The Reluctant Whore

Fox News reports that Will Smith has been pumping money into a new private school which will integrate Scientologist teachings into the curriculum. Firstly, thank GOD. There’s nothing more heartening an reassuring than knowledge that somewhere some fucking dumb ass delusional religious zealot is warping the education curriculum of children by fucking it up with weird, myths that they belligerently insist are scientifically viable. Nothing. NOTHING is more calming. So, just so you know - right now I’m feeling more calm than usual.

BUT, the interesting thing about this is the extent to which Will Smith has been consistently reluctant to openly state that he’s a Scientologist. He and his wife have attached themselves to Tom Cruise for what can only possibly be career reasons. I mean, what the hell else do you do when you hang out with tom Cruise besides wait for him to stop talking or telling you how to hold your knife and fork or having tense moments with Katie Holmes that you just have to pretend you don’t see. Nothing else, that’s what. Except for the fact that you get to be cast in movies.

What’s clear from Will Smith’s reluctance to own up and Tom Cruise’s furious backpedaling when it comes to his career as an actor – because aside from everything else – that’s all he is, he’s an actor – clearly Scientology doesn’t rate well with the general public. For a while there it was this weird, mysterious cult that people joined and then didn’t talk about and actors joined it so they could go to parties and meet producers and casting agents. Same basic deal with Kabbalah but that lost a lot of its luster.

Now that all these people have spoken out about it and Tom Cruise is more or less seen as a controlling, patriarchal nut, Scientology, I suspect, is a major turn off for people. That would be why an ambitious, annoying but admittedly smoking hot actor like Will Smith is avoiding coming out as a Scientologist. Imagine what would happen if you were a gay Scientologist in Hollywood. I mean, one of the more together ones that do it in the same way politicians go to church – for the image. I mean, you’d be inside so many closets you’d be in Narnia. [source]