Sponsored message
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts & Entertainment

'That '70s Show' Actor Candidly Explains What It's Like To Be A Scientologist

danny-masterson.jpg
Danny Masterson (Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images)

Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.

Just last month a damning Scientology documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, giving us a rare inside look into the secretive religion. While we've been seeing a good deal of criticism on Scientology in the news, That '70s Show actor Danny Masterson, who's been a devout Scientologist since he was young, gives a glimpse into what it's like practicing the religion and addresses the controversy surrounding it in a new interview.

Speaking to Paper magazine, the actor and DJ asks if a documentary where filmmakers interview a scant number of people hating Judaism would ever fly at Sundance in reference to the Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief doc getting screened at the film festival. He goes into his love for L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics, how Scientologists view Hubbard (not as a messiah but more as a philosopher), the annoying questions he gets asked by non-believers, that he thinks it's lame filmmaker Paul Haggis left the church over gay marriage rights because they're not against gay rights ("I mean, dude, there's a fucking ton of gay Scientologists," he says), and his hatred for psychiatry. You can read the entire interview here.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible year-end gift today

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right