Anderson Cooper's Epic Scientology Smackdown, Part 1
Tonight, Anderson Cooper sat down with Marty Rathbun, formerly the second-highest ranking member of Scientology, for an interview.
Marty unloads on DM
Marty, as usual, comes off as calm, cool, and credible as hell.
But Cooper's big piece can be summarized thusly:
A couple of high-level members of Scientology say that the organization's top dude, David Miscavige, regularly beat up his employees in recent years. Scientology's spokesmodel, Anne Archer son Tommy Davis, says they're lying. The church submitted various affidavits and depositions by ex-spouses and others, who say Rathbun and others are lying.
Cooper tosses up his hands, admitting that he doesn't know who's telling the truth.
Way to go, CNN. So we get a classic mainstream media he said/she said, and nothing about what this Scientology thing is, how it uses celebrities to suck in patsies, what courts have found time and time again about how the "church" is one big economic scam, etc.
Well, with three more episodes, we can only hope. But from the tease for tomorrow, it just looks like more slappy DM.
Tony Ortega is the editor-in-chief of the Village Voice. Since 1995, he's been writing about Scientology at several publications. Among his other stories about L. Ron Hubbard's organization:
The Larry Wollersheim Saga -- Scientology Finally Pays For Its Fraud
The Tory Bezazian (Christman) Story -- How the Internet Saved A Scientologist From Herself
The Jason Beghe Defection -- A Scientology Celebrity Goes Rogue
The Robert Cipriano Case -- A Hellacious Example of Fair Game
The Paul Haggis Ultimatum -- The 'Crash' Director Tells Scientology to Shove It
The Marc Headley Escape -- 'Tom Cruise Told Me to Talk to a Bottle'
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