Jason Lee's Ex-Wife On Scientology, Domestic Abuse

Jason Lee is probably one of the most well-liked movie and TV stars around, but all that may change when fans hear what ex wife Carmen Llywellyn has to say about their six-year marriage. In the latest issue of The National Enquirer, Carmen alleges that Jason was physically abusive and that her association with his "cult," the Church of Scientology, still gives her nightmares.

Carmen claims that the My Name is Earl star was a drunk who frequently beat her up, once hitting her hard enough to knock her unconscious: "I was knocked out cold for at least 30 seconds.I had to have my jaw wired." She doesn't say if the alleged physical abuse was the ultimate reason she decided to leave him—in fact, she seems more disturbed by the goings-on in the CoS than in her own home. Converting To A New Religion Before Marriage

According to Carmen, she joined the CoS in 1995 when she married Jason, and quit in 2001 when they divorced. She explains, "Jason’s message was that if I didn’t join, I wasn’t going to be with him…so I joined, but it was like a cult, and I foolishly allowed it to take root in me." She claims that during her divorce, she was "browbeaten" by the CoS into signing a settlement agreement that was very one-sided—awarding her just over $20K per month for three years, while Jason got "their $2 million home, their cars, his businesses, residuals, stocks and pension accounts." She later hired another attorney (whom we assume was not a Scientologist) to renegotiate the raw deal. 

After Carmen left the CoS, she alleges that she was attacked and bullied by members, citing a run-in with Jenna Elfman, who "spouted statements like a robot and treated me like dirt because she knew I’d broken free." Carmen eventually left Hollywood for Atlanta because of the damaging effects of the cult's constant harassment: 

I have never spoken about Scientology before, but I still have nightmares about these people...Scientology threatened my spiritual health, saying that I’d lose all my friends. I lost my manager and my career. People didn’t return my phone calls. Scientologists followed me down the street. They took pictures of my kids. They’d stake out my house, wait until we came out and follow us. They came looking for me to scare me, I was nearly suicidal...I ended up addicted to painkillers, and it took three rehabs to get me straight. If I see a Scientologist now, I cross the street.[Sources: The National Enquirer, Celebitchy]

Carmen also had some things to say about certain famous CoS members, including Lisa Marie Presley, whom Carmen claims admitted to her that she divorced Michael Jackson because she "didn’t want him to be in the same room as" her kids.

But the most interesting tale is about CoS poster child Tom Cruise, whom Carmen met while he was still married to Nicole Kidman. Here, she describes a very bizarre meeting with the two: 

Jason and I were talking to Tom, and we told him that we went to the CoS center in LA. He said brightly, 'Oh yeah? Well, me and Nicole are Scientologists too! Right, Nic?' But she turned and gave Tom the most evil look. She stared at him for about 10 seconds, and Tom looked at her like he was throwing daggers with his eyes. I interpreted her look to mean, 'I am not a Scientologist, and I will not be a Scientologist.' She was clearly mad at Tom for saying she was. And the next thing you know, they’re getting a divorce!'...At the time, the word went around all the Scientologists that 'Nicole is an S.P. so Tom has to divorce her.' An S.P. is a Suppressive Person, which is CoS jargon for the devil. [Source: Celebitchy]

Carmen's stories aren't that hard to believe, considering all of the crazy stuff we've heard about the CoS over the years. But what about the allegations of domestic abuse? They are a little harder to swallow because Jason just seems so darn nice. Then again, in private, celebs aren't always who they appear to be in public. (We're looking at you, Jesse James. You too, Tiger.) And we wonder why Carmen would have gone to the Enquirer with such a big story, instead of a mag with a better rep, like People or Us Weekly. Maybe she did, but they think she's just a bitter ex? Or maybe they're afraid of Xenu's wrath? Who knows. But we'll definitely be watching this story for new developments.

Photo via IMDB.