Elisabeth Moss is a Scientologist. I’ve known that for years, but I always choose to ignore it simply because I like Moss so much, and because I think she’s extraordinarily talented. And who doesn’t love Mad Men’s Peggy Olsen? She’s “cute as hell,” in Don Draper’s words. Now, even though I have chosen to ignore it for years, doesn’t mean that Moss isn’t occasionally vocal about her faith (Should I say “faith”? Is that offensive?). Moss has a new interview in The Advocate where she discusses Mad Men and the gay rights movement in the 1960s and her views on homosexuality personally, and as a Scientologist. She does it without making any references to Thetans, Travolta’s hairpieces or Tom Cruise.
Moss on the gay community’s support of Mad Men: The gay community’s support of Mad Men has been really awesome for us, and we’re all very appreciative. Aside from the whole style and look of the show, Jon Hamm’s appeal to men and women is pretty much a no-brainer, and it’s the same thing with Christina Hendricks. I think what appeals to the gay community about Peggy in particular is that she’s a strong, independent, feminist character, who represents the younger generation coming up in the ’60s. She has a lot of integrity, and she stands up for what’s right.
On Peggy Olsen’s sexuality and flirtation with lesbian Joyce last season: Of course Peggy would have a really good lesbian friend, and it was fun to toy with that flirtation. I loved all the respect and kudos I got from the gay community about that storyline. People were so excited that Peggy might be a lesbian. … Peggy is open to a lot of new experiences, and I loved that Peggy wasn’t put off by Joyce’s flirtation. The attention and the whole idea of it was titillating for her. I don’t think Peggy’s gay, but who knows? I mean, if anyone’s going to be gay, it’s Peggy.
On whether the tension between Peggy and her adversarial officemate Joan might actually be sexual tension: That would be really awesome, wouldn’t it? If they just totally attacked each other on top of a desk one day?
On her celebrity girl-crush: Oh, that’s so easy! I don’t even know why I paused. Marion Cotillard. To me, she’s just a perfect, lovely, French little fey, but she doesn’t lose her animal sexuality, and she’s still very much a woman.
On her stance on gay people as a Scientologist: One of the most important things I take from my church is the idea of personal freedom and our rights as human beings, and that includes the right to date a man or a woman. Personal freedom is a very important concept in my religion, and I translate that to sexual orientation. If we’re all supposed to have the right to the life that we want to lead, then that should apply to the gay community. There isn’t really any dogma or scripture, yes or no, right or wrong on that particular subject in my church. It’s more open to personal interpretation, and that’s my interpretation. … Many of my church’s stances and concepts are grossly misunderstood by the media. It’s a long list.
[From The Advocate]
Oh, I could just parse the hell out of that last statement, couldn’t you? Moss frames homosexuality as a “person freedom” – not biology. Like, she’s not saying “people are born gay, and it’s wrong to treat someone differently because of the way they were born.” I feel like she’s saying “regardless of whether homosexuality is a choice, everyone has the right be act on their gay urges.” It’s about the ACTS of homosexuality. It also seems like she’s saying that the Church of Scientology doesn’t have “any dogma or scripture, yes or no, right or wrong on that particular subject” so she’s just doing her own interpretation. The problem? It’s been extensively documented time and time again that CoS does have a history of anti-gay dogma and CoS seems to actively try to audit-out the gay, and many of the “executives” in the church have had and do have long-documented anti-gay biases. Go here and here and here to read more. So while I applaud Moss for blending her own pro-gay belief system to her Scientology believe system, I kind of wonder if Xenu isn’t going to get her for this.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Dear Elizabeth Moss,
Please see Exhibition A: Paul Haggis very detailed resignation article/letter to C0$ in The New Yorker for their stance on the Gay issue.
If he’s lying and The New Yorker is lying, we all apologise for our subsequent views on C0$.
Yours Sincerely
Non-C0$ members
Ps:- please would you tell TC to let Katie go. Thank you.
I can’t think of any religion that doesn’t have an anti-gay/homophobic element. If you’re going to practice religion, it’s likely you’ll be part of a religion that is anti-gay.
Good point Molly!
Buddhism loves everyone.
I am Wiccan, and we are most definitely NOT anti-gay.
Paul Haggis resigned from C0$ specifically because they clarified their anti-gay stance which according to him, he was unaware of as part of their doctrine.
He goes into great depth explaining how scientology works. He was a thetan or whatever the top ranking members are called, and apparently only saw problems when the anti-gay statement was made because he is out and proud. Bafflingly, he maintains that though he has left the cult, he remains a committed scientologist.
Quakers are pretty cool too 🙂
Some Catholic or Buddhist countries like Thailand are quite tolerant. They allow gay monks in Bangkok and in Manila, they have processions in honor of the Virgin composed of gays dressed up as female biblical holy figures. They’re really more like an excuse for a fashion show but they’re still amusing.
ELCA Lutherans are very gay friendly.
Quote: “One of the most important things I take from my church is the idea of personal freedom and our rights as human beings”.
Then why are people locked down on cruise boots? Followed and captured when they try to escape the religion? Banished to hot dwellings in the desert where they have to sleep on the floor? No personal freedom or rights as human beings there. Or does the amount of money you have/donate get your more equality bang for your buck?
