As everyone who reads this blog is probably aware, CBS Mornings featured a piece on A Billion Years yesterday morning. If you haven’t seen it, you can watch it here.
The piece was delayed for some time as scientology went into a full court press to prevent it from airing. They sent Monique Yingling to New York, with a delegation of scientologists and another lawyer to dissuade CBS airing it using the usual threats and false claims. In the end, when they realized they were not going to succeed in spiking the story altogether, Yingling was put forth as the scientology “spokesperson.”
Trotting out “I’m a catholic” Yingling as the “scientology spokesperson” is an indicator of serious panic in the bubble. “Blinking Yingling” made a name for herself when she was despatched to try to stanch the bleeding over Ron Miscavige’s book Ruthless when it was being covered by Dan Harris on ABC. She infamously brought baskets of baked goods from Golden Era as evidence of what a worker’s paradise it really is.
Previously, she had showed up on Anderson Cooper when he did a week long expose on the violence in scientology. And subsequently was again trotted out to speak on behalf of scientology in responding to The Aftermath.
I feel honored to have my book in such wonderful company.
This time, Monique sat down with Jim Axelrod — in what looked like an outfit apparently intended to pay homage to Hubbard’s favorite book, Alice in Wonderland (no doubt it was VERY expensive, her clothing store of choice is Hermes) — to spout scientology propaganda lines that she has been told to say.
Some notes about her statements (and I acknowledge Jim Axelrod for pushing her to answer questions):
When asked about the cost of scientology services — she deflected to talk about the “training route” and that it costs less than $50,000 to go all the way to the top. Of course, unless you understand scientology, you know that even doing the “training route” can ONLY take you to the level of Clear. You cannot do any “OT Levels” or Super Power or L’s or any of the other really expensive scientology auditing. The big money in scientology comes AFTER Clear if you want to get to OT. Axelrod could not be expected to understand this sort of detail to even be able to push back on her very obvious avoidance of the question.
She asserted “there is no such thing as the Hole.” Using the PRESENT tense. No doubt after much media exposure, Miscavige took down his carved wooden sign and probably moved those who had been in The Hole to another location. The follow up question to this should have been “maybe not currently, but was there EVER a place known as The Hole?” Yingling was never taken to see The Hole of course, so she just relies on what she is told.
When pushed about the “grains of truth” she thought were in the allegations about The Hole, she deflected again with “the church does have a system of internal discipline, which for the most part, individuals volunteer for…” and “they say they are very grateful for the opportunity to redeem themselves…” Hah. Of course, again, she has no clue. NOBODY ever “volunteered” to go in The Hole. Nobody was “grateful” for the “opportunity” and there was no “redemption.” She is conflating The Hole with the Rehabilitation Project Force which are definitely NOT the same thing.
The greatest irony of this interview is that scientology has no spokespeople to respond to the media. Typically their responses (if any) are letters. The only thing they have left is Monique Yingling, who makes it clear she is NOT a scientologist, but she HAS made a VERY lucrative living from scientology. Tens of millions of dollars over the years. And yet she is the person they put forth to allege that I “attack scientology for the money.”
Following the scientology presentation and interview, CBS asked me to respond to this allegation: The Church alleges Rinder’s criticism of Scientology is driven by money and that he had made a living off bashing the church.
I responded as follows: My criticism of scientology is driven solely by my desire to end the rampant, ongoing abuses within the organization. It is scientology that is obsessed with making money; if that was my
motivation, I would have taken a payout from scientology for my silence long ago.
CBS included my response, but omitted the end: if that was my motivation, I would have taken a payout from scientology for my silence long ago. Just stating it here for the record. It was Monique Yingling herself who was sent to make the first effort to “come to an agreement” so that I would not speak out publicly, an incident I detail in the book.
And finally, this is something I wrote in A Billion Years about Monique:
While I was in Yingling’s office working with her on the Minton
settlement, Miscavige constantly called me, screaming at and berating
me over the phone. Monique couldn’t help but overhear—she asked
me, “Why does Dave treat you like that?” I answered that I deserved it.
