Kirstie Alley's Death Sparks Debate About Scientology's Views on Cancer

Kirstie Alley's death from cancer at the age of 71 has sparked an outpouring of heartfelt tributes from celebrities and fans alike—as well as questions about the Church of Scientology's teachings on the disease.

Cheers star Alley's children, True and Lillie Parker, revealed in a statement shared on their mother's Twitter and Instagram accounts that the actress had passed away after receiving treatment for the disease in Tampa, Florida.

"She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead," read the statement. "As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother."

"We are grateful to the incredible team of doctors and nurses at Moffitt Cancer Center for their care," they added. "Our mother's zest and passion for life, her children, grandchildren and her many animals, not to mention her eternal joy of creating, were unparalleled and leave us inspired to live life to the fullest just as she did."

News of Alley's death sparked a flood of tributes across social media from several celebrities, as well as fans who shared their favorite memories of the star.

Amid the mournful messages, New York Magazine and HuffPost contributor Yashar Ali tweeted claims that Alley's elevated status within Scientology meant that she should have been impervious to cancer.

"One of the promises that Scientology explicitly makes to members (on paper!) is if you reach the upper levels of Scientology you won't get cancer," the journalist tweeted on Monday. "Kirstie Alley and Kelly Preston, two dedicated Scientologists, have both died of cancer in the past two years."

The Church of Scientology's website doesn't mention this but does advise adherents to "seek conventional medical treatment for illnesses and injuries."

Ali stated in a separate tweet that he and Alley "got into it a few times but I just want to acknowledge that Scientology robbed her of her life. Scientology destroyed her relationships. It took her money and ruined her career."

The tweets were met with backlash from a number of Alley's fans, who felt that the timing of Ali's messages was inappropriate, while others echoed his sentiment.

Almost 70 years after the Church of Scientology was founded by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard, his previous comments on illness and cancer continue to be brought up in waves amid discussion over its beliefs.

According to a 2020 article in The Daily Beast, Hubbard said during a November 1956 lecture that cancer was caused by cells multiplying after coming to the realization that the body they're inhabiting is blocked from having children.

"It always requires a second-dynamic or sexual upset, such as the loss of children or some other mechanism to bring about a condition known as cancer," Hubbard is quoted as saying in the lecture "The Scale of Havingness."

He said that he combated the issue by convincing the cells that the subject could actually have children by "mocking up babies" and this causing "a considerable change" in the cancer case.

Hubbard's 1950 book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, which is seen as a canonical text of Scientology, works on the basis that the majority of human ailments are psychosomatic, with his "technology" of counseling techniques highlighted as the cure for almost all illnesses.

Elevated Spiritual State

In Scientology terms, Alley was reported in 2018 to be a New Operating Thetan (OT) VIII, which is the most advanced OT, or spiritual state of being.

On Howard Stern's show in 2015, Alley explained her then OT VII status by saying: "It means that you have gotten rid of all the things that would create aberrated behavior in you that you didn't want. It's an awareness level, it's an achievement."

While it has been asserted on social media that Alley's level of spiritual being would make her immune to illness, there is no official text on the Church of Scientology's website that supports such claims.

In a statement to The Daily Beast in 2020, the church said: "There is nothing in Scientology that says an individual at any level is impervious to disease, and there is nothing in the religion that says anything about 'curing cancer.'"

Back in 2009, the Church of Scientology further said in a statement to ABC News that it supported its members getting conventional medical treatment.

"Scientologists seek conventional medical treatment for medical conditions," the church said. "Scientologists use prescription drugs when physically ill and also rely on the advice and treatment of medical doctors. The Church does not involve itself in the diagnosis or classification of any medical condition."

Former Scientologist Leah Remini

However, Leah Remini, who has been an outspoken critic of Scientology since quitting the church back in 2013, has stated otherwise.

In her documentary series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, the actress said, per Insider: "The church doctrine thinks that fields of psychology and psychiatry are a sham. They deny mental illness and afflictions. They promote that you can heal your psychosomatic issues with their 'technology.'

"They will get in the way of people taking medications. They will prevent people from getting the real medical help that they need. And in some cases, have caused suicides because of it. Scientology is mentally abusive because we are all taught that we are responsible for everything."

Back in 2019, amid reports that a Scientology cruise ship had been quarantined in the waters of Caribbean island St. Lucia following a confirmed case of measles, Remini also claimed that church members used derogatory terms for illnesses.

"The Scientology ship, The Freewinds, is where they reach one of the highest levels of Scientology & are supposed to be impervious to 'Wog Illness,'" she posted on Twitter at the time. "A Wog is a derogatory term used to describe all of you, who are all just average humans compared to the superior scientologist."

Newsweek has reached out to representatives of the Church of Scientology for comment.

Like Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Elisabeth Moss and a host of other stars, Alley was an avowed Scientologist, who spoke of her beliefs on a number of occasions.

In her 2012 book The Art of Men (I Prefer Mine al Dente), Alley, who joined the church back in the 1970s, asserted that much of the criticism directed at Scientology was based on misrepresentation.

"Scientology has been cloaked in mystery fabricated by the press, mostly," she said. "It's actually analytical and easy to understand. It does not include aliens, although I'd love to meet a few and believe we are not alone in the vastness of the universe."

"Many people ask me why Scientology is a religion. My answer is that it deals with you as a spiritual being," she wrote elsewhere in the tome. "Yes, there are real things that attack the body, including cancer, diabetes, polio, viruses, infections, encephalitis, and the bubonic plague.

"People die from these or get treatment and recover. But Scientology deals with the spirit and its effect on the mind and the body. Mr. Hubbard taught me how to situate myself and view all aspects of life and then act according to what I observe and know. And to participate in life!! It's not much good to sit on top of a mountain and contemplate life. It's also not much fun."