...I don’t dislike her as such, Maru...for me, there is not much to dislike ..but not much to like either as she’s so vapid, as Shaun said...is how it’s feeling sadly...even with ‘bad girls’ like Natalie, for instance..?...there is depth of character so there is something to begin understanding and exploration..but Kirstie gives nothing, I don’t feel...there is no starting point with her...atm for me...and I was all up for loving her in her feistiness and her outspokenness and her being her own person...so it’s a huge disappointment for me...

Like i said i don't expect her to go in full details about politics or religion and have heavy debates , she also briefly said she was brought up Christian . The saying goes never argue about politics and religion because it can get messy.

However i don't think there's anything wrong with briefly giving a summary of your beliefs. But i also understand things can get heated with split views etc and people can challenge you in a unhealthy way .And when there's someone like Natalie prodding her , obviously it will encourage her to keep her guard up so i understand that.

They arent allowed to discuss it apparently

...they put in a Scientologist...not allowed to discuss Scientology...they wanted to put in a Trump dalliance...not allowed to discuss that ahem alliance...give their heads a wobble, Josy...we’re hungry, we need something...we need the discussions...

Well this is what happens when you put people like dan or Ben in a 30 day series where you have to rely on the unbearable American reality star or the person in a cult who’s not allowed to speak out about it

I'm pretty sure it's a crime in Scientology to spread false values or misinterpret the beliefs so she's probably just covering her own back

Through personal experience, having a sister who got drawn into Scientology after receiving a leaflet in which they seemed to promise to change the lives of people who were basically depressed and full of negativity about themselves, Scientology is about exploitation of the vulnerable.

My sister was mentally and emotionally in a very bad place so I went with her to their base where she was told to fill in a very long tick box questionnaire which left them able to very quickly identify her insecurities and weaknesses. They then used these in a discussion with her to completely destroy any last ounce of confidence and self esteem she had left. It was manipulative, dangerous and horrendous, and left her feeling totally defeated by the world.

At that point they promised to solve all her problems if she joined their 'cult' - which I refuse to call a religion. When she agreed, they took her to a separate room, and coerced her to write a hefty cheque. She emerged in tears, in a desperate state and felt totally worthless. I was truly concerned about her mental health, and it was clear to me they had exploited her weakness. They had broken her.

I demanded they return her cheque and they took me into a room where they were extremely intimidating and used implied threats in an attempt to make me back down. They kept me in that room for a long time and tried to identify my weaknesses and use them to break me. It was like they were trying to destroy my beliefs and control my mind.

I actually felt in danger so left the room and returned to the area where many other vulnerable people were filling in their questionnaires. They pursued me and tried to force me back into the room so I loudly highlighted that they were manipulating the weak in order to exploit them and take their money. It was only then that they returned the cheque in order to keep me quiet.

I was so glad to get out of that place unharmed and we got away from the area as a matter of urgency, as I was honestly concerned that they might follow us. We felt concerned for quite a while afterwards as my sister's address was on the questionnaire, but thankfully no more came of it. However, it has left me with a very negative opinion of Scientology.

She explained her storm brilliantly.

Kirstie seems to want to come across as perfect to the public, and probably hates the fact that people keep bringing up her controversial opinions.

Imo though I found her to be really rude to Rodrigo and should've just answered him properly, I would've respected her more if she'd have just been honest about the Religion.

Corbyn nor May are as bad as Trump, that's unique to America.:joker:

I agree. She could have just given a very brief outline of their core beliefs, without getting into her personal situation. I'm sure if she was a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc, she would have done so. The fact that she wouldn't even do this just highlighted for me the controlling nature of Scientology. If she believes in it and Scientology is something positive, surely they would like their message highlighted in this situation?

Exactly.

