Blown For Good: The Man Poised To Bring Down The Church Of Scientology
Most people haven't heard of Marc Headley. He's not a celebrity, but he has met Tom Cruise. In fact, Tom audited Marc during his Scientology training courses at Gold Base. Tom may not remember Marc, but he'll know him soon enough.
Marc Headley is a former Scientologist who worked at the Hemet, California desert compound called Gold Base. For 15 years, Marc worked long hours at the 500 acre guarded facility, also referred to as Int Base, or International Base. Marc was a member of the Church's paramilitary group called Sea Organzation, or Sea Org. Sea Org members are recruited from within the organization's ranks of poorly paid workers and volunteers, they are made to sign a "billion year contract" and are often forced to live away from family and friends doing the type of manual labor typically reserved for slaves, inmates of illegal immigrants.
It is at Gold Base, where the now infamous story of the "flowered meadow for Nicole Kidman" occurred. As the story goes, Scientology President David Miscavige forced Sea Org members to work round the clock creating a flowered meadow for Tom Cruise and his second wife Nicole Kidman to frolic in, simply because Cruise mentioned it to Miscavige as a fantasy he had for the two.
To understand what drove Marc Headley to confront one of the most litigious organizations in the world, you must understand Scientology's leader David Miscavige. What Miscavige lacks in size (he's reportedly only 5'2") he makes up for in blinding fits of rage. Perhaps driven by a deep-seated insecurity, Miscavige uses his power and rage to intimidate and "motivate" those beneath him.
Unfortunately for Miscavige, he underestimated one such subordinate.
Reports of Miscavige abusing Sea Org members are nothing new. Glosslip detailed such first-hand accounts in our interviews with former members of the group, including Jeff Hawkins, another long time ex-member who was also physically abused by Miscavige.. When we interviewed Headley, he corroborated Jeff's claims, stating he witnessed Miscavige abusing members during his time at Int/Gold Base. Here's an excerpt of that Glosslip interview (full transcript here):
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