Remini: Scientologists Wanted Kevin James

They wanted her to convert co-star, says actress
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 30, 2017 9:55 AM CDT
Remini: Scientologists Wanted Kevin James
Kevin James and Leah Remini pose on the set of the CBS comedy "The King Of Queens" in 2007.   (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

If Leah Remini hadn't left Scientology and subsequently raised hell about the church, leaders might be pleased to know she's again working with Kevin James. In an interview with People, Remini says she was pressured to convert James to Scientology while the pair were working together on The King of Queens. Leaders would ask "'Why is he not in? Why have you not promoted it to him?' I was like, 'Because he's Catholic. He doesn't want anything to do with it,'" says the 47-year-old actress. "They let it go after a while, but usually you'd be expected to recruit, especially with somebody you work with for nine years."

Remini, whose docu-series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath has begun its second season on A&E, says she never actively tried to convert James, who supported her once she left the church. "He reached out to me and said, 'I'm so proud of you; if you need anything, I'm here,'" Remini says. Other celebrities were reportedly less supportive. Page Six cites sources who say Lisa Marie Presley has ended her friendship with Remini after the actress tried to persuade Presley to leave the church and help her expose its alleged crimes. Presley reportedly believed she was being manipulated by her former best friend. (More Leah Remini stories.)

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