Leah Remini Opens Up About Leaving Scientology

"Can we talk about the scientology thing just for a minute?" Ellen DeGeneres tried to keep it casual on the premiere of her show on Monday with her first guest Leah Remini. But she had to ask the question that was on everyone's mind: what happened with the whole scientology cult, Leah?!

Remini left the church after a missing person's report she opened regarding church leader David Miscavige's wife in 2006. The case was closed in August and the church called the whole ordeal a publicity stunt. Yes, because a missing woman is obviously a publicity stunt.

Remini had been part of the church for decades — her mother brought her in when she was young. As she told Ellen, it was all she really knew. Personally, I'm proud of her for leaving and hopefully other celebrities will follow in her footsteps. She told Ellen she "lost a lot of friends" when she left the church, which just verifies the intensity of their cult of crazy.

Ellen, sweet as ever, told Remini "I'm your friend."

Remini is apparently writing a memoir about her history with Scientology and being brought into the religion as a child by her mother. Gonna stock-pile my popcorn until that comes out, because who isn't fascinated by celebrity cults?

In the meantime, I'll just watch Remini do her best I'm-out-of-Scientology-shimmy on Dancing With the Stars this fall.