Trials and tribulations

It looks like the Cruisetians (also known as Scientologists) are taking another kick in the PR chones.

By now you've surely heard/read about the flack thrown by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone when it was reported that Isaac Hayes had announced he was leaving the show in protest to the way Cruisetians were satirized.

Now it turns out that that might not be true. But before the buzz can clear, comes the allegation that Scientology and Maverick are being blamed for a woman's death. MSNBC reports:

The ad refers readers to a Web site, which provides details on the case of Jeremy Perkins, a 28-year-old schizophrenic who stabbed his mother to death. Perkins was a staunch Scientologist and his mother was a counselor in the church — which opposes psychiatry and psychiatric drugs and "believes modern psychiatric medicine derives from an ancient alien civilization's plot to drug and enslave humanity," notes the site.

So, it's not a good time to be a Scientologists. But all fledgeling religions have gone through tough times. Well Cruisetians, take heart. It's only 85 more years until Comet Hale/Bopp returns and you can all hitch a ride to paradise on the Giant Space Ark.

tagged: pop culture, TV, Isaac Hayes, South Park, Scientology, Tom Cruise, Top Gun