Michael Peña Is a Scientologist
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This news is not unknown — it’s been mentioned publicly a few times — but it’s also not widely known, and it was news to me. Tony Ortega’s Underground Bunker newsletter published images from the annual L. Ron Hubbard Birthday Celebration, which takes place each year in Clearwater, Florida — the spiritual headquarters of the Church of Scientology, known as the Flag Land Base. There were a number of celebrities in attendance, most of whom we know are practicing Scientologists — Elisabeth Moss, John Travolta, Jenna Elfman — but among the attendees this year is Ant-Man star and well-regarded character actor Michael Peña.
Damnit.
It’s not a secret. Peña joined the church’s detox program in 2000 because he felt he was drinking too much. That was his entry point, and he credits Scientology for making him a better reader, which in turn made him a better actor: “because I felt like it helped my understanding of scripts.” He also claimed that “it isn’t religion like a belief; it’s practical things you do,” and said that tabloid reports on Scientology are “misinformed.” That talking point — emphasizing the church’s “practical tools” while dismissing criticisms as uninformed — is straight out of Scientology’s PR playbook.
Content retrieved from: https://www.pajiba.com/news/michael-pena-is-a-scientologist.php.
