8 Stars Who Almost Got Recruited to Scientology

Find out how these stars almost became Scientologists…

John Stamos was almost recruited to Scientology as a teenager but he was such a troublemaker that they ended up kicking him out. Looking back, John says he was invited by a girl in his acting class to come to a meeting — but they didn’t think his impressions were very funny.

“I was in an acting class, and there was a hot girl. She said, ‘We’re all meeting at this address on Hollywood Boulevard; you should come after,’” he said on the Friend in High Places podcast. “I was working at my dad’s restaurant at the time and I said, ‘Dad, I’ve got to go.”

He continued, “So, I went and it was the Scientology building…I was 16, maybe 17. They brought me in there and there was this guy, they said, ‘Come over here’ and they had this E-Meter where you’re holding these two cans. I started [joking around]. I was doing a Peabody and Sherman [impression] and they didn’t like that. I was just f–king around so much, they said, ‘Get out, get going.’ They just kicked me out.”

Cher has been closely linked to several Scientologists throughout her life. She says ex-husband Sonny Bono was a part of the religion — and she also briefly dated noted Scientologist Tom Cruise. Looking back on her relationship with Tom, Cher says she never wanted to take part in the religion and just didn’t get it.

“I don’t get what he does, that whole Scientology thing. I can’t understand it so I just…don’t,” she told the Daily Mail of her ex Tom.

There are rumors that Jerry Seinfeld was once a Scientologist but he says it’s not true. While he did take a course in 1975 in New York, he ultimately decided against moving forward with the religion. He admits he did like their emphasis on “ethical behavior” but it wasn’t enough to convince him to join.

“I did do a course in Scientology in, like, ’75,” he said on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast. “I found it very interesting. Never pursued it.”

Seth Rogen claims that Tom Cruise once tried to convince him and his frequent collaborator Judd Apatow to join the Church of Scientology. Back in 2006, Seth and Judd met Tom at his home to discuss a potential comedy film — and he says it turned into an “very absurd” afternoon.

“A few hours into the meeting, this Scientology stuff comes up, how weird he’s looked in the press recently, just how strange he’s coming across…He was like, ‘If you let me just tell you what it’s really about, just give me like 20 minutes. You’d say, ‘No f–king way.’ I remember being like, ‘Is that a good thing to be saying? Is that a bad thing to be saying?’” Seth recalled on The Howard Stern Show.

He continued, “Me and Judd just looked at each other like…can we come out of this? Are we strong enough to have him do this to us and not be converted? I don’t know if I am! I’m generally a weak-willed, weak-minded person…Thank God Judd was like, ‘Eh, I think we’re good. Let’s just talk about movies and stuff.’ Dodged that bullet.”

While there’s long been rumors that Will Smith is a Scientologist, it seems that he’s just made an effort to learn about the religion due to his friendship with Tom Cruise. Both former Scientology senior executive Mike Rinder and Scientology journalist Tony Ortega shared in the documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief that Will was never officially a part of the church.

“I was introduced to [Scientology] through Tom, and I’m a student of world religion,” Will once told Access Hollywood. “I was raised in a Baptist household and went to a Catholic school, but the ideas of the Bible are 98 percent the same ideas as Scientology; 98 percent the same ideas as Buddhism or Hinduism.”

He continued, “How you gon’ not know nothing about Scientology and attack [Tom]? It’s dangerous, and it’s ignorant. How am I going to condemn someone for what they believe and I believe God was born from a pregnant virgin?”

David Beckham was allegedly once a highly sought after recruit for the religion. According to former Scientologist Mike Rinder’s book, A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology, a premiere soccer field was built just for David on one of the church’s properties but he never ended up joining.

“A professional-grade soccer pitch was constructed on the property at Gold [Base, church headquarters in San Jacinto, Calif.]. The ground was leveled, irrigation installed, perfect turf, goals raised. A full-time caretaker was appointed from the Gold staff … It was built for one purpose only: so Tom Cruise could woo his friend David to come to Gold. It never happened,” Mike wrote.

Singer and actress Brandy allegedly almost joined Scientology after being involved in a traumatic car accident and looking for spiritual guidance. Brandy said that a friend recommended looking into the religion and after taking some classes, she decided it wasn’t for her.

“Someone said, ‘There are these classes that you can take that can better you as a person. I’m like, ‘OK, I’ll go check it out, but that’s all I did, go check it out. I’m not a Scientologist,” she reportedly shared.

Whitney Cummings says she actually tried to join the Church of Scientology but she was rejected from joining. Looking back, she jokingly said that she liked the appeal of being in a cult and being told what to do — but when she went to check it out with a friend, they didn’t invite her to join.

“I tried to join and they didn’t take me. It’s a hard pass. I have snitch energy,” Whitney joked on her podcast. “I want to be in a cult. I want someone to tell me what to do and give me bottled water with lithium in it or whatever! I just want to be a part of something.”

She continued, “I went with a girlfriend of mine. They take your car, they take your keys right away, you’re like in this castle. I grew up poor, I was like, ‘A castle!? Yes this is where I want to be! In a f–king castle!’”​