Rumors about Jada Pinkett Smith's involvement with Scientology had taken almost mythical proportions before Leah Remini even included Pinkett's name in her efforts to expose abuse happening within the organization. Years after these claims led to their fallout, the two women air out the situation for the first time on Red Table Talk. This episode represented the first time Jada ever spoke about her personal experiences within the church of Scientology in a public manner.
The women now agree that their disagreement was based on a misunderstanding which caused in part by Remini's understanding of Scientologist codes of conduct, which she learned while being indoctrinated as a Scientologist from her childhood onward.
"Regardless of what was being presented to you, from me as a friend, you were seeing a side of me that wasn’t 100 per cent authentic because my job was to always be a perfect person in front of you, or any celebrity, to solely get you into Scientology, fully indoctrinated, fully on board and deserting any other beliefs or systems of learning. You cannot dabble in Scientology."
When it went down, Jada chose not to speak despite feeling "hurt." Later, she was placed in a situation where she needed to address a part of Leah's claims. An unexpected interview question involving a game of hide-and-seek with Tom Cruise at her home was posed. Her response was light, as she laughed about Cruise's quirkiness.
This response was perceived by Remini as the first phase of the protocol required by the Church of Scientology in response to critics of the religion, a call "for the utter destruction of a critic."
The video of their conversation is available here.
