Some of you are never going to like Elisabeth Moss because she’s a Scientologist. That’s fine. That’s your right, and I understand completely. Scientology is an awful cult and the people who are still in the “church” need to be held to account. But I still have a remarkable ability to separate Elisabeth Moss’s work from her cult status. I’ve been a fan for a long time, from The West Wing to Mad Men to The Handmaid’s Tale. Moss, I believe, deserves a lot of credit for how she put THT together as a producer, and how she made sure that women were properly represented behind the camera too.
Moss had been nominated for Emmys multiple times for Mad Men and never won, which is a shame because she was great on that show and Peggy Olson is an iconic character just as much as Don Draper. But Emmy voters have long memories, and they finally gave Moss the Best Actress in a Drama Series Emmy last night. The Handmaid’s Tale also picked up the Emmy for Best Drama Series. For Moss’s big night, she remarkably pulled it together sartorially too – Moss is someone who usually gets some sh-t wrong on any given red carpet, even though she enjoys fashion and really cares about putting her look together. She finally got it right this time! She wore a very pretty Prabal Gururg dress in what was the on-trend silhouette of the evening – strapless mid-length gown with a full skirt. Her hair color is finally working, and she looked great. Like a princess.
I’m also including photos of Moss’s THT costars, Alexis Bledel and Samira Wiley. Alexis wore a stunning Armani Privé and Samira wore Christian Siriano.
Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.
While the dress fits well, it washes her out. She also needs jewelry. No comment on the Scientology stuff.
Alexis’ dress is the best of the three but a huge margin. I could not stand the Gilmore Girls with the passion of ten thousand suns but Alexis is a good actress who really turned in a wonderful performance.
The one thing I would say, and would always say, is that she didn’t “convert”, if you can call it that. She was raised that way. It may not be easy for her to leave, in many ways.
The second thing I’ve always wondered is if it came up at all when she was shooting Top of the Lake with Nicole Kidman… there’s got to be some gossip there.
And the third, on-point thing is that yes, though the dress is kind of pretty, colourful shoes/accessories/clutch would have looked much better. Scroll past with any speed and her hair and skin and dress and shoes kind of blur into a beige streak.
Would she even be allowed to talk to Nicole if they were not in a scene together since Nicole was probably labeled a “suppressive”? Would Nicole even want to talk to her?
I see your point about Elizabeth but I don’t know if I want to give her as much slack as you do. She may may have the good sense to not talk about it in public but she identifies as one to this day. She even “reportedly” ran out of the room when Leah Remini (sp?) won her Emmy. Wasn’t Leah also raised in “the churcch”?
@Aiobhan
Leah’s family converted when she was in her early teens. And she left with her entire family and has made it her mission to expose the cult for what it is. Kidman hasn’t done that.
And the rumors from set was that other than working on a scene and when they had to make small talk for press/in between shots-Kidman and Moss don’t speak. Since they are working together Scientology gives her a pass as she’s ‘using’ the person or something.
I totally agree. It would have been a good look if she did some adjustments (mostly the colour) but as it is, no, wrong choice.
With all respect, it’s not a remarkable ability to separate the art from the artist. It’s just that what you, personally, get out of watching the movies/tv/art is more important to you than standing against the ideology, or in some case, a rapist (anyone who worked and will work with Polanski).
Just own it. It means more to you (plural) to watch knowing what’s behind it, than doing even a small bit to support any victims. Just own it, man.
👏 👏 👏
Well said, Archie. I used to be a big fan of Elizabeth Moss until I learned she was a Scientologist. With all the human rights violations going on in that cult, I will never watch anything she or any other CO$ are in. The thought of all those people…and children…suffering and enslaved by that cult turns my stomach.
Very well put Archie!
Yes to this! Done watching Moss, plenty of more talented, more attractive looking actors out there, inside and out.
@ ArchieGoodwin Exactly! You said it all. Moss won’t be given a pass from me.
Thumbs up @archiegoodwin!
What a load of bs.
I love the writers Drieu la Rochelle and Céline. Does it mean that reading theirs books is more important to me than standing against Antisemitism ?
So yeah it’s not a remarkable ability to separate the art from the artist. It’s just a sign of maturity.
I agree. I love Moss’s dress and shoes but I also feel something is missing. Maybe better jewelry or another hairstyle?
Someone put a really good analysis of why it’s especially hard for people to separate Elizabeth from THIS particular work. THT is about oppression and how these small actions can lead to devastating consequences for the women. Which is exactly what Scientology does. They punish people for minute “infractions” or banish them and cut them off from their families. It’s appalling.
I think it’s part of why people can’t get around it anymore. I cannot and I’ve watched all of her previous work.
Exactly this. She does not get a pass from me
Me either.
I loved the book, but won’t watch the show. I can’t support Moss, or anyone else in CO$.
Ding ding ding. She is 100% complicit, full stop. No passes here.
This.
I don’t know why she’s wearing beige head to toe. It’s very bland.