That's interesting and backs up a lot of what I've heard and watched about Scientology. There must be some people who are allowed to talk about it as they have people who distribute leaflets and try and persuade other people to join but I guess maybe only certain members are authorised to do that. From what I understand they exercise a huge amount of control over people right down to who they're allowed to be friends with and who they can have relationships with and it's very difficult to leave once you're in. I'm always amazed how many celebrities have signed up to it

I also found it weird the only question she did respond to was when Rodrigo asked if there was a God and she replied something like 'not if you don't want there to be' :think:

The strange thing is I don't really think the people who we encountered did talk about it. The leaflets didn't mention Scientology (or money) but promised to provide answers and make a massive difference to people who were struggling in life.

It was all very friendly on arrival, and the very first thing they asked us to do was complete the questionnaires. I only did so out of curiosity. After handing them in, we were both invited into a separate rooms - divide and conquer? Unlike my sister, they didn't feel I needed their help - I think because my answers suggested I was not vulnerable and therefore they recognised they'd be unable to easily manipulate me.

No-one tried to persuade us to 'join' anything - in fact, we weren't even made aware that there was anything to join. it was more they manipulated my sister into believing she was in desperate need of their help and that they wanted to do all they could to support her.

It was only after she'd paid her money that she was told she needed to buy the Ron Hubbard book, which I hadn't heard of at the time. Afterwards I did a bit of research and found out about Scientology.

She came across as a thick puppet who didn't want to expose the fact she knows nothing about the true meaning of the mickey mouse religion she's part of. Similar to this child preacher, she's most likely way out of her depth..

It shows you that people will fill their lives with all sorts of crap, as a way of filling their existence with whatever interest..and/or just finding a sense of "belonging"

I don't think it's unreasonable either.

Just as I don't think it's unreasonable for someone to choose not to discuss an aspect of their private life.

Not really. The cocaine story was not about a perfect woman.

So scary. You were super brave -- heroic -- for what you did to save your sister and even get her money out of there, along with her, while informing others, too. :thumbs: Good on you.

I knew someone in college who went into a scientology center on a lark to take their "personality quiz", which is what you described, something to find areas they can use to exploit and manipulate someone. They kept him there for hours, refusing to let him leave. He tried many ways to leave, but they insisted he wasn't done yet, and that they were trying to help him, etc. (I think it might have eventually helped him get to leave that he didn't have a source of payment on him.)

It's pretty well-known that they love pursuing actors/musicians/etc. whose careers are struggling and can be boosted by already-successful scientologists. They also go after those with addictions, suffering from depression/other mental health issues, and tell them they don't need medication or medical treatment, and that scientology has better alternatives. Seeking out vulnerable people for their money and their free labor isn't cool, and in the U.S. they're labeled as a church, so they don't even pay taxes or face much enough scrutiny for their missing leader's wife and other missing/mysteriously dead members.

It's not as controversial as being a Trump supporter or being involved in Scientology as she knows that those two things are costly to her possibly winning the show is my point.

She'll not want those two things being mentioned too often on the show.

It's Kirstie Alley mate. She's in there for the money, not for a crowd of 20 teenagers in a Tesco car park in London to love her and give her the "win".

Cheers! But I wouldn't have been so brave had I known what I was dealing with- I can't stand injustice and was just peed off that they were trying to take advantage of my sister. Your last sentence is scary stuff! No wonder my instincts told me to get out of the area super quickly!

Yeah, tax-exempt/non-profit status in the US really empowered their practices I think. There are other countries where they are treated more for what they are. The irony there is they used the same practices of harassment towards ex-members against IRS employees supposedly to get that ruling...it really emboldened their ranks and sent a big message to current members...

The celebrity version of Scientology is kind of whatever they want it to be, so they kind of know that a lot of it is horse****, but because they need a kind of therapy that hasn't been invented yet they self-medicate on spiritual fantasy. Fooked up.

The production are not known for consistency or thinking things through it seems, I mean the "theme" for this Cbb seems to be desperate for lack of a eloquent term (btw good to see you Ammi :hee:)