Email Author Tony Ortega

2012 Stories by Tony Ortega

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Tom Cruise's Former Scientology Auditor: "He Should Let Katie Have Everything She Wants"

  published Jul 02, 2012

  As we wait to see how nasty the Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes divorce becomes, we asked Tom's former Scientology auditor and legal affairs adviser, Marty Rathbun, to speak to us about the last time Cruise w... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Radar Gets It Wrong: How Scientology Is Likely To Be an Issue in the Divorce of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise

  published Jul 01, 2012

  Yesterday, RadarOnline, one of several online tabs trying to churn out incremental stories about the celebrity story of the year, grabbed for attention by quoting two lawyers who said it was unlikely ... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  What Katie Holmes is Saving Suri From: Scientology's Interrogation of Children

  published Jun 30, 2012

  NEW: Secrets of Scientology marriage counseling -- Katie was right to stay far away from it. There seemed to be more public derision than sorrow yesterday greeting the news that Katie Holmes had file... More >>

• Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes Splitting Up: Scientology Has Bigger Problems

  published Jun 29, 2012

  NEW: What Katie Holmes is trying to spare Suri -- at six, Scientology kids are conditioned to become informers. People magazine is reporting that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are ending their marriage... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  SCIENTOLOGY ABANDONED BY L. RON HUBBARD'S GRANDDAUGHTER AND DAVID MISCAVIGE'S FATHER

  published Jun 29, 2012

  NEW: See all of our most recent stories detailing the crises currently facing Scientology. Multiple sources are telling the Voice that Scientology's International Base in California has experienced s... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Luka Magnotta's Scientology Screed: "I Wished Every Night That Tom Cruise Would Adopt Me"

  published Jun 26, 2012

  Luka Rocco Magnotta is in custody now and has pleaded not guilty to charges that he killed, dismembered, and even ate some of his Montreal boyfriend before absconding to Berlin, where he was apprehend... More >>

• Josh Olson Will Read Your Effing Script -- For a Price

  published Jun 25, 2012

  One of our all-time most read blog posts ever is screenwriter Josh Olson's delicious rant, "I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script." The piece has been so popular over the last three years, at this poi... More >>

• Scientology Plays Denver's Police Chief Like a Violin

  published Jun 24, 2012

  We recently brought you footage of Sacramento's mayor, former NBA player Kevin Johnson, gushing about Scientology at the opening of an "Ideal Org" in that city. Since that fancy new building opened i... More >>

• How Hooters -- Yes, Hooters -- Could Mess Up Scientology's Refund Scam

  published Jun 22, 2012

  We've been telling you for the past year about the large number of longtime Scientologists who are walking away from their church. It seems like nearly every week we hear about someone like Dave Fagen... More >>

• Andrew Sarris, 1928-2012: Highlights From His Village Voice Years

  published Jun 20, 2012

  We're very saddened to hear about the death of film critic Andrew Sarris at the age of 83. He spent some of his best years tilting with Pauline Kael here at the Voice, and while we're putting together... More >>

• Debbie Cook -- Exiled by Scientologyr

  published Jun 20, 2012

  Tampa Bay Times journalists Joe Childs and Tom Tobin have done it again, surprising us with yet another gem of reporting on the Church of Scientology. This time, they learned from a man named Jon Don... More >>

• Oops: Unfortunate Cover Position for Luka Magnotta News in Canadian Newspaper

  published Jun 19, 2012

  You know how it is -- sometimes, you're just working very fast and you don't really have time to sit back and take it all in. We assume that's what happened up in Winnipeg, where it's big news that a... More >>

• The Master Gets Its Scientology On in 2nd Trailer

  published Jun 19, 2012

  The second trailer to Paul Thomas Anderson's upcoming film The Master was just released, and this time we get a look at Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams along with Joaquin Phoenix. We gave PTA... More >>

• Scientology Sunday Funnies: Neil Gaiman's Mum Builds a Civilization!

  published Jun 17, 2012

  Scientologists don't really have a Sunday service. They like to say that they do, because they crave mainstream acceptance. But unless Xenu rested after six days and L. Ron Hubbard just forgot to ment... More >>

• VIDEO: Watch Sacto Mayor and Former NBA Star Kevin Johnson Suck Up to Scientology

  published Jun 15, 2012

  Our West Coast counterpart, staff writer Josh Dulaney at the Voice's sister paper OC Weekly, has been dishing on Scientology's spiffy new "Ideal Org" there in several spicy posts. In a story last wee... More >>

• How a Scientologist Loses Faith in His Church: A Case Study

  published Jun 13, 2012

  One of the reasons Debbie Cook's infamous New Year's Eve e-mail had such a huge effect was that it provided a look from inside at what was tearing apart the Church of Scientology. Cook's e-mail spel... More >>

• Scientology Book Bonanza! Jeff Hawkins Delivers, and More Reasons for Librarians to Hide

  published Jun 10, 2012

  Friday, we told you about a spate of new books on Scientology that are in various states of publication. We're happy to say that there's even more on the way, and we wanted to highlight one you can ge... More >>

• It's a Scientology Book Avalanche! RUN FOR COVER!

  published Jun 08, 2012

  A slow week was suddenly broken wide open as we were hit with an avalanche of new books, promised books, and barely-begun books with one thing in common: Disapproval of David Miscavige's brand of Sc... More >>

• Scientology Wins a Major Award Again! Galaxy Press Vindicated!

  published Jun 03, 2012

  Last June, we told you about how proudly Scientology crowed in its press releases that it had won "Telly Awards" for some of its DVDs. We went on to explain that it's kind of difficult not to win a ... More >>

• Is Luka Magnotta, Canadian Porn Actor and Murder-Dismembering Suspect, a Scientologistr

  published Jun 01, 2012

  As the world tries to hunt down porn actor and murder suspect Luka Rocco Magnotta, Canada's National Post today pointed out something interesting -- Magnotta, 29, apparently converted to Scientology a... More >>

• AUDIO: "Touch Me," Creepy Scientology Goon Repeatedly Tells Protester

  published Jun 01, 2012

  "Touch me" the man says again and again. "Touch me." In what should go down as one of the most skin-crawling audio tapes in recent Scientology history, we hear a church operative repeatedly challe... More >>

• Amanda Palmer Dramatically Answers Questions About Her Connection to Scientology

  published May 29, 2012

  A few weeks ago, we noted that Amanda Palmer -- the musician who performs as a solo act and as one half of the Dresden Dolls and Evelyn Evelyn -- made a rather dramatic appearance at Kate Bornstein's ... More >>

• How You Can Help a Film About Kate Bornstein Happen (Plus: Scientology Sunday Funnies!)

  published May 27, 2012

  Filmmaker Sam Feder has opened Kickstarter funding for a documentary about recent Village Voice cover gal Kate Bornstein. Go to Sam's page to find out how you can help finish the project!As Sam says... More >>

• VIDEO: Dianetics Day 2012! See People Who Can't Wait to Go "Clear"!

  published May 25, 2012

  Our tipsters continue to funnel us the best Scientology material at a rapid rate. May 9 was Dianetics Day -- 62 years since the day in 1950 when L. Ron Hubbard first published Scientology's Ur-text,... More >>

• L. Ron Hubbard in his Own Words: Mr. Charismar

  published May 22, 2012

  In March, we brought you excerpts from this year's big LRH Birthday Event held in Clearwater, Florida. We'd been sent a copy of the three-hour presentation, and pulled out what we felt were the best... More >>