Leah Remini on Sunday took to Twitter to announce the death of her estranged father and criticized the Church of Scientology for taking her dad and using him as a "pawn" against her.
Remini, a top critic of the church who recently released an A&E docuseries “Scientology and the Aftermath,” which examined the organization, said in an Instagram post that she learned that her father died a month ago and that she was not able to say goodbye.
"Scientology took my dad in as a pawn against me and likely robbed him of any last ounce of heart that might have been left in him. I’m angry that Scientology found his personal weak spots and got him on board not with their beliefs but with their smear campaign against me," she wrote.
She posted on Instagram that she learned of her father’s death on Friday and was informed by her sister. Her sister, she said, learned about the death through a stranger who offered his condolences.
George Anthony Remini’s funeral "came and went and none of us knew anything about it." She said she had a difficult relationship with him, and missed her opportunity at closure.
“I’m angry that the last chapter in our relationship was dictated by Scientology,” she said.
Remini became a member of Scientology at age 9 but made her exit in 2013, Newsweek previously reported. In 2015 she released her memoir “Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology,” followed by her series a year after.
The Church of Scientology did not immediately respond to an after-hours email Monday morning from Fox News for comment. The church has said in the past that Remini “has made anti-religious bigotry her private cottage industry.”