ABC/BOB D’AMICO(NEW YORK) — Leah Remini and her family are at the center of her TLC show Leah Remini: It’s All Relative. One of the things the actress discusses in the show is her former affiliation with the Church of Scientology, which has since criticized her and her show, now in its second season. Remini says it’s not unexpected.
“My first emotion is sad,” she said on Friday’s Good Morning America in reaction to the church’s stance. “It makes me sad to hear that from a group that I was in most of my life and that I supported. My first instinct is to be hurt but then you know I have to…I mean I understand they have to say these things. But I can only be me. I have to tell my story.”
The Church of Scientology has accused Remini of exploiting her past association with the organization, of which she was a member for more than thirty years, for the sake of publicity for her show.
Still, Leah Remini: It’s All Relative focuses more on the fun times Remini’s family shares, lead by breakout star, matriarch Vicki Marshall. “Honestly, she’s always thought she was the star of my family anyway,” Remini said of her mother. “She always thought she was the one who should be on television. So I want her to have this. I want her to have this moment.”
Remini said filming It’s All Relative “is much harder” than filming her hit show, The King of Queens, where she co-starred alongside Kevin James: “As a matter of fact I kept texting Kevin going, ‘Please save me from this!'”
Leah Remini: It’s All Relative airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. Eastern.
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