Leah Remini's return to Hollywood, and to working with her former King Of Queens co-star Kevin James, has unearthed a lot of old drama. Now separated from the church of Scientology, Remini revealed some details to People about her time with the religion, and how it affected her work. Specifically, she confessed that she felt pressured by the church to also convert James, something she refused to do.
"They always tried to get me to, [asking] 'Why is he not in? Why have you not promoted it to him?’ I was like, ‘Because he’s Catholic. He doesn’t want anything to do with it,'" the 47-year-old told the outlet. "They let it go after a while, but usually you’d be expected to recruit, especially with somebody you work with for nine years."
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According to People, the Church of Scientology has denied they ever asked Remini to convert her co-star, and they've also come out strongly against her decision to break from the church and speak out.
"It is Remini who is the attacker," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Her whole anti-Scientology shtick was scripted and choreographed by her, casting herself in her drama as the 'victim' so she could cash in on her false narrative while savaging her friends and those who helped her most of her life."
But Remini feels differently — most of all, she feels free.
"I’m finally at peace knowing who I am and who I want to be," she explained. "I just want to be happy — and I want to help people."
Season 2 of Kevin Can Wait premieres on CBS September 25.