She shook her head. “No, you don’t, Mike. You work harder than anyone
I have ever met. You are smart and do a great job. I don’t think anyone
should be treated like that.” I didn’t want to agree with her—after
all, she was not even a scientologist—and to do so would have been
tantamount to treason in my mind. But while I didn’t show it then, it
was finally becoming clearer to me that she was right.
She knows a lot more than she pretends on TV.
His behaviour towards his dad was very inconsistent, at one stage he got spy’s to follow him around but at another period he provided him with shelter and looked after him by giving him $100,000 to buy a house.
I wonder how involved he was with his father’s funeral, if he helped out financially, turned up, helped organise etc etc
Axelrose was a poor interviewer. He let her get by with vague statements and never pushed or tried to clarify anything. And yes no research on his part. Easy facts to research.
Agree. His question to Blinky about the Hole should have been worded, “Is, was, or has there at any time ever been…” She was treated far too gently.
Meow Alert:
She looks BAD.
All those millions, and she goes on nationwide TV looking like that?
Long gray hair like a witch.
And that Jacket!
Who in her right mind with that girth would wear black and white CHECKS?
If that thing that looks on her like she cut up a tablecloth and sewed it the night before is Hermes, her wearing it on CBS is putting the designer in an early grave.
If there is a Hell Yingling has a very large spot reserved for just herself filled specially designed implements…
I agree completely.
I did not have that problem.
By then it was utterly VERBOTEN to have any “flesh and blood”.
Heil Miscaviage”!
Your straightforwardness comes through just as loudly as Monique’s evasiveness. The interviewer could have done a better job piercing her evasions but it’s clear that she is a henchwoman. You are a witness.
Only someone who makes tens of millions of dollars off a cult can say “it only costs about $50,000” with a straight face. When they have to trot out Blinky, you know they are desperate. You’d think with all the $ scientology pays her, she’d have a whole posse of people making sure she looked good. I wonder if the tent she was wearing is available at a sporting goods store nearby.
You give Axelrod too much grace, in my mind. If he did his research he would have known about the fees and half-truths and given a more confrontational interview. But, not hard-balling, that probably was a deal made with Scientology before filming.
I agree, to many cowards in the press.
Bravo!!! Thank you Mike! The facade is crumbling before our eyes. Please continue your great work; keep pulling the curtain back.
To wake up is to see…..
That absurd deflection about the training route is even worse than it seems. How many people have done certain courses multiple times, at their own expense, due to correction of past materials such as removal of semi-colons? How many training certs have been negated over “ethics” issues, requiring a person to not only go through an expensive process of proving themselves not a traitor, only to be required to redo their entire training route because, apparently, they can’t possibly have learned anything right if they were unethical.
Not only that, but being dinged for auditing intensives to handle ‘overruns’, when some training action goes past a good point? My first overrun handling, though thankfully not outright auditing I had to pay for, happened on one of the most basic and inexpensive courses. (I think ~$US 95 in the late 90s.) I later got suckered into paying for an intensive, which means I paid for 12.5 hours of auditing, over handling a headache while on one of the early Academy course. (My one and only “look at how this wildly made up past life is impacting you” setup.)
In order to do one of the early Academy courses, I would need their tool, an e-meter. Our book store just happened to have a rather old US$500 one, wood case, and I bought that. They couldn’t outright say it was outdated, because Scn policy, but boy did I constantly get the “Mark {fancy number} is superior and you’d learn better with it” line. Why? How dare I not have spent US$5000+
On top of all that, the first course you take gets you joined automatically as a member to the IAS (International Association of Scientologists) and on every call-in list for events that are about nothing but getting people to donate. It may only be US$50 or US$100 early on, but somehow keeping an accounting and knowing it’s financially ruining you is unacceptable. Only statuses for giving up to some amount matter.
Oh, and let’s not forget the pressure to buy books, even books already owned, because “now they’re in chronological order”, or donations are needed for library shelves that they never actually wind up on, or there’s some weird PR push and they’re trying to deceitfully get a book on the best-seller list.
***
Separately, I find it rather telling that Yingling and Scn can only attack the one person. There is so much cross-confirmation of activities of the Sea Org. It’s not like Mike stands alone. The sheer volume of books about what growing up in Scn is like, the amount of work it takes to escape Scn and how long it takes to deprogram so many things, outweighs one (tax?!) lawyer’s scripted answers meant to avoid actually answering anything.
