“Confidence in treatment on this planet is at its lowest possible ebb. We were encouraged to see that the first two episodes of that series have now leaked to the Internet, but we’re still mindful that in James Packer, Scientology may continue to have a powerful friend. Leah and Mike told us that Tommy Davis and Tom Cruise were both going to be hammered in Seymour’s series, and so they believe they went to their friend Packer to ask Stokes to have the show killed (Seven West Media owns 7NEWS). Leah Remini and Mike Rinder told us they believe it was Packer’s influence with his close friend Kerry Stokes, chairman of Seven West Media, that resulted in Bryan Seymour’s 10-part “Scientology Black Ops” investigation getting canceled at the last minute before it was scheduled to be posted on the 7NEWS website on July 14. And then, more recently, something else suggested to us that Scientology can count on him. ![]() (He went back to working for Barrack as a consultant.)ĭespite that setback, it was interesting to us that Packer obviously still felt so close to Tommy, who was still in the church. Packer sold his ownership in the studio and Tommy suddenly found himself out of a job. That year, 2016, turned out to be a nightmare for Packer as his engagement to Mariah Carey ended, several of his casino executives were arrested in China, and the movie studio suffered serious losses. Since leaving the employ of David Miscavige, Davis had been working for Tom Barrack, a wealthy real estate investor who had been a close friend to Davis’s father.īut then in 2016 Packer hired Tommy away to run his North American businesses, which included a small Hollywood studio he owned with director Brett Ratner and money man Steve Mnuchin, before he became Trump’s Treasury secretary.įor about a year, Tommy Davis got to play studio mogul thanks to his pal James Packer, but then Packer’s world turned upside down and everything changed. By then, Tommy Davis had left his job as Scientology spokesman, but according to sworn testimony he gave in a deposition he was still a member of the church. Cruise and Packer could also be seen together on the gambling magnate’s yacht, along with Katie Holmes and Scientology spokesman and Cruise handler, Tommy Davis.Īs Cannane reports, however, Packer had moved away from the church by 2006, but the next indication that he was still tight with his former friends came in 2016. After drying out, Packer then became a dedicated member of Tom’s church, and James could be seen in the front row at a 2004 IAS gala, the one which included the now infamous celebration of Cruise, who was awarded a Freedom Medal of Valor. Cruise had befriended Packer and that year very quietly got his Australian pal a spot at Scientology’s flagship drug rehab facility in Oklahoma, the 200-bed clinic Narconon Arrowhead. It was Tom Cruise who came to the rescue. ![]() In particular, he took a bath on a bad telecommunications deal, and by 2001 his life was a mess. And like a lot of children of self-made titans of industry, James struggled to live up to his father’s expectations. James is the son of Australian magnate Kerry Packer, who died in 2005. But a couple of recent stories suggest that Packer continues to be a powerful friend of Scientology even as he’s moved on in his seemingly endless mid-life crisis. So we thought we’d recognize them with this countdown.Īustralian billionaire James Packer was a member of the Church of Scientology for only a few years, from about 2001 to 2006, according to Steve Cannane’s reporting in his excellent history of Scientology in Australia, Fair Game. He also relies on a small army of enablers, some paid, some not, who help him stay in business even though they aren’t Scientologists themselves. In 2011 we spent the month of August counting down a list of the “Top 25 People Crippling Scientology.” Nine years later, Scientology is still hurting, but church leader David Miscavige learned long ago that paid membership was only one resource that kept him in business.
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