The GoFundMe campaign to help actress Shelley Duvall after her disconcerting Dr. Phil interview has been halted. According to its orchestrator, Vivian Kubrick—daughter of director Stanley—the effort was canceled because Duvall’s mother said the family couldn’t accept large donations. Those, per Kubrick, would impede the benefits Duvall receives from SAG-AFTRA and the government. On Twitter, Kubrick explained the money already pledged was being refunded.
However, a story in The Hollywood Reporter raises questions about Kubrick’s decision due to her connections to Scientology, which shuns psychiatry. As reported by Scientology watchdog sight The Underground Bunker, journalist Mark Ebner said that on the GoFundMe, “Vivian [was] blocking anyone who simply asks if the money could possibly go to legitimate mental health care.” Ebner told THR that the fact that the page was based in Clearwater, Florida—Scientology’s “spiritual headquarters”— “raised a red flag.” He went on: “I don’t think Vivian even knew Shelley. It seems rather opportunistic to raise money for this very sick, if not psychotic woman, out of the spiritual mecca, Clearwater, for a woman she doesn’t know. I knew there was no chance there would be any money earmarked for mental health. It’s doctrine. The motives are disingenuous at best.” So, somehow, this sad, sordid story about one person taking advantage of a woman in need got even more disturbing.