Jason Beghe accuses church of secretly taping Tom Cruise; writes a letter that Scientology won’t deliver
by Tony Ortega
Village Voice, April 29th, 2008 7:00 AM
Two weeks ago, in a YouTube video and an interview in the Voice, Jason Beghe denounced Scientology as a “rip-off” that “brainwashed” its members. A veteran actor of films and TV, Beghe recently left Scientology after 12 years in the controversial church, during which he estimates he spent a million dollars on classes and training in Scientology’s arcane practices.
Beghe went public with his newest offensive against the church last night by posting online a letter addressed to Scientology leader David Miscavige. In the letter, Beghe demands that Miscavige return his confidential confessional files—dossiers compiled during his therapy, which, Beghe says, are also kept on Tom Cruise and other celebrity Scientologists.
“I want my folders back. There’s no reason for Scientology to maintain them. I paid a million dollars for that shit,” Beghe tells the Voice.
Followers of L. Ron Hubbard believe that they can develop superhuman abilities through a process called “auditing,” which includes discussing past disappointments and bad behavior while holding the sensors of an “e-meter,” a machine that measures electric current in the skin. What a parishioner admits to during auditing then becomes material that is recorded in folders as they progress through Scientology’s many levels, including beginners who are “pre-clear” or “pc,” and more advanced believers who seek to become “operating thetans” or “OT.” Such sessions cost Beghe as much as $1,000 an hour.
In the letter, Beghe demands his “pc, pre-OT and ethics folders” as well as any videotapes of his years of therapy. Beghe says that he’s not concerned about the material that was recorded in his files or what Scientology might do with them, but in part he wants to make a point about the church continuing to hold onto privileged information.