The ladies of the Big Apple are back for another season of The Real Housewives of New York, and fans are ready to take a bite out of the drama. Last season showed Bravo rebooting the beloved franchise with some new faces, and to everyone’s surprise, the move worked out. The trailer for Season 15 dropped this week and showed the return of Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Lichy, Jenna Lyons, Jessel Taank, and Brynn Whitfield. Joining the reality series are Racquel Chevremont in a full-time role, and Rebecca Minkoff, as a “friend of.” All the women seem to mesh well, but fans are curious to learn more about Rebecca’s history with Scientology. I mean, does she know Tom Cruise?
Everything Rebecca Minkoff has said about Scientology before RHONY
The Church of Scientology has been the subject of many a debate. With countless documentaries putting the religion at the center, it’s a hotly-debated topic. Recently, Netflix released a show called Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief. Many docuseries such as this include interviews with ex-members who allege abuse and potentially illegal practices. So, when Rebecca was cast on RHONY, viewers were curious about her stance.
In 2021, the designer told the New York Times: “I’m totally open. But it’s not my job to proselytize.” In the article, Rebecca shares that she identifies as both Jewish and a Scientologist. But she thinks of the Church as “more of a self-improvement philosophy.”
The newbie seemed aware of how people perceive the Church, adding, “I think there’s a lot of confusion when people hear the word ‘religion’ — immediately you hear that I pray to L. Ron Hubbard. I study it, I take classes, and that’s the extent of it, and it’s helped me stay centered. I don’t have all the answers. When I needed someone, it was a place for me to go get some answers.”
Rebecca Minkoff claims she is learning “knowledge”
During the same year, Rebecca spoke on the Dinner Party with Jeremy Fall podcast and opened up even more about how deep her beliefs go. She told the host: “Scientology, which the word itself means knowledge. That’s all it means.” The newest Bravoleb reiterated, “I’m Jewish, so I have my beliefs with Judaism and God, and I go to Scientology to learn knowledge. And that’s spiritual because I’m not working out my abs. We’re just separating the body from the spirit. It has personally helped me from my own demons, my own things I’m not happy about myself.”
While trying to discredit haters, Rebecca added: “I’ve been around it and in it for the better part of 20 years, and I’ve never seen anything kooky or weird or anything, except a bunch of nice people who go out of their way to help others in need.” The designer argued that a few bad apples shouldn’t spoil the bunch.
“You can’t take a bad person and equate it with the original tenants. There’s no such thing as an alien. We don’t believe in a f*cking — all the crazy stuff, the aliens are gonna come, whatever.”
The Minkoffs are like royalty within the Church of Scientology, but Rebecca’s father was implicated in a wrongful death lawsuit
The Daily Mail reported that the Minkoffs are one of the most powerful families within the Church. Rebecca and her family have been awarded the “Diamond Meritorious” status for hitting the $5 million mark in donations. The outlet reported that her father, Dr. David Minkoff, paid $100,000 over a wrongful death lawsuit that involved Lisa McPherson, a Scientologist who passed away in 1995. At first, Lisa’s death was declared to be caused by a pulmonary embolism due to “rest and severe dehydration.”
But it’s been alleged Lisa died two weeks after she was discovered naked and confused in the street after a minor traffic accident. At the time, the police claimed that Lisa was mumbling about “having a hard time at the church.”
A 1998 indictment by the state of Florida against the Church of Scientology detailed that after 17 days in a hotel room, Lisa had refused to eat or drink, so the Church called Dr. Minkoff. Rebecca’s father then urged officials to take her to the hospital for treatment, but staffers refused. Lisa was eventually driven 45 minutes to Dr. Minkoff and pronounced dead.
The Church of Scientology is known to oppose most modern psychiatric methods, instead believing spiritual healing is the proper treatment for mental illness.
Rebecca Minkoff was named by someone who filed a lawsuit against Scientology as likely being in “good graces” with the Church
In 2023, Rolling Stone reported on a lawsuit filed by former Scientologist, Valerie Haney. Valerie claimed she escaped the Church in 2016 by hiding in the trunk of somebody’s car to sneak out of the infamous Gold Base compound. The victim filed a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology in June 2019. She alleged kidnapping, stalking, and libel, according to the outlet. She also named Rebecca as someone who would likely be in the “good graces” of the Church of Scientology.
Rebecca Minkoff on RHONY
Like it or not, a Scientologist is coming to the Real Housewives of New York. Now, for someone claiming to be so open about her “knowledge” journey, it struck me as odd that she told Brynn and Jessel to say “no comment” if anyone asked about her affiliation with the Church. I hope none of her castmates start to drink the Kool-Aid. Perhaps we will learn more about Scientology than ever before when the cameras are rolling. But, with that teaser, it’s unlikely Rebecca ever brings it up as a topic of conversation, or engages in much chatter about it at all.
TELL US — WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT REBECCA MINKOFF’S SCIENTOLOGY HISTORY AND STUDIES? ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING HER ON RHONY?
