The Church of Scientology brainwashed Nicole Kidman’s adopted children against her, a former leader has claimed.
Marty Rathbun — a senior member of the bizarre religion from 1982 to 2004 — has given an explosive interview on US TV, accusing church officials of using the religion to “indoctrinate” Isabella and Connor against the Australian actress.
Nicole adopted the children with then-husband Tom Cruise in the 1990s but quickly became estranged from them when she divorced Tom in 2001.
Marty claims this is because Isabella and Connor were poisoned against their mother.
“They were being indoctrinated, and they were reporting to Cruise on how that was going in my presence,” Marty told NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams.
“It was more than implied … [Nicole] was somebody that they shouldn’t open up with, they shouldn’t communicate with, and they shouldn’t spend much time with.”
Marty also spoke about Isabella and Connor in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter in which he accused senior church member Tommy Davis of feeding Isabella and Connor “false information” about Nicole.
“Tommy told them over and over again their mother was a sociopath, and after a while they believed him,” Marty claimed. “They had daily sessions with Tommy. I was there. I saw it.”
Nicole’s relationship with her adopted children has come under increased scrutiny in light of Tom’s divorce from third wife Katie Holmes.
The split has also brought Tom’s religion into the spotlight, with people accusing the church of everything from stalking Katie to trying to kidnap the couple’s daughter Suri.
A spokesman for the Church of Scientology has denied all the sinister claims, saying people speaking against the church were disgruntled and looking for 15 minutes of fame.
“All of these people are excommunicated self-promoters who are sadly exploiting a private family matter for their own personal financial gain,” the church said in a statement.
“They cannot be believed given they have acquired no firsthand knowledge of the church for many years and have a record of making false and/or misleading statements about the church.”
Scientology is a contentious religion based on the writings of sci-fi author L Ron Hubbard. It preaches, among other things, the existence of aliens as superior guiding beings.
