Leah Remini memorializes her late Scientology And The Aftermath co-host, Mike Rinder
Remini said the ex-Scientology official was her "lifeline" after she left the church in 2013.
Photo: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic (Getty Images)
Mike Rinder, the ex-Scientologist featured in the HBO documentary Going Clear: Scientology & The Prison Of Belief and Leah Remini‘s co-host on her Emmy-winning A&E series Scientology And The Aftermath, died on Sunday. Rinder had previously been diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He was 69 years old.
On Tuesday, Remini posted an emotional tribute to Rinder, with whom she co-hosted the podcast Scientology: Fair Game after their TV show ended. “On Sunday, we lost a giant, and I lost a man who was more than a friend—he was my family,” she wrote in part on social media. “It’s impossible to imagine the last 13 years of my life without Mike Rinder. He was my anchor, my trusted partner, and my closest confidant. The thought of moving forward without him feels unbearable.”
Rinder grew up in Scientology and rose through the ranks of the organization to become the executive director of the Office of Special Affairs for 25 years. In that capacity, as he later confessed, he orchestrated PR smear campaigns against journalists, critics, and ex-Scientologists, among other underhanded tactics. He left the church in 2007 and later spoke about experiencing various abuses within the organization and at the hands of its leader, David Miscavige. In her social media memorial, Remini said Rinder became her “lifeline” when she herself left the church in 2013.
On Sunday, we lost a giant, and I lost a man who was more than a friend—he was my family.
It’s impossible to imagine the last 13 years of my life without Mike Rinder. He was my anchor, my trusted partner, and my closest confidant. The thought of moving forward without him feels… pic.twitter.com/VOcy6sWikt
— Leah Remini (@LeahRemini) January 7, 2025
“In his post-Scientology life, Mike was a man transformed. He worked tirelessly to right the wrongs of his past and beyond. He owed no one anything. Mike was offered a lot of money to stay silent about Scientology’s criminal activities, and he refused and did the work,” Remini wrote. “There was not one call that Mike didn’t take, not one person Mike didn’t try to help, despite the many heartbreaks he endured from those who needed him. Mike also became an incredible husband and an attentive, loving father to Jack and his stepson Shane.”
In a post shared to his blog on Sunday, Rinder asked that in lieu of flowers mourners might contribute to his son Jack’s college fund. “My only real regret is not having achieved what I said I wanted to — ending the abuses of Scientology, especially disconnection and seeing Jack into adulthood,” he wrote. “If you are in any way fighting to end those abuses please keep the flag flying — never give up.”
“I haven’t yet come to terms with the reality that I can’t call him, text him, or hear his voice anymore. I am shattered in ways I never thought possible, overwhelmed by the weight of this loss. I have cried endlessly and can’t seem to move from my bed since coming home from being with him and his grieving family,” Remini shared in her post. “My Mikey, I will miss you every day, and I just don’t know how to do it without you.”