In response to a recent Scientology advertising campaign on the London Underground network a group of ex-Scientologists have hit back, replacing the ads with their own at one of the city’s busiest tube stations.
The billboards were placed in the same three spots Scientology had used at Tottenham Court Road tube station, which sees an average of 1.8 million passengers per week. They feature former Church of Scientology International spokesman Mike Rinder, who passed away in January, Claire Headley who now serves as President of the Aftermath Foundation and ex-London staffer Alex Barnes-Ross.
In a statement to the press, the Aftermath Foundation said:
For four weeks, Scientology broadcast their message to the people of London and now The Aftermath Foundation is offering those same people the opportunity to learn about survivors’ stories, too.
The goal of this campaign is to both educate the public about Scientology’s abusive practices and to send a message of hope, that there are people here willing to support anyone wanting to leave and start lives after Scientology.
When leaving, people often find themselves in places of hardship with no family to turn to, no work experience outside of Scientology and lacking the resources they need to land on their feet. The Aftermath Foundation is ready and able to help, and responds to applications for aid from all over the world.
Featured in the adverts are three real people with real-life experiences of abuse inside Scientology in the UK. Mike Rinder, who sadly passed away in January of this year, was once thrown in the lake at Scientology’s Sussex headquarters in winter as punishment – and later escaped from one of their London properties. Claire Headley suffered abuse and neglect as a child growing up at Scientology’s UK headquarters and Alex Barnes-Ross was forcibly held against his will as a teenager at their Church near Blackfriars.
We hope that by sharing their stories, the public will have a greater understanding that this is an abusive organisation with a significant presence in the United Kingdom. We also hope that our message will resonate with those currently stuck inside Scientology who may not be aware they are not alone in their suffering.
Last year, we placed a billboard near Scientology’s international headquarters in Los Angeles and within a matter of hours, they had placed a scissor-lift obscuring its view and filed complaints to get it removed. Although they were successful, our message reached a new audience and we received a drastic increase in calls on our helpline as well as donations and support to fund our charitable work.
We are grateful to Transport for London for allowing us to share our message of hope with the millions of people who use Tottenham Court Road station every week.
The Michael J. Rinder Aftermath Foundation is a charitable organisation established in 2018. Our purpose is to help those who want to leave Scientology and the Sea Organization, but who lack a system of support that they can rely on while getting on their feet in the outside world.
If you need help leaving Scientology please visit https://aftermath.help or call our helpline on 0800 090 3372.
Statement from the Michael J. Rinder Aftermath Foundation
The ads form part of an ongoing international campaign sponsored by the Foundation, which recently saw twenty billboards go up in prominent locations across Los Angeles – where a number of key Scientology management buildings are located.
This latest instalment marks the first overseas ads promoting the support services available to people leaving Scientology and were placed in response to a recent campaign by Scientology, sparking an advertising war as covered by The Times earlier this week.
Scientology’s ads caused outrage among Londoners, who took to social media to express their concerns about Transport for London’s decision to ban junk food ads, but not controversial groups like Scientology.
