They were defensive and perhaps correct but somehow they left out a major part of the article

in which it was implied he was a scientologist by a ''source'' from an msnbc article within their own article.

YET, they added a couple other quotes from Will about Scientology that had nothing to do with the main article from other sources (which one of them ironically is msnbc), it is as if they are trying to imply he is a Scientologist and offend him by using his own words against him.

It felt like ''hey we didn't say he was, but look the man is basically admitting he is'' type of article.

Edited by Typhoon20
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's great news. Finally Will speaks out. This will shut up the haters.

Sadly, all the time Will is friends with Tom Cruise he will still be attached to Scientology. So I think we're in for more Scientology ish, because Will won't stop a good friendship just because the media print some lies, and why should he at the end of the day. All that's gonna happen is we'll hear everything we hear now, all we need to know is he isn't a Scientologist and let the media publish what they want. Not that his religion matters to me personally.

Edited by Big Willie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Exclusive: Sony Execs Tried To Pressure MSNBC Into Killing Will Smith Scientology Story

Defamer has learned that executives at Sony tried to have an MSNBC story outing Will Smith as a closeted Scientologist killed. With the Smith tentpole Hancock slated for a July release, execs are clearly worried their big summer blockbuster will turn into another Mission:Impossible 3 conundrum, when Tom Cruise's anything-but-glib antics spurred petitions against the film and damaged the film's B.O. on both the domestic and international fronts. In an effort to prevent a similar ****show come July, our source claims Sony forced a denial statement out of Smith after MSNBC stuck by their original story:

"After word got out that Will was a secret Scientologist, reps from Sony [the studio behind Hancock] completely flipped out, and asked that the online exclusive be taken down immediately. After being refused, Sony forced Smith to speak out and release a denial statement."

But how did his friends in the Church take the news? Find out after the jump.

As our source explained, it appears the folks at Sony weren't the only ones up in arms about the Smith and Scientology claims. Apparently Will and his family have been giving money to the Church for years, though they've done a fantastic job keeping their donations under the radar. Says our source, "After Smith's Scientologist friends saw the denial today, they got incredibly pissed and some asked him, 'you're still gonna donate money, right?'" Considering the secretive nature of many celebrity Scientologists, coupled with an urgent request from a major studio to remove a rumor on a gossip site, it's time to take this story up a notch from rumor to fact. Since when do execs at a studio as powerful as Sony reach out to news-gathering organizations and attempt to use their leverage in order to kill potentially damaging stories? Oh yeah, that's right, since forever! We applaud the folks over at MSNBC for sticking to their guns (and their story).

http://defamer.com/369401/exclusive-sony-e...ientology-story

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...