The first N/OTs auditors used Mk Vs. ( the wooden ones).
When I got to Flag in July 79 I was the QM at the newly purchased Heart Of Clearwater motel for a month and then I was a Tech Page when AO -3 opened.
There was an entire closet full of these Mk V e-meters.
The N/OTs auditors were not using them anymore as they apparently do not show F/Ms like the Mk Vis or Mk VIIs.
But, as I was a lowly Tech Page I did not know that
At that time the auditors could get a Mk VI by signing a piece of paper allowing 10 bucks a week to go for paying it off
I was not an auditor and I did not have that problem; i.e I only made $7 50 a week.
On the ship many years later I bought a Mk super seven for 500 bucks
A well dressed low life? She looks like she’s dressed in a candy wrapper.
She’s wearing a houndstooth ugly jacket. Maybe the candy wrapper it reminds you of is from a horehound candy. Horehound candy is a dark brown hard candy with a distinctly bittersweet taste.
I reckon she wore that horrible, almost tent like, jacket to hide the cash stuffed money belt around her waist that $camology gave to her just before the liarthon.
Good one! Yes probably. But no muffins this time? You’re slipping, Yingling.
I was thinking of the peanut butter and taffy candy called Abba-Zabba.
Yingling has three obvious “tells” when she’s lying. She lied a lot. Many of her lies were lies of omission.
Please tell us what the three tells are of her lying?
Eye movement, head tilt, hand clasping, not necessarily at the same time.
Thank you, Pickanother ID,. I saw Yingling in an interview some years past and she was blinking almost incessantly. That was where she got the nick name Blinkey. And the jurors are no dummies. They’ll see her hand clasping, head tilting, blinking for what it is, a tip off of lying.
How would Monique Yingling’s church/dioces feel about her working year after year to keep people enslaved and victimizing people for a cult that forces their most devoted members to have abortions or leave the Sea Org? I’m not suggesting she be subject to the Fair Game tactics she perpetuates by defending the cult in the media. Just curious how her clergy would feel about it. Repent, Monique.
Probably a lousy Catholic, a dilettante.
Maybe she confesses regularly to her priest. Some Hail Marys and so and so many Our Fathers and she’s good to go for another month of earning her living off of a ruthless, greedy, criminal cult.
That was sarcasm.
There’s no way this creature is a practicing Catholic. I’m not Catholic and I don’t believe I’m even theoretically a Christian but the Catholics I know are honest, well intentioned decent people who, when they take Confession, take it seriously.
Great interview. I just started reading your book. I hope it, and the media coverage, results in government agencies finally waking up and doing something about all of the abuse in scientology. I am still shocked that nothing has been done yet. Wishing you continued success!
They infiltrated the IRS and probably have dirt on people.
yingling has sold out herself to the devil
Skillful and professional interview Mike, Very Well Done !
Only someone with years of experience handling media could have pulled this off.
And getting it aired at all. Awesome achievement.
Very cool.
++++++++
Another blip on Yingling.
The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology, No. 2: Monique Yingling By Tony Ortega | April 21, 2021https://tonyortega.org/2021/04/21/the-top-25-people-enabling-scientology-no-2-monique-yingling/
And here again Ms Dingaling does a great disservice … so she can hold on to that $$$ retainer fee.
Oh my gosh I haven’t laughed this hard in weeks!
Thanks Mike! You are doing a wonderful job!
Love, Becky
I assume, madam that you are the THE Becky Miscaviage that was married to Ron Snr and escaped the Int Base.
If so, I knew your husband Ron. I repaired his trumpet on the
Freewinds after someone knocked it over and bent it.
He just wanted it good enough so that he could play that night at the event and therefore not get into trouble with DM.
When I brought it back he said that there was now no need to take it to an instrument repair facility in LA when he got back.
Sad, sad old woman. And that was the best cob could come up with? She is the best face cob could think of to represent Scientology? And she is not even a Scientologist?
