A gay woman has claimed she was forced into a Scientology version of ‘gay cure’ therapy.
Michelle LeClair, 45, was a member for over 20 years, from age 18 to 40. She paid over $5 million to the church.
Scientology has denied any claim it is homophobic.
But LeClair has alleged the Church turned against her when she fell in love with a woman named Tena.
She suggests they sought to discourage her from being gay when she was being ‘audited’, a process of intense psychological counseling.
Michelle LeClair: Scientology tried to ‘cure’ me of my sexuality
A church counselor told her, she claims, she would lose everything, personally and professionally, if she was gay and dated a woman.
‘Being gay was never an option inside the church,’ LeClair told the Daily Beast. ‘I thought I was a big enough donor and high enough in the church.
‘I thought I could bring the church into the 21st century and be a rainbow-flag waving Scientologist. They were not having it.’
LeClair told NBC she joined the church, following the mother, after a bad car accident at 18.
As she joined, she told a Church ethics officer about a fling she had with a female high school friend. The officer then showed her writings from L Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, who said homosexuals are the ;lowest of the low’.
Swallowed by shame, LeClair told Elle that she decided she ‘wouldn’t like girls anymore’.
Forced to promise to be a ‘good heterosexual wife’
At 21, LeClair married her now ex-husband. They had four children.
During the marriage, LeClair and her ex-husband cheated. She slept with a woman.
An ethics officer told her, she says in the book, ‘”Gay” is a psych term that makes homosexuality less of a crime. Homosexuals get sick easily. They get AIDS. They cannot procreate. Many have committed crimes of sexual deviance. You don’t know one because they hide their crimes. Is that the group you want to be part of?”
The ethics officer also demanded to know whether she ‘fantasized about women’ when she masturbated.
In their counseling sessions, LeClair writes, she had to promise to her now ex-husband she ‘would be a good heterosexual wife’.
Church of Scientology slams her accounts, calling them ‘false’
A Church of Scientology spokesperson denies her accounts, calling them ‘false’.
‘Michelle LeClair’s story is pure fiction from a scam artist,’ a spokesperson from the Church of Scientology said.
‘We are outraged by her attempt to slander the church by falsely stating that she was discriminated against because of her homosexuality.
‘It is well-known that the church takes no position on sexual orientation and Ms LeClair’s claims are completely invented. If you are going to forward such claims, there are other religions who do take a strong position on the subject, but this is just not our issue at all. The fact that the church had any issue with her sexuality is untrue.’
A further statement said: ‘The church is not homophobic. It strongly espouses human rights for all individuals, regardless of race, faith, nationality, or sexual preference.’
History of Scientology’s views on homosexuality
Historically, this has not been the case.
Writing in 1951, Hubbard classified gay people as ‘covertly hostile’. This level, Hubbard wrote, is ‘the most dangerous and wicked level’.
Former Scientologists have said Hubbard’s own son, Quentin, was gay. He didn’t want to be the successor of Scientology, and wanted to be a dancer. He died at the age of 22 in an apparent suicide.
LeClair said she felt there was an ‘instinctual guttural feeling’, her love for Tena, that made her leave Scientology.
‘At that time, my gut was telling me to run from the church and run to Tena, and it was the best decision I ever made,’ she said.
‘The best decision I ever made’
“I feel the opportunity to explore my sexuality was stolen from me, and I feel I was forced to live a heterosexual life which became extremely abusive.’
LeClair was granted a restraining order against her husband.
She added: ‘I felt the church condoned the abuse, and did nothing about that abuse when I begged for their help… I was not allowed to do anything to protect myself outside of what the church offered.’
LeClair was asked what she would say to LGBTI people who are considering joining the Church of Scientology.
‘Run as far as you can,’ she said. ‘This is not a church.’
LeClair and Tena will marry next year in Vermont.
‘I would like to hope that I would have found my way out of the church,’ she said.
‘I would like to think my gut instinct would have taken over somehow, but I do believe Tena was a gift from God.’
Perfectly Clear: Escaping Scientology and Fighting for the Woman I Love is available now.