Hmmmmmm. Sounds like “situational ethics”. It’s probably, (no, it isn’t) wrong to dismiss anything a Scientologist says simply based on their affiliation with such a nut group, but I do.
me too – as soon as I see they are scientologists I switch right off
move along, nothing to see here
Exactly. My sentiments also.
Ditto for me. Regardless of how they wound up in Scientology (by birth, by brainwashing, by marriage), I am suspicious of all Scientology celebrities. Personally I like Paul Haggis, Nicole Kidman and Fred Armisen a whole lot more for leaving the cult.
In this case, I’m wondering if Moss is really promoting the show, her image or is she shilling for Co$?
I don’t think Fred Armisen was ever a scientologist. He was only married to Elisabeth very briefly and never converted.
ME FIVE. They give you a lot less $hit if you give them LOT$ and LOT$ of CA$H.
Cute? She’s all forehead and no chin, gah. And anyone who has anything to do with Co$ can’t be intelligent or deep-thinking. Sorry. NOT.
agree with you 100%, she’s a real hot mess
Needs a stylist and head examiner. A Non-CO$ head examiner.
And BANGS for cripes sake.
Her Excedrine Migraine commercials always made me think she was “cray-cray”. Does she do anything other than Lifetime tv shows? Scientology is ridiculous and scary (as is most religion).
Oh…haven’t seen Mad Men…
Scientology is a joke. Albeit not funny but still..
she’s either willfully blind to what scientology actually stands for, or just full of it. it’s a lose-lose, really.
she’s either not too high in the CO$ chain or neither she nor her friends have had any “gay experiences” to be reported during auditing.used against them
I don’t get it, she has always creeped me out. After this Scientology reveal – case closed.
Me too. Never understood her appeal, now I know why. There seems to be something “off” about all the CoS drones…
Being gay runs much more deeply than whom one chooses to “date”. Sheesh.
To play devil’s advocate, I don’t see anything wrong with her statements on homosexuality. I think the ‘born this way’ movement, while well-intentioned, can be very misguided. Yes, many of us have our sexual orientation deeply ingrained and there are all sorts of biological theories to explain how sexuality is innate. But at the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter. Whether I was born this way or chose to love someone of my own sex is irrelevant to the morality of it. As consenting adults, we are free to love who we love (or at least, we should be.) And I resent the statement that we MUST have been born this way since it seemingly implies that if we did have the choice, we would choose to be straight.
As for how this all relates to scientology, if she’s able to integrate her views on homosexuality with Co$ doctrine, good for her. It’s clear from others (e.g. Paul Haggis as someone pointed out above) that even if there isn’t an overt discussion of the subject in Co$ scriptures, the higher-ups clearly have their own interpretations which are counter to Moss’s. At the very least, she’s absolutely naive about her own religion if she thinks it promotes personal freedoms in reality. But the same could be said about many other religions. Statistics prove that a majority of Catholics are fine with the gays and take birth control regardless of the Pope’s opinion.
Like most of you, I tend to have a gut reaction to anyone being Co$, but if I stop to think about it rationally, it shouldn’t invalidate everything they say. Though I will openly admit I still think it’s a cult. I can’t think of any other “churches” who will literally stalk and threaten you until you (they…) commit “suicide”. That’s some creepy sh-t.
+1
“And I resent the statement that we MUST have been born this way since it seemingly implies that if we did have the choice, we would choose to be straight.”
Nicely said. Never thought of it before.
Many gay men and women live in societies or environments where homosexuality is unacceptable. They struggle with their sexual desires, and the need to conform to religious, societal or family morals.
For those people, being able to flip a switch and magically become straight would be welcome.
And if it were down to choice, many (not all) would choose the option that would present them with the easier life. The one without prejudice, and occasionally outright hatred.
That’s what I was going to say! Yes, if they could change their orientation, they would choose the one that didn’t include hatred and discrimination.
But then again, if given such a choice, why not the choice to live in a world without hate?
brilliant statement.
I feel the same way.
From joining Co$ to marrying Fred Armisen, you gotta wonder about the girl’s choices…
Seriously. Her choice of husband and religion seem to be pretty out there. Wonder if she is still young and confused or oddball choices are just part of her personality and way of thinking.
Does the article not wimp by not asking her:
name one member of the Co$ who is openly gay?
^^^ THIS
Personally I think celebrity Scientologists are shielded from the other doctrine they teach the regular “thetans”. I think they get a different spoonful of poison than everyone else. Perhaps a less crazy version. Face it, the religion has it’s own “Celebrity Center”. WTF??? When I went to a Christian church, it didn’t have a segregated area for da rich folk.
Still think all the celebs get a “watered down version” of the religion, thus exposing them to a far less amount of the clusterf*ck of crazy
Absolutely this. The celebrity experience seems to be a whole other kettle of fish compared to the one normal folk are experiencing. The celebs are obviously treated like royalty, they are the ones that are going to be creating a great deal of public interest for this awful cult. Shameful really.