Compare her against Heber, or yourself, and you get the distance that their ‘Representative’ has fallen.
David Miscavige is so ****** !
“David Miscavige is so ****** !”
It would be excellent if you could elaborate on this statement.
Especially if you could connect Yingling to the erosion of his (quasi) power.
Sorry to have left that thought incomplete.
Perhaps it would have been better for me to have written: “David Miscavige is so (fill in the blank with your favorite explicative)!”
As to the slide downward of the power of scientology/ron/cob; it shows up in the quality and/or presentation of the person representing the group. Ron did not do well with interviews. John McMasters was very good and presented a kindly and compassionate face to scientology while easily explaining what scientology was all about. Heber Jentzsch was a competent and intertaining representative. Miscavige was a poor spokesperson and hyper offensive. Tommy Davis was a loose cannon ball and glib. Mike Rinder tense and aggressive with the public. And, now the best that cob can trot out to represent scientology is an old woman with no charm or ease in answering questions and who professes to not being a scientologist (distancing much?). What cob has power over is tiny compared to the past.
Really, why didn’t the almighty Miscavige himself show up?
Google: David Miscavige Process Servers
Oh yea, forgot.
Great news. You are making a huge dent in the already bashed up jalopy called Scientology. I’m waiting for both fenders to fall off. Yingling the Ringling Brother clown.
There was one very quick statement during the segment on CBS. They referred to the ‘millions’ of Scientologists and the money they have. Millions of dollars? Definitely. Millions of Scientologists? Not even remotely correct.
I noted that as well 🤣 I was like “fake news”
Lots of lazy reporting simply repeats fake numbers published by scn. On the plus side it makes scn seem more widespread than it actually is and so gets more attention. With “millions of them” out there maybe one is living next door!
In the 1970s when very little was known about scn one time someone questioned me about whether scn was Satanic which of course I vigorously denied.
While I was living in LA and studying at ASHO on Temple Street in the Alvarado district a lifelong friend was on a business trip and visited me and I took him on a tour of of the org which was possible to do back then. Years later after I had blown he told me he thought it was odd that there were pictures of Hubbard on the the walls. At least there wasn’t one of Hubbard’s busts in the entryway which might be the case with current Ideal Orgs. That really would have gotten his attention.
I too re winded (as they would say in the old days) to listen to that again as I thought i misheard. The organization will take that as a win and may even use it to their advantage “as reported on CBS we have Millions of members globally”.
Another saddening part of the report is seeing the letter to Mike from his kids. It must break Mikes heart to read all these harsh accusations from his own flesh and blood, (i screenshot it so i could read it in its entirety). In Mikes above narrative of the CBS report he does not make any mention of his kids reply which I find extremely selfless when you consider that would have been the most harsh and depressing thing for him to come across from the report. Instead of focusing what would have been for himself most upsetting he talked about other parts of the report. Many others would have made that letter reply the main focus of the narrative but Mike showed great selflessness by not making the commentary all about how hard done by he is by his children.
I am guessing that, although heartbreaking, Mike has the experience of being on the other side and will not take what his kids say too personally.
Yeah good call and also because I guess he has also heard these same accusations from his kids in the past – their were videos in the past well before the book with the same type of talk. Both bizarre and hard to comprehend how people chose a organisation over their family.
I agree completely.
I did not have that problem.
By then it was utterly VERBOTEN to have any “flesh and blood”.
Heil Miscaviage”!
Miscavage doesn’t give a shit about Mike’s kids. Look how he treated his own dad.
Knowing Scn, there’s a very high chance the letter was not written by his kids, but rather prepared for them and their signing off on it (if there are actual signatures and not just their names appended) mandated in order to remain in good standing themselves.
When his kids are ready to reach out to him without the ultimate third party, Scn, controlling everything they say and do, it will be very different.
You did a great job. As a matter of fact, her accusation about your motives could be a great ground for a law suit.
As for Yingling. All I can say Karma is a bitch.
Great interview Mike . Wow Yingling is a piece of work. Loved the answer at the start where your response was BS.😂 I didn’t like the comment about your ‘other wife”. 🙄 How rude.
Karma sucks.
