Ian Halperin isn't letting Andrew Morton get all the sales from Scientology scandal. On Tuesday, Random House is out with the author's book Hollywood Undercover, where Halperin poses as a gay actor to "infiltrate the Chuch," which promised to cure him of the homo curse.
Halperin "recounts his bizarre tour of the Scientology Celebrity Centre on Hollywood Boulevard and his visit to world headquarters where a Church cameraman documents his every move from behind a bush, and where an official offers to turn him straight through a series of courses called 'auditing,'" according the press release sent over. "In the process, he unravels the reason why so many Hollywood A-listers — including Cruise and John Travolta — are drawn to the religion, which has frequently been described as a cult."
Scintillating!
But Halperin is hip to the Web 2.0 age (whatever that means), which is why he's been uploading accompanying videos to YouTube for the past few months. This also lets him call his manuscript the first "YouTube Compatible Book," which is a little like calling iVillage.com the first "TV compatible website," but we'll roll with it.
So what kind of recorded antics did Halperin get himself into?
Here's Halperin getting an E-Meter reading to see if his stress (or thetan?) level is where it should be.
And here he is interviewing now-former 18-year-Scientology veteran Michael Pattinson, a gay artist who joined "because he said they promised to cure him of his homosexuality. He started in the 70's around the same time as Travolta, who he knew well."
If this all sounds like an episode of Maury, well, then we think alike.
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This sounds a lot better than Morton's book. At least this guy actually bothered to contact Scientology.
In another one of the Youtube interviews with Michael Pattinson that I found, he actually outs another Scientologist, John Travolta, and names his alleged former lover:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=dwbweBV0Aj
Halperin and Morton need to move in together. They obviously don't have a life of their own.
Check out my in depth look at the Church and Cruise and Travolta in my four parter: Spielster's continuous coverage of the CSI and the Wrath of Cruise
I have about three years of research and various inside sources. Enjoy!
Well, I can’t speak for anyone else. But as a practicing and partnered gay man, and Scientologist for over 25 years, I can only say that my personal experiences with Scientology have been wonderful and helpful to my life in every way.
In fact, Scientology helped me come to terms with being gay early on, and it was Scientology courses in communication and personal integrity that have given me tools to have such a great relationship with my partner for so many years.
But I suppose if I had approached Scientology looking for something to "cure my homosexuality", my experiences might have been different. Scientologists don't generally "evaluate" or "invalidate" a person's goals in life, and so if someone had wanted to be "cured" of homosexuality, they probably wouldn't have gotten an argument.
But in my view, if someone's goals are to be self-determined, happy and honest with oneself — and they are gay — then there's nothing to "cure".
Scientology simply lets a person decide on their own, without any interference.
Neo…you're not helping.
What's your crime?
scientologists are very similar to nazis. they have similar occult beliefs and do not tolerate homosexuals, people who believe in God or the disabled (why the travolta's autistic son is not given any treatment :( ). they believe they are gods and seek to become gods. they have a tremendous amount in common with the nazis it's really shocking when you do your research.
#4 is proof Tom Cruise reads the internet
OK, now, is Scientology the same thing as Christian Science?
I found an old book, by Mary Baker Eddy, who founded Christian Science back in the 1800's…if it is the same thing, it seems like L.Ron Hubbard just took her ideas & twisted the crap out of them.
Neo, your story, if it's real, would seem to be unique. It's certainly contradictory to the doctrine of the cult of scientology and it's "source" founder Lafyette Ron Hubbard, who was a raging homophobe:
http://www.xenu.net/archive/pr.....s/h2-1.txt
PleaseTrimYourNoseHairs, Scientology is more like Stoicism than Christian Science. In fact its very close to Stoicism in theory but certainly not in practice. The similarities between the two have never been acknowledged or admitted or noticed by practitioners. Detailed look at this connection below:
http://russellmcneil.blogspot......coded.html
Neo or should I say OSA, if your story was true and you are an active gay male, someone would have found you sucking on a tail pipe by now.
I'd join scientology if I wasnt Jewish!
NOT
it's NOT another NOT joke
It's nice Borat I like!
Ian you are great for getting under people's skin…making people really feel life…
Love Sim Simma!
WRM - It would be easier to accept your view of Stoicism if your referenced website was not linked to all the Church of Scientology websites. Do not assume we are idiots. You are a promoter of this cult, trying to make us believe you are neutral.
Come on Cali-lily - read the post on the Stoicism-Scientology connection. Sure I've linked to the main scientology web site. That's called citing your sources, duh. But the first link in the post is to "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power" perhaps the most damming condemnation of Scientology in the literature. There is also have a link to my book on Stoicism. Please read the post before jumping to an unsubstantiated inference. The title of the post is "Scientology: misappropriated Stoicism." That's hardly a supportive flag.