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John Sweeney, an aggressive reporter for the BBC, who was doing a story on
Scientology and had been working with Rinder until then. Davis made the mistake of
admitting to Sweeney that he reported to Miscavige every day, spoiling the illusion of
the leader as being unavailable and above the fray. Miscavige pulled Rinder out of the
Hole and ordered him to help Davis deal with the BBC, although he added, “You’re
Tommy Davis’s servant.”
Sweeney immediately sensed that Rinder had been demoted. Rinder was “gaunt,
hollow-eyed, strange with a hint of niceness.” Tommy was now “the top dog, gleaming
teeth, snappily suited, charming but creepily so.” When Sweeney refused to accede to
the church’s restrictions (mainly that he agree not to use the word “cult” in his report)
and began independently reporting on the accusations of defectors, he was shadowed by
private investigators. A Scientology lm crew showed up to document the making of the
BBC documentary. Cameras were pointed at cameras. Davis appeared unannounced at
Sweeney’s hotel and even traveled across the country to disrupt his interviews with
Scientology dissidents. Sweeney had covered wars in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and
Chechnya, but he had never had such emotional and psychological pressure placed upon
him. During these confrontations, Rinder trailed behind Davis, staring blankly into
space as Davis goaded the reporter, inches from his face. When Sweeney suggested that
Scientology is a “sadistic cult,” Davis, wearing sunglasses, checked with his cameraman
to see that the camcorder was running, then said, “Now listen to me for a second. You
have no right to say what is and what isn’t a religion. The Constitution of the United
States of America guarantees one’s right to practice and believe freely in this country.
And the denition of religion is very clear. And it’s not dened by John Sweeney. For
you to repeatedly refer to my faith in those terms is so derogatory and so oensive and
so bigoted. And the reason you kept repeating it is ’cause you wanted a reaction like
you’re getting right now. Well, buddy, you got it! Right here, right now, I’m angry! Real
angry!”
Davis turned and walked away, trailed by Sweeney, who protested, “It’s your turn to
listen to me! I’m a British subject.… ”
Another confrontation took place at the “Psychiatry: An Industry of Death” exhibit in
Hollywood. Davis once again moved in, nose to nose with Sweeney. “You’re accusing
members of my religion of brainwashing!” He was referring to an earlier interview
Sweeney had conducted with another Scientologist.
“No, Tommy,” Sweeney responded, his voice rising, “you were not there—”
“Brainwashing is a crime,” Davis said.
“Listen to me! You were not there! At the beginning! Of the interview!” Sweeney
shouted in an oddly slow cadence. “You did not hear! Or record! The interview!”
“Do you understand that brainwashing is a crime?” Davis said, unfazed by Sweeney’s
enraged screams.
Davis’s composure and his spirited defense of his church made quite a contrast with
the sputtering and eventually deeply chagrined reporter, who apologized to BBC
viewers on the air.
In March 2007, John Travolta’s new movie, Wild Hogs, a comedy about two middle-