Mike, Like Yingling, I’m just a wog who doesn’t know all the ins and outs of scientology. But I disagree that “she has no clue”. She has many, many clues. In fact, she practices “the grain of truth rule” herself. I loved it when she wouldn’t answer the question of the worth of the cult, and the interviewer kept on it and then pointed up, “C’mon, you’re their tax attorney etc. Is it in the billions?” And she answered, “Probably”. Shouldn’t Miscavige fire her for being the expert who doesn’t know her stuff? LOL.
Her blinking, as everyone knows, is a body language sign of deception. People know this when their own kids are lying or a friend or spouse is outright lying by this sign. As in, “why can’t you look me in the eye?”
I don’t think Miscavige is happy with this performance, and judging from your book, he doesn’t accept anyone else’s judgment but his own.
Yingling presents as a grandmotherly, soft-spoken figure. THAT’s new in terms of the front people, isn’t it? I just remember the “Angry Wives” interview with Anderson Cooper 360 all those years ago. All these husbands were so bad, so horrible, so “out ethics” (I think that’s the lingo), but you ladies all stayed with them and took it? THEY were the ones who fled? LOL Re-watch that interview. Anderson Cooper looked bemused at times by their act. None of the “Angry Wives” struck me as the long-suffering types, most especially NOT Jenny DeVocht (Linson?). They seemed more like angry pitbulls, s set of trained attack dogs there to guard the perimeter.
You’re hitting home runs with all of these interviews. Thanks for all your efforts to expose this criminal enterprise called scientology. I hope I live to see the day it completely falls apart.
“Inch Wives”.
When I 1st saw this. My questions were how much did Yingling charge Miscavige to be trotted out of ‘retirement’, I dont see Yingling being the charitable type.
And, how desperate is Scientology to use her as the spokesperson?
Congrats Mike!
You showed how desperate Miscavige is.
How small scientology really is.
And proved you were an important person in scientology because they brought out Yingling as their weapon of choice against you.
I watched the whole thing live and was so happy to see Mike doing an amazing job. I wanted to punch Yingling in the face.
Word
In my humble opinion Monique is nothing more than a bottom feeder. Taking money from an organization she KNOWS is lying makes her nothing more than a legal whore. COB is her pimp.
For a “legal whore” she sure isn’t good looking. I thought whores were supposed to look good and dress nicely?
Yingling seems bloated pasty. I wondered if they denied her some makeup to make her look healthier.
Maybe next time, she should bring her own makeup person and ensure more color, even if her natural pasty color is really real.
I wish Xenu would get into every show. Xenu Xenu Xenu
Clearwater is Xenu-town.
How’s Xenu?
Xenu dumped “body-thetans” onto earth, and Scientology exorcises “body-thetans” off of Scienotlogists in Xenu-Town today.
Xenu is always relevant as to why Scientology does so much expensive extensive exorcism, and it always bears mentioning.
Even makeup can’t hide a black soul.
People in Clearwater should start posting signs with that! Welcome to Xenu-town. They could make statues of people with “Thetans” on them and place them around town as tourist attractions like the Forrest Gump benches. Maybe a Xenu-themed waterslide park with a volcano ride, or arcade. They could invite Travolta and Cruise to attend. That would be hilarious and might drive Scientology out of Clearwater.
The Mormon Cult is just as bad except they have a Trillion Dollars!
Even if you feel Mormonism is a cult, I don’t think they compare to scientology, which truly is a criminal enterprise that actively attacks and harms people outside the organization and its own people. Human trafficking, patterns of physical and emotional abuse, false imprisonment and requiring people to turn on each other or be victimized themselves. David Miscavige is the head of an organized crime enterprise. Based on all spiritual truths, he will come to a bad end.
Facts. Not feelings. Everything you’ve just said above happens in the Mormon Cult, I assure you. Here’s a good place to hear from ExMormons on YT: Mormon stories . But remember, they also have a Trillion Dollars that we know of.
A little known worse feature of Scientology, is Scientology does not allow FBI agents nor intel community people to become Scientologists and do Scientology quackery in official Scientology quackery organizations.
At least Mormons are allowed to serve in the FBI and US intel community jobs.
