Church of Scientology (Photo : REUTERS/MARIO ANZUONI)
Scientologists criticized Sundace documentary "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief," which is about celebrity members of the church including Tom Cruise, The Citizen reported.
Scientology leaders issued a statement and said that the church believes in "free speech" but it should not be used to release false claims. They added that the details in the documentary are untrue and the director filmed it without consulting the church.
Other than that, the group launched a Freedom Media Ethics Twitter account and posted a series of tweets slamming the film. The church also launched an ad in "The New York Times" to express their negative perception about the documentary.
The Scientology leaders also criticized the film's director Alex Gibney by saying that the filmmaker based his story on kicked out church members due to illegal activities. The officials described the former members as "obsessive" and "disgruntled."
In "Going Clear," Cruise wire tapped his former wife Nicole Kidman's phones via a private investigator. Kidman was reportedly branded as "suppressive" by the Scientology church.
The former couple's children Connor, 17, and Isabella, 20, are both Scientologists. Kidman refused to comment further about the church in respect to her children's beliefs.
Cruise and another famous church member John Travolta were also shamed on the documentary for ignoring the alleged abusive treatment to the church's rank and file. The employees reportedly experienced mental and physical abuse since the church would like to extract money from them.
Gibney said that Cruise is a very important member of Scientology since he is the most famous and he can lure people into the group. The actor is highly associated with the religion and he is the "poster boy," according to Variety.
The director added that the team only talked to the people who were important to the story. The church offered to send 25 unknown people for interview but he refused.
As for Cruise, the actor denied the claims through his lawyer. According to the attorney, Cruise did not hire any special agent to spy on Kidman and he did not request the church to perform the investigation as well. All information about the alleged wire tapping is false.
"Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief" is currently showing in Sundance Film Festival at Park City, Utah until Feb. 1.
