John Travolta Defends Scientology Against 'Going Clear', Says Church Has 'Been Beautiful to Me'
John Travolta says he has no interest in seeing HBO's highly talked-about documentaryGoing Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, but he has no problem denouncing its claims.
"I haven't experienced anything that the hearsay has [claimed], so why would I communicate something that wasn't true for me?" Travolta said in an interview withThe Tampa Bay Timesabout the documentary.
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Going Clear -- directed by Alex Gibney and based on Lawrence Wright's book with a similar title -- interviews several alleged former Scientologists that claim that physical and mental abuse as well as blackmailing using members' taped confessions was a big issue in the Church of Scientology. At one point, it's almost implied that this is why Travolta has remained a member of the institution.
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"It wouldn't make sense, nor would it for Tom [Cruise], I imagine," the actor went on to tell The Times in a phone interview. "I've been so happy with my [Scientology] experience in the last 40 years that I really don't have anything to say that would shed light on [a documentary] so decidedly negative."
Travolta added that he owes a great deal to the Church, and "wouldn't have made it" without them. "I've been brought through storms that were insurmountable, and [Scientology has] been so beautiful for me, that I can't even imagine attacking it," he said. "So, why would I even approach a negative perspective? That would be a crime to me, personally, to do that."
In a letter to The Hollywood Reporter in response to Going Clear, the Church of Scientology was adamant that the claims in the film were false. "In two hours this film racks up more falsehoods, errors, embellished tales and blatant omissions than were committed by Rolling Stone, Brian Williams and Bill O'Reilly combined," the statement reads. "By our calculation, the film on average includes at least one major error every two minutes."
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