Scientology disallows intel community personnel from becoming Scientologists.
IN other words, Scientology does discriminate who can become a Scientologist.
I believe the Mormons don’t do that when it comes to a member of theirs belonging to the intel community (FBI, CIA, NSA, etc).
Scientology is worried that smarter people will cause Scientology problems.
At least a Mormon can run for President Of The United States. COB can’t even do that.
He couldn’t be seen when standing behind a normal human sized podium and the high pitched angry squeaking mouse voice would be very very annoying. Not forgetting to mention the little hands waving and slopping/flinging tankards of whiskey all over the place.
Why can’t he run for President? He was born in the USA.
I would think he would never run for a political office because that would mean he would have to accept being served with many lawsuits.
But I’d still like to know why you say he cannot run for President.
Only those within The Bubble would vote for him. And there’s the whole process serving thing, anyway.
Yeah, people tend not to vote for invisible candidates. Although it would be fun to attend a campaign event to watch the process servers swarm him.
Thank you.
The answer would have been obvious had I only taken a moment to think about it. It would be pretty funny to see him run for office while hiding behind his desk and never step out in public.
People like Monique Yingling are the lowest form of human existence. From what I understand Ms. Yingling KNOWS about the beatings and brutalities of all forms exacted by this “religion” and yet, she straight up lies and obfuscates the truth. Over a long period of time she has done her best to make sure the church of scientology continue its cruelties. Shame on her.
One of the host’s comments about how horrible the letter from Mike’s children, pretty much demonstrated how the world at large knows the religion known as The Church of Scientology is a cruel, vindictive group that lies and under duress gets its members to lie, even about their own fathers (and mothers and anyone they so dictate).
Thanks to people like Mike, the world is starting to understand that this “church” destroys families and lives and lies about what they promise to deliver in the way of spiritual freedom.
It’s PR is in the toilet and not even david miscavige’s ads can change that.
I’m very sorry Mary. But I have to disagree with your assessment of YinkBlink as, “the lowest form of human existence” because she knows about all the terrible abuses meted out by the cult but still vigorously defends the cult.
Lawyers operate with the understanding that everyone deserves to be vigorously defended by a lawyer. This means that even though a criminal lawyer may know someone is guilty of a crime, that person is still entitled to the best defence the lawyer can provide.
YinkBlink may well be “the lowest form of human existence”. But the reason is not because she defends guilty scum suckers like this cult.
I don’t object to you calling her “the lowest form of human existence”. But I believe you need to back that up with some other reason aside from the fact that she KNOWS about all the abuses.
IMHO, it is not fair to call her “the lowest form of human existence” because she defends the cult despite KNOWING about all the terrible abuses of which they are guilty.
But I’m sure you can find some other reason why she is “the lowest form of human existence”
I agree.
I am up to page 218 in A BILLION YEARS.
I have so much more respect for you, Mike. In the 37 years of being in scientology, I never saw you in person, yet you headed OSA at the same time I worked for them in their Div 3 offices over Survival Insurance.
At one point, I became disillusioned with scientology (which most likely occurred in 1986 upon Hubbard’s death), yet I didn’t leave until 2014. Never again will I claim that I “escaped” scientology. That’s what YOU did, Mike. I simply fell away from one of the most disgusting organizations this side of Mars.
“I am up to page 218 in A BILLION YEARS.”
I’ve heard of slow reading but that’s not a lot of pages read in a 1,000,000,000 years.
Just could not resist that…
That’s a good one, GL.
I hope to reach page 317 in A TRILLION YEARS.
That sounds about the right length of time it will take me to try (after at least 10 attempts since it came out in 1996) and get past page 26 of George R. R. Martin’s, A Game of Thrones. Well and truly past time to give it up as a lost cause I guess. Once he went over to the turgid fantasy nonsense he lost me as a reader.
About the only Martin book I’ve enjoyed reading more than once was the 1986 collected edition of the Haviland Tuf stories entitled Tuf Voyaging.
I tried to answer what you wrote, GL, but it got lost when I tried to post it.
I got what you said!
When was the last time the Catholic Church had anyone harassed?
They just deny abuse happens and continue to move their abusers from location to location