This is going to be an unpopular internet opinion, but I couldn’t even get through the whole season of the handmaid’s tale. It was so heavy handed and the narration bugged me so much.
Agree. I think Elizabeth Moss is very overrated as an actress – I haven’t seen Mad Men, in top of the lake her attempt at a NZ accent was terrible and in The Handmaids Tale she was good in parts but also over the top or wooden in others, inconsistent.
THT should have been a mini series, by the second half of the season it had lost its impact and was just ridiculous. The book is so much better
I don’t know about the show, as I never watched it, but her gown is in such a boring color, you can barely see it. Why do women do that? I will never understand why you want to match your 10,000 dollar gown?
there you go: the poster child Scientology was expecting so they can recruit more assh*les luring them with Moss’ “success story”…of course they will say that she won an Emmy thanks to Scientology and what they offer to her craft. She will say that herself, I’m sure.
And it doesn’t help that we can allegedly “separate” her art from her involvement in this cult.
It really helps Scientology’s cause that so many of its followers become successful in the entertainment business. For many aspiring and struggling actors and actresses, networking would be a very good reason to join COS. I know if I were desperate, broke, and looking to catch a break, and someone presented me with an “answer” by joining a group that could help me become rich and famous, it would be very difficult not to at least consider joining. And I say this as someone who is very strongly against COS and organized religion in general. It’s just very difficult to say no to charity or the possibility of accelerating one’s career when you are at rock bottom financially or emotionally. This is how so many people get sucked into cults and religious groups.
I don’t see how anyone can condemn Scientologists like Tom Cruise on principle, and then turn around and separate Elisabeth Moss from her participation in that cult. Baffling. I don’t watch her programs and I won’t no matter how popular or well-reviewed.
Cruise chose to join the cult as an adult and continues to choose to be one of its leaders. Elisabeth was brought into Scientology as a young child, so she’s been raised in that belief system. That makes a big difference to me in terms of agency, although I still wish she would use the power of her celebrity now to get out.
I would be very surprised if she hasn’t seen a lot if dirt. Especially since I think she comes from a non-celebrity family. She likely wouldn’t have had any special protection in her earlier life.
Being raised that way can only be an excuse for so long. She is a financially stable woman who has traveled and heard enough of the world and of objections to Scientology to know that something is wrong there, yet she continues to participate and defend her “church.”
I do cut her *some* slack because she “became” a scientologist when she was a child.
I haven’t watched THT yet coz I don’t have Hulu. I liked a lot S1 of Top of the Lake and I lean towards watching S2 because it’s also about human trafficking/sexual exploitation. But since I heard she is a scientologist that’s all I see when it comes to her.
Goats, I agree completely. No excuses, she’s a grown woman.
I didn’t know Elisabeth was a Scientologist until very recently. Is her Mother a Scientologist too? If so then she may lose her Mom if she leaves the cult.
I have tremendous sympathy for her tbh. Imagine having to make that choice.
Also, I’m so happy for Ann Dowd! She was incredible as Aunt Lydia and obviously very touched by winning. <3
Thank you Goats.
I don’t give Elisabeth a complete pass for being a scientologist, but I also don’t agree that she’s as bad as Tom Cruise. Cruise is rumored to be 2nd in Command of his ‘church’. He uses slave labor, alienated his older children from their mother, and disconnected from his youngest child, because she is no longer a scientologist. He also famously attacked Brooke Sheilds for taking antidepressants, which Scientology believes are evil. Nobody criticized Cruise for being a Scientologist in the 80’s or 90’s. It was only when he CHOSE to be the face of it, that he began to receive criticism.
Despite all of this, Cruise still remains an A-list movie star, so apparently a lot of people are able to separate him from his cult persona.
Elisabeth is a Scientologist, but as far as we know, she hasn’t actively used her religion to harm people. That said, she is an adult that chooses to remain in a church that does harm people. So again, I don’t give her complete pass. Just don’t necessarily agree with the notion that she’s the same as Cruise.
So we should forgive and forget her active participation and defense of a cult that commits atrocities just because she isn’t leadership? I really expect better of people.
Did you read my comment? I specifically stated that I don’t give Moss a pass for being a scientologist. That said, I stand by my comment that I don’t find her to be as despicable as Cruise. We can agree to disagree.
@Goldie it wasn’t until the 2000’s that people started breaking their silence about CO$. It wasn’t so much that Cruise got a pass, the world just didn’t know the full scope of how CO$ exploits and abuses its members.
Oh, Samira looks fab! I love her so much, consider this a HONK for more Samira Wiley stories!
I thought the dress looked a bit bland on her but I love her! I did not know her name before but I saw her on tv and she was so gorgeous upclose. That face, that bone structure. Yikes! I was fascinated.
It’s exactly as Nicole says upthread–it’s because of what THT is, stands for and represents. It’s because it, THT, is supposed to be a statement about the injustices of inequality and misogyny, and Moss is an active member of a cult that stands for everything she claims to stand against. Scientology forces women to have abortions. It not only allows abuse, but conceals it. It protects abusers, and punishes victims.
