Return to Konspiracy Korner - The Strange Transformation of Katie Holmes

As regular readers will know, I've become an avid reader of Roger Friedman's column at FOXNews.com, primarily because of his singular perspective on and nearly direct access to the South Park/Isaac Hayes/Scientology mystery (links to background posts at the bottom).

In today's Foxlife, Friedman discusses another beloved Hollywood entertainer who seems to have fallen victim to the brainwashing sci-fi cult of Scientology when she got involved with Tom "You Had Me At Xenu" Cruise.

(Cruise also serves as the common thread between these two Scientology brouhahas, as he was widely reported to have pressured Comedy Central into yanking the repeat of their Scientology-spoofing episode last month - the very episode which was the ostensible reason Isaac Hayes quit the show.)

In the column, Friedman gives his account of that fateful inflection point in Holmes' life.

We met one year ago tonight. The occasion was the Broadway premiere of “Steel Magnolias.” ... During intermission, we talked. And at the after party we talked. She didn’t know Tom Cruise. This is what she said: She’d moved to New York, wanted to see a lot of theater and learn about the city. She was living in my neighborhood and wanted to know where to do her grocery shopping. I told her about the world-famous Jefferson Market. When we parted, I remember agreeing to meet her there soon.

A few days later, she was still in New York. Holmes was photographed at a couple of events and the pictures are still available. By April 11, however, she had gone to Hollywood for a meeting with Cruise on a look-see about “Mission: Impossible 3.” That was it. The next time anyone saw her, on April 27, she was with Tom, holding hands and professing true love in Rome. As I wrote last year, there are 16 missing days.

All new Scientology recruits receive a special brainwashing service called "auditing" (described in all its hideousness by former practitioner/victims here, here, and here).   Judging by answers provided by Scientology.org, 16 days would be just about the right amount of time to whisk someone away to the Celebrity Centre International (a special Scientology facility for brainwashing famous entertainers) and warp them up somethin' good.

Introductory services are designed to take one week at two hours a day. Academy training to become an auditor is generally two weeks, at forty hours a week, for each individual level.

And what happened when Holmes re-emerged?

In short order, Holmes fired her longtime agent and publicist. She also severed ties with her newish manager. The rest is history. She and Tom are expecting a baby on or around May 5, the day “Mission: Impossible 3” opens in theaters. ...

Yesterday, a German tabloid got an amazing interview out of Cruise. He said that there would be no wedding until the summer, way after the birth and the movie premiere. So let’s rerun these facts: a sweet girl from a Midwestern family, a devout Catholic family, no less, who’s had the same boyfriend for four years, is having a baby out of wedlock with no immediate plans to marry. ...

The speculation is that the delayed wedding has something to do with a pre-nuptial agreement. ... The impasse, I am told, is that Katie has had little contact with her family recently. Insiders say that her Scientology monitors and Cruise are isolating her as the delivery date nears.

And without a paper, Cruise — who is worth a fortune — is not getting married.

Well, so there's still a glimmer of hope.  Perhaps Cruise's greed will turn out to be the saving grace that keeps Holmes from falling any deeper down this rabbit hole.

Previously:
Sciento-logic
Konspiracy Korner - Did Chef Really Quit South Park?
Goodbye, Children!