Golden Globes audience shocked by Tom Cruise Scientology joke
The Golden Globes took place last night in Los Angeles, the second biggest awards show night in Hollywood, and in many ways the annual pre-cursor to the Oscars. Ricky Gervais is no longer on hosting duties, but he may as well have been given how shocking things got.
At one point, host Jerrod Carmichael did what few people would dare and made a Scientology joke referencing Tom Cruise, moments before he welcomed two of Cruise’s Tom Gun: Maverick co-stars up on stage.
Carmichael said: “Backstage, I found these three Golden Globe awards that Tom Cruise returned. Just a pitch, but I think maybe we take these three things and exchange them for the safe return of Shelly Miscavige.”
Shelly Miscavige was a prominent Scientologist who was married to Scientologist leader David Miscavige but she disappeared in 2007 and her whereabouts isn’t known.
Cruise returned three Golden Globes as part of a boycott of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organisation that run the Golden Globes, after an expose found they lack diversity.
Many Scientologists have quietly left the Church over the years but very few publically speak out against the Church.
Tom Cruise has been a member for over 30 years.
There was visible shock on the faces of the Golden Globes audience following the comment, and notable former Scientologist Mike Rinder is one of those who’ve spoken out thanking Carmichael for raising awareness of Shelly’s disappearance.
The actor Leah Remini is another who has vocally spoken out about the disappearance of Miscavige and she also tweeted last night thanking Carmichael for how he’d brought the disappearance back into the public domain.
Remini recently undertook her own investigation in which she claims US officials may have given Scientology leaders information, and that Scientology and the Los Angeles Police Department have a “cozy” relationship. The Twitter thread compiling her research has over 160,000 likes and over 30,000 retweets.
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