Moss is out in the world. She has a degree, at the very least, of freedom. She knows. She must. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have walked out when Leah Remini was giving an acceptance speech in the same room as her.
Being born in isn’t a good enough excuse for someone in Moss’ position. Not anymore. And not if THT if your crowning glory.
I could give her a pass if it was someone born into it and was still very young – like a child or a teen. But she’s an adult woman. She is responsible for staying involved in a cult. She is responsible for enabling, or turning a blind eye to all the horrors that they commit.
There shouldn’t be any separating here. You either give everyone a pass because the terrible things don’t bother you, or nobody a pass – I don’t care if she’s more likable than Tom Cruise.
It always annoys me when there are people who rip on anyone for working with Woody Allen, or Tom Cruise or whoever – but when it comes to an actor/actress they like, it’s suddenly okay.
Erinn, my feelings exactly. To me, this is no different from swearing off Woody Allen films because he is a sexual predator but continuing to support that Duggar kid because he was “raised that way.” They are both despicable and one isn’t less so because one’s been a participant since birth.
How do you some of you expect Scientology to die out if we continue to give passes to those born in the cult? At some point, we need them to acknowledge that it is wrong and stop having more Scientology babies for the “church” to enslave.
@ Erinn. I agree totally. As I replied to ArchieGoodwin’s comment above, There is NO way Moss gets a pass from me.
I have begun to watch HMT because I have read the book but I am not so sure I will continue. It doesn’t feel right knowing what they do and how they destroy people’s lives.
Moss’ dress is fine, but kind of boring. Alexis’ is my fave of this group. Samira is so pretty!
Moss is a great actress, I really wish she wasn’t in that dangerous cult. She grew up in it, and leaving would cut her off from most of her family, I assume, so it’s not as simple, but I still don’t understand those in it who don’t question what has happened. And continues to happen.
Random observation, Elizabeth Moss has 3 different skin tones going on. Her face, chest/arms and legs are 3 different colors. I think the dress color kinda washes her out and isn’t that flattering against her yellow toned chest. The dress itself is beautiful and I LUV HER shoes.
Still side eying her Scientology ways tho
Boring !
Alexis’ dress is MINDBLOWINGLY GORGEOUS. I want own it. Badly !!!
Samira looks fantastic !
Alexis looks beautiful and I love the simplicity of her dress.
Alexis is my best dressed. That dress is incredible.
Lovely dress. Color does absolutely nothing for her. Miss.
Washes her out, but I’ll always have a soft spot for Peggy Olson.
Sorry, can’t and won’t separate her from her “faith”. Even if she was raised in the cult, she is now a grown woman and has started defending the cult on social media. She is no better than Cruise. No love for her here!
this! We wax poetic about women and their agency, but bend ourselves into pretzels to excuse this nonsense.
Exactly! Too hypocritical for me to tolerate.
Eliz Moss would look great in that dress IF it were a color. She’s pale, so she shouldn’t wear beige or champagne – it just drains you. (believe me, I know, I’ve got a snow white tan!)
Alexis Bledel looks elegant. Samira Wiley looks gorgeous in white and the cut of that dress is incredible.
She’s all the same color, from head to toes! Yuck.
Yes, not a good look. Oatmeal. Love Alexis and Samira’s dresses! Who is the woman in seafoam gown posing like her life depends upon it??? LOOKATME loll.
How can anyone separate her from her work when she literally shows up to awards functions for her show/acting and leaves the room when someone wins an award for telling the truth about her cult?
Amen!!!
Double that Amen!
Also, for everyone cutting her some slack because she was born into the religion – do you cut Ivanka slack because she was just born into her situation? She, like Elizabeth, made a CHOICE to stay and advocate for practices and policies that are neck deep in human rights violations.
so pregnant.
I wondered about that in recent photos, but maybe just weight gain?
Nope. I thought the dress looked terrible on her. She doesn’t have the body for a strapless like that. Up close she was too fleshy and you didn’t know where her body ended and the dress began.
I wouldn’t like the dress even if it were in a more complimentary color. It’s a basic silhouette that adds bulk around the waist and despite all the darts, doesn’t fit well in the bust.
I won’t support any Scientologists, including actors, in their money-making endeavors, knowing that they’ll be handing over a good portion of their income to the cult. Plus looking at their smug faces for an extended period is not appealing.
The Handmaiden’s Tale shook me to the core and (to me) a very possible future with the attack on women’s right and environmental issues. As for Moss’ Scientology, I will give her a pass bc (1) she is a 2nd or 3rd generational Scientologist. Unlike Remini who left with her entire family, I dont think Moss can do that. In order to leave, she was have to disconnect with her family. Thats not an easy thing to do. Hence I think her work with THT and Top of the Lake is her silent protest against Scientology. She cant denounce them publicly but she sure as hell can talk about important issues that is ignored by Scientology (abuse of people of a “lower status” and women biological rights).