Actress Leah Remini took home an Emmy for her A&E documentary series “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath,” publicly forgiving her mother for introducing her to what she described as a “cult.”
Ms. Remini, a former Scientologist, gave an emotional speech Saturday night after winning for outstanding informational series at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.
She thanked the “brave contributors who [worked on the series] despite ongoing risk and repercussions,” People reported.
“I’m so happy to share this,” she said. “It’s not an easy job, but they were the ones putting their stories out there for everyone to hear.”
Ms. Remini also gave a special thanks to her mother, who was sitting the audience and who also appeared on the show to detail her experience in the Church of Scientology.
“Mom, thank you. You are officially forgiven for getting us into a cult,” Ms. Remini joked.
The actress told reporters backstage that the award really belongs to the former Scientology members who agreed to participate in her show.
“Well, it’s — as an actress, you always want to get an Emmy nomination or win an Emmy and as you get a little older you realize what’s really important and you are exposed to stories like this,” she said, People reported. “It becomes more about doing the right thing and so it doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to our heroes, and so it’s so much more fulfilling.
“I’ve always wanted to win this, but it means so much more knowing that it actually does belong to our contributors who are the brave ones who are telling us and all of us their stories,” she added.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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