Many fans have been wondering if Will Smith is a scientologist. While he has been coy about answering the question, Tom Cruise’s friend has donated millions of dollars to an alleged Scientology school. His son, Jaden, with whom he starred in After Earth, also attended the controversial school before its doors were closed.
When Will Smith is asked about his links to Scientology, he often dodges the issue. Often he will say some phrase like, “I’m a student of all religions” or, “Love is my religion.”
Of course, actions speak louder than words. And money speaks louder than both of these things.
Over the past few years, the Smith’s have donated millions of dollars to a controversial school in Calabasas, Calif. The New Village Leadership Academy School has been accused by many as being affiliated with the Church of Scientology.
While the Smith’s have blatantly denied these allegations, high-ranking officials at the school confirmed that they have received training by scientologists and the teaching methods were derived directly from the teachings of COS founder L Ron Hubbard.
Over the summer, however, the school was shut down. An alleged source spoke with Star magazine, telling the tabloid:
“Will and Jada put millions in to it [the school]. But there’s a lot more to a school than money – if people don’t agree with the teaching material, then all the money in the world won’t save it.”
Of course, the Smiths have been careful to deny these rumors in the press. In an interview with NPR, Jada Pinkett Smith told the news organization:
“I definitely want to make it very clear to everybody that the educational institution that we have, the school that Will and I have, is not a Scientology school. And that, you know, I know there's been, you know, a lot of buzz around that idea and that it is not my desire to, you know, teach Scientology at all. And that the method of teaching in which we use, you know, is a product of L. Ron Hubbard, which a lot of schools in L.A. use that are not affiliated with Scientology at all. So I just need your audiences to know that it is not a desire of ours to educate children with Scientology, that is not what Will and I want to do. And our school is not, and I repeat, not a Scientology school.”
