In writing a 365-page book targeting the Church of Scientology,
Lawrence Wright sought out a tiny group of disgruntled ex-members
led by this man:
expelled from the Church for financial misconduct, deception,
ineptitude and violence.
Nearly all of Wright's sources
were dismissed from the Church for similar offenses,
including: embezzlement, financial wrongdoing, sexual misconduct,
physical abuse and severe violations of Church doctrine.
Yet these are the individuals Lawrence Wright uses to impugn the
character of the Church and its leader,
a man responsible for a worldwide religion
and its unprecedented expansion…
…and under whose stewardship,
the Church’s social betterment programs have become
the largest non-governmental anti-drug and
human rights campaigns on Earth.
But in writing his "so called" expose on Scientology,
Lawrence Wright’s sources were far from credible and Wright knew it.
Their allegations so far-fetched that a federal judge and an appeals court
dismissed them as baseless.
Lawrence Wright ignored that.
And when the Church provided thousands of pages of evidence
documenting the falsehood of those claims -–
Lawrence Wright continued to present the allegations as fact.
When asked in a journalist forum,
“Do you believe that journalism can lead to truth?”,
Wright had this to say:
"Truth is one of those subjective terms
that are pointless to get too tied up about."
Wright's book was released in January 2013
but failed to generate reader interest.
Still, it found itself immediately steeped in controversy
about the veracity of its claims.
So much so that the book’s publisher would not release it in Britain,
Ireland, Canada or Australia because of their libel laws.
The chances of losing a lawsuit were simply too great.
Now, documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney has taken Lawrence Wright’s
book at its word without question or examination:
“I utterly trusted Larry. I wasn’t looking for holes in his story.”
Over the two years Gibney quietly worked on his documentary,
he never once contacted the Church, visited a Church
or spoke to any of its members.
His documentary was in the can before he even mentioned it to them.
And to this day, Gibney refuses to reveal his allegations to the Church.
Let’s take a closer look at Wright and Gibney's sources:
Meet Facebook friend of Lawrence Wright, Karen de la Carriere...
used by Wright to attack the morality of the Church of Scientology and its leader.
Karen de la Carriere is not the name she was born with.
It’s her “professional” name. One of 13.
She was born Christine Rosair in 1944 in Calcutta, India.
After moving to London, she worked at a gentleman’s club as a “hostess,”
admitting later in a self-written bio that during that time she had
one-night stands with as many as 60 men –
so long as they provided gifts.
She became the paid “companion” of a senior British government official
who for five years had her set up with a luxury apartment,
expensive clothes and a generous allowance.
In what seemed to be an effort to turn over a new leaf,
Karen de la Carriere joined the Church of Scientology --
until she was expelled for numerous reported violent assaults, and prostitution.
De la Carriere had continued practicing the world's oldest profession, online.
Here are some promotional shots she sent to prospective customers
responding to her ads on the Internet.
And here are her prices.
Karen de la Carriere claimed to a Church member that in one decade alone,
she had dated around a thousand men.
Meanwhile, the long-term prostitute was hitting the internet
with hundreds of videos spreading lies and unfounded allegations about,
of all things, the morality of the Church and its leader.
And she continues to do so to this day.
Now 70 years old, Karen de la Carriere hangs out with that small group
of fellow disgruntled ex-members devoted to destroying the reputation of the Church
using anyone with a press pass.
Here they are, celebrating New Year's eve --
all drawn together by a common bitterness.
These are Lawrence Wright's "sources."
So here’s what we have:
Christine Rosair a.k.a. Karen de la Carriere,
lady of the evening and teller of false tales.
Presented as fact by Lawrence Wright, swallowed whole by Alex Gibney
and greenlit on behalf of HBO by Sheila Nevins.
Nevins, known for producing HBO's late night programming,
is no stranger to the world of Karen de la Carriere.
“I’m just madly in love with whores. I love them.”
In future segments,
we’re going to show you more of Lawrence Wright’s “sources"...
Remember this guy – the ringleader of that tiny group Lawrence Wright
befriended and used to tell false stories about his former religion?
“Shut the fuck up. I’m tellin’ you something right now…”
He was dismissed and expelled from the Church for criminal activities --
that's criminal, as in felony.
His résumé also includes episodes of shoving, kicking,
punching and extreme violence.
And a honeymoon night spent in jail.
But Lawrence Wright doesn’t reveal any of that,
or any other sordid detail about this man.
You’ll also meet those this man calls his "posse":
Such as the guy he nearly killed, who he now calls his "best good buddy".
This guy deserted his children and ruthlessly attacked his estranged wife…
…the thief who used to ride shotgun with the ringleader on his punching sprees.
Admitted accomplices in a scheme to suborn perjury –
getting others to lie under oath.
And another Lawrence Wright source, the "lady" expelled from the Church
for having sexual relations with someone she was ministering to,
a violation of professional conduct in any church. You'll meet her, too.
…the paid tabloid source and his wife, whose frivolous lawsuits
were repeatedly thrown out of Federal Court
and the couple ordered to pay the Church $40,000.
... and the writer who took advantage of his Scientology connections to
take $5 million for writing scripts he never completed.
Lawrence Wright and Alex Gibney could have shown you
the truth about Scientology.
For this is Scientology today:
A rapidly expanding religion with new churches opening, by the month,
throughout the world...
But instead of showing you this,
Wright and Gibney have chosen to give you this man...
Shut the fuck up…
And his tiny group of followers.
That’s right – this guy is the leader of all Lawrence Wright's "sources."
They are interconnected, each of them corroborating the other’s
false stories and lies, some for big bucks.
All of them handpicked to populate the story
Lawrence Wright and Alex Gibney want to sell.
Lawrence Wright, Alex Gibney
and executive producer Sheila Nevins know full well who these people really are.
But you won’t see that on HBO.
Shut the fuck up…