People fall within a huge range when it comes to religion. You will always have those who are orthodox or fundamentalist (Tom Cruise to me is a serious or fundamentalist Scientologist). Then you have people who are (fill in religion here) in name only and who never or rarely pray or go to a house of worship. There are those who consider themselves to be religious but reject some of the teachings of their faith and bend antiquated rules to fit their belief system and modern society. I think Moss seems to be a laid-back to moderate Scientologist. Maybe she converted when she first got into the acting business for various reasons but wasn’t completely brainwashed into the church like the Travolta, Cruise, and Smith families.
The root of many religions tend to be anti-feminist and reject homosexuality. That is nothing new and Scientology is no exception. Maybe the head of Scientology wouldn’t even consider Moss to be a true believer much like some Catholics who believe anyone who is gay or believes in birth control and a woman’s right to choose to not really be true Catholics. Or Jews who believe that if you aren’t born to a Jewish mother you can’t be Jewish. There are crazies in every religion. Scientology definitely creeps me out but there are a lot of creepy stuff going down in other more mainstream religions too and everyone seems to have their own interpretation of what should be accepted or allowed in their church these days.
FYI, Elisabeth was born into the church.
I really don’t mind this, I love hearing someone discussing their religion this way. I find her stance like mine with Christianity. I am a none denomination Christian and do not think of homosexuality as a sin in the least. I think that is all she is trying to say. No harm, it is her thoughts, not her church’s.
Oh wow she’s not so ugly with the dark hair. A+.
Elisabeth looks great not dressed up as Peggy. She has a classic sense of style. As for people saying she is not cute, she never put herself out there as a beautiful woman and her character is supposed to be an ordinary looking girl also. It is refreshing to see an acclaimed actress who does not fit the Hollywood mold for looks. I see no issues with her religion or views. Those are her personal beliefs and she is entitled to them. Having that said, I absolutely cannot wait for the premiere of MM tonight. I’m so excited for season 5 after we fans had to wait so long after s4. I hope Peggy has alot of storylines as she is one of my favorite characters on the show. I love her and Joan and ofcourse my honey, Don Draper.
I don’t get what’s so wrong with homosexuality being a choice….can’t it be. Isn’t that as much of a close minded way of looking at sexuality???? I mean everyone argues that sexuality is a continuum….so can’t people choose to be homosexual or straight? fine whatever people are born homosexual, but some people probably just choose it, like some people can choose to be straight. what’s so wrong with that?
About the “gay thing” & whether or not it is “a choice.” Everyone, myself included, has opinions…but you know what…I don’t feel I should “go there” & venture an opinion about this because I am not gay. I feel that only gay people can rightly/correctly discuss this. I feel strongly about this because since I’m not gay, how can I discuss (intelligently) whether or not it’s a choice when that is not my reality (being gay, that is). That’d be like me trying to discuss “a man’s perspective on things” when I’m not a man. How can I intelligently discuss a subject like this when I really don’t know about it?
As far as whether or not I should give any merit to what Elizabeth Moss espouses regarding scientology…..ummmm..let me say this…how can I give her merit or any type of legitimate platform when she’s in a religion that CATERS and places a HIGH VALUE on being a celebrity? For God’s sake, scientology has “Celebrity Centers!!!”
Any organization (and let me emphatically state scientology IS NOT A RELIGION) that has “Celebrity Centers”…I can’t, just CANNOT give this CULT any merit or recognition. scientology (I don’t capitalize it for real reasons) basically prostitutes itself to gain yet another “celebrity member.” Disgusting. Just disgusting.
I think the higher uppers official stance has been made pretty clear, but she seems to have her own opinion, which is good at least.
That’s the only box her liberal yet scientologist mind could fit gay into. A real scientologist believes that gay, like the flu, is an engram, a result of an omission or a lie.
I call BS on this one. CoS is totally anti-gay.
L. Ron Hubbard believed gays and lesbians were malicious, untrustworthy and extremely dangerous to society. If they couldn’t be “cured”, he believed they should be quickly banished from society (without remorse). Not quite sure what that means, maybe L. Ron Hubbard’s dead gay son could tell us a thing or two if he could.
Her church????? Her cult is more like it. What a whack job!!!!!
L Ron himself was gay and a pedophile. Very easy to see in scientologys history how L Ron surrounded himself with young boys. Hence why he publicly claimed to be so anti. How stupid and naive are the members of this cult to not know this?
I get that a lot of people affiliate with a religion that does not accept the gay community and choose to support equal rights anyway, but her defense of this group (I can’t say church or organization) is a little misguided. At least if you ask a practicing catholic who uses birth control how their church views it, they’ll probably say “yeah, not really something they condone”. I think it’s wonderful people don’t feel the need to be bound to such rigid doctrine, but at least own up to the reality, there’s no need to defend and tell the public how misunderstood your religion is, especially when the problem is scientology actually IS understood – that’s why people are calling b.s.
Clearly, she is not well informed.
Mad Men sucks now that they wrote in Jessica Pare and made her the main focus of the show. Ihave heard people say “jumped the shark” about many tv shows and I want to smash their faces when I hear it cuz it is an overused phrase. But MM def. has jumped.