Mike Rinder, former Scientology exec who became an Emmy-winning whistleblower, dies at 69
Mike Rinder, a former senior executive with the Church of Scientology who later pivoted to criticizing the controversial religious organization publicly with a blog, a podcast and a docuseries co-starring ex-member Leah Remini, has died. He was 69.
The Emmy winner posted about his own impending death Sunday on his personal blog, announcing that the missive — titled “Farewell” — would be the last post on his website.
“I have shuffled off this mortal coil in accordance with the immutable law that there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes,” his message said, adding, “I rest in peace.”
“My only real regret is not having achieved what I said I wanted to — ending the abuses of Scientology, especially disconnection and seeing [my son] Jack into adulthood,” the whistleblower wrote. “If you are in any way fighting to end those abuses please keep the flag flying — never give up.”
The Times in 1990 began a six-part series on the Church of Scientology, the controversial religion founded by the late author L.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that Rinder died Sunday in Palm Harbor, Fla., due to esophageal cancer.
Rinder — who appeared in the bombshell 2015 documentary “Going Clear” and produced and appeared in the subsequent A&E docuseries “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath” — said his website would remain active as an archive with more than 4,000 posts. He described the site as “a labor of love and passion which has allowed me to speak my mind and offer my perspective with no outside filters.”
“I have been lucky — living two lives in one lifetime. The second one the most wonderful years anyone could wish for with all of you and my new family!” he added.
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In a message cross-posted on Rinder’s Instagram page, his wife, Christie, confirmed his death.
“I speak for so many when I say the sadness and pain we feel mirror the depth of our unwavering love for you,” she wrote. “Your courage, bravery, and integrity are unmatched and will forever inspire us. You have been the pillar of stability in our lives, filling our days with your strength, wisdom, love, laughter and devotion. The world will remember you. My best friend, my hero, my love, Michael John Rinder.”
Journalist Tony Ortega, who has long covered Scientology, announced in a June 2023 post on his Underground Bunker blog that Rinder had advanced esophageal cancer.
“Mike Rinder sent us an email today, to let us know that he had shuffled off this mortal coil,” Ortega tweeted Sunday. “That was so like him, thoughtful to the end. We’re just coming to grips with this news.”
Remini posted about visiting Rinder in Florida in December amid his cancer battle and praised the community that mobilized to care for him and his family during his final days. The “King of Queens” star has not yet posted publicly about Rinder’s death, and her representative did not immediately respond Monday to The Times’ request for comment.
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Rinder was born on April 19, 1955, in Adelaide, Australia. He was raised as a Scientologist after his parents joined the organization when he was about 6. He said that he “finally escaped the organization” in 2007 when he was 52, publicly speaking out against it in an investigative series for the St. Petersburg Times in 2009.
As a child, he traveled with his family from Australia to England twice in the 1960s to visit the home of sci-fi writer and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. His parents participated in advanced Scientology courses and auditing — or counseling — and he joined the senior-level Sea Organization when he graduated from high school in April 1973.
“This is the dedicated core of scientology, Sea Org members sign a billion year commitment to forward the aims of scientology and live communally with other Sea Org members, pretty much out of touch with the outside world,” Rinder said on his website.
He said that as an adult he first met Hubbard, a God-like figure in the organization, in October 1973 aboard Hubbard’s ship Apollo. He remained in Sea Org until 2007, getting married and having two children who were born into Sea Org branches based in Clearwater, Fla., and in Hemet.
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The “A Billion Years” author said he and his first wife, Cathy, divorced after he left the church and his mother, daughter Taryn and son Benjamin “disconnected” from him, along with his brother, sister and members of their family.
The ex-member accused Sea Org of fostering a culture of “violence and abuse that had become endemic” under the leadership of Hubbard successor David Miscavige, who took over when Hubbard died in 1986.
“While Hubbard had been unpredictable, sometimes cruel and harsh and other times humorous and compassionate, Miscavige was exclusively cruel and harsh. He had seized power and held onto it ruthlessly,” Rinder wrote on his website.
During the 1980s, Rinder became the executive director of Office of Special Affairs and a public-facing representative for the organization. He handled media and public relations and said he oversaw much litigation for and against the church, dealing with “the so-called enemies” of Scientology and directing their “destruction.” During that time, he said, the church coordinated smear and intimidation campaigns against journalists, former members and critics of Scientology.
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More recently, Rinder served as a source for the The Times on stories about the high-profile trials of actor Danny Masterson and director Paul Haggis, who have both been affiliated with the church. The church has publicly denounced Rinder and Remini, who testified on ex-member Haggis’ behalf, and said that they “have no credibility” and make up lies about the church for money. The organization has also waged a campaign to cut down Rinder’s credibility and said he was removed from the church “in total disgrace” by its ecclesiastical leader, “stripped of any authority and ultimately expelled for gross malfeasance.”
Scientology has denied Rinder’s allegations of abuse and violence. Representatives for the church did not immediately respond Monday to The Times request for comment.
Rinder is survived by his second wife, Christie, their son Jack and Christie’s son Shane. In lieu of flowers, he asked that contributions be made Jack’s college fund.
“Let the flowers grow and look to the future,” Rinder wrote on his website.
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