There’s been a lot of buzz about Kirstie Alley’s new vitamin supplements marketed as weight loss aids, Organic Liaison, and it’s connections to the Scientology cult, of which she’s a defensive member. Some of the testimonial videos were filmed on location at the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater Florida, which is owned by Scientology (and is where Lisa McPherson met her end.) Some of the advisory board members are easily googled as Scientologists, and the address for the company is the same as a Scientologist accountant. Perhaps the most damning connection to the Scientology are the supplements themselves, which seem very similar to the “purification rundown” vitamins used in a cult ritual. (Gawker has more on that.)

All of this has lead to speculation that Organic Liaison is just a front for Scientology. It may very well be, but Kirstie isn’t admitting to anything. She denied in an appearance on the Today Show that there was any connection between the two groups. Then she held a press event in which she accused the Today Show of anti-religious bigotry for even asking her the question. She also said that the journalist who appeared on the Today Show, Roger Friedman, had a “libelous” tweet for claiming she lied on the show by denying Scientology’s involvement. This is very typical for anyone involved in that cult. They have a policy of filing often frivolous lawsuits against anyone who questions them. They call it “Fair Game” and use it to try and silence their detractors. Here’s what Kirstie said:

Kirstie Alley claims she was “ambushed” during a March 16 interview on NBC’s ‘Today Show’ when reporter Meredith Vieira asked her directly if her Organic Liaison diet program is connected to Scientology. The question came right after her opening segment — in which the Hollywood Reporter’s Roger Friedman claimed Alley’s company was made of top-level Scientologists. After denying the claims on national TV, Alley spoke to PopEater about the “lies and myths” he brought to the the forefront of the national media.

“If you Google Mr. Friedman, you’ll see he has had longtime problems with Scientology. He has written numerous articles against them,” Alley said at a private press event on Wednesday afternoon. “That I need to clarify or defend the intentions of my L.L.C. business corporation, in the year 2010 is indicative of the intolerance that we as a country need to overcome. However, after the ‘Today Show’ brought fringe bigotry and intolerance into the forefront of the national media, I feel compelled to clarify two issues,” she said.

Alley, who has been a Scientologist for over 30 years, is one of several Hollywood celebrities, including Tom Cruise and John Travolta, who are members of the religion founded by L. Ron Hubbard. During the ‘Today’ segment, Friedman said claimed, “There are a lot of questions about how close these two groups are, and whether this isn’t just a front for Scientology.”

“There was a claim that my product is a front for Scientology. This is not true. Organic Liaison is its own L.L.C. and is not affiliated with The Church of Scientology or the World Institute of Scientology. The proof is in the numbers,” she continues. “Out of the 25 approximate employees, there may be 26, of Organic Liaison, 4 are Scientologists. Organic Liaison does not discriminate in its hiring practices, including religion … It boils down to roughly 10% of my company is Scientologists, 90% are non-Scientologists,” Alley added.

Alley alleges that after the interview aired, Friedman posted the following message on Twitter: “Kirstie Alley lies on The Today Show about Scientology connection.”

“After twittering that he was libelous and that I was going to have my attorneys get involved, he changed it to, ‘Kristie Alley gets it wrong on Today Show about Scientology Connection,’” she said.

“What shocked me was I’m so proud of my show ['Kirstie Alley's Big Life'] and went on ‘Today Show’ to talk about it. It isn’t that I can’t answer a question about speculation. What threw me off was it was like, ‘Do you still beat your wife?’” she said. “When I saw they were using [Friedman] as the source, [I knew] it was am ambush. And that is what led the introduction to my show.”

Alley claims she didn’t even know there was any speculation about her diet program being linked to Scientology. “I was sitting in a position where I didn’t know this was being said. So when I was asked about it, I really didn’t know it was being brought to the forefront… I was caught off guard. The truth always will prevail,” she said.

Alley also claims that if she wanted this to be a Scientology company exclusively, she would “have made it that way.” “I would have told the world and touted that,” she said. She backs her company, saying her team includes the “best people I could find in the world” and that “[her] company and these products are going to help people.”

Alley still remains unsettled by the continuous attacks on the religion and believes people are just curious about the “outspoken” believers. “It was odd. You would never ask like, ‘What religion is Jenny Craig?’ No one knows and no one cares. You’d never be like, ‘Is this a front for the Methodist church?’” she points out.

“Why speculation goes mainstream is still beyond me. It’s gone on forever. I’ve been a Scientologist for over 30 years. I think a lot of things are sensationalized. The media can throw ‘The controversial Church of Scientology — and the fat girl in their religion.’ That’s funny. I thought there were like eight f***ing million fat Catholics,” she joked.

Alley continues to back her weight loss company, Organic Liaison, and says the attacks are “another form of fear and intolerance. If you look at the history of any religion, you see these huge moments of way intolerant persecution. This stems from that. It’s a cheap shot.”

[From Popeater]

This is what Scientologists do. When people question them, they attack them personally and call it “bigotry” and “religous intolerance.” Nevermind what they’re accused of doing to countless people and families. This isn’t about what Kirstie believes or what religion she practices, it’s about using a diet company to secretly give religious treatments to people under the guise of helping them. She’s so defensive and angry that anyone dared make that connection that she’s lashing out. I hope her reality show is a big fat flop.

Oh, and that weird crap that Kirstie threw out there comparing being asked a legitimate question to someone asking “Do you still beat your wife?” – that’s what Scientologists do to protestors and anyone they’re trying to harass. I’ve seen videos of this on YouTube, and they regularly make up strange accusations and shout them at people. It’s called “bull baiting” and “manufacturing crimes.” So all Kirstie can do to respond to this is to rant that they’re not tolerating her religion and are attacking her, when that’s what her “religion” regularly does to everyone that questions them. The thing is, she did respond pretty well on The Today Show (you can watch the video on Popeater) and they barely focused on the connection to Scientology after she said it wasn’t true. Meredith was kind and gave her a platform to plug her products and TV show. All Kirstie had to do was drop it and the Scientology connection wouldn’t have received as much press. Kirstie has been called out and she can’t handle it at all.