The Scientology Money Project

USC Part 2: Dr. Cecil Murray Did Not Write the Letter to CEO Bob Iger of Disney; Scientology’s Website Disagrees

USC’s Dr. Cecil “Chip” Murray speaking at the dedication of
the Church of Scientology Inglewood. Murray has been associated
with the Church of Scientology for 25 years.

As we covered on our previous blog post, the Church of Scientology posted on its STAND League website a letter written by Dr. Cecil Murray on USC letterhead.

The letter is dated December 13, 2018. Dr. Murray’s letter asks Disney CEO Bob Iger to cancel Leah Remini’s show Scientology and the Aftermath. We sent an e-mail to USC Media Rep Ron Mackovich concerning Murray’s letter on January 29, 2019 and received no response.

As covered by Tony Ortega today, the University of Southern California issued a denial that Dr. Cecil Murray wrote the letter of December 13, 2018. The USC denial came about after Robin Athlyn Thompson sent a letter to USC and expressed her concerns. Thompson’s letter was effective because she understands branding and addressed her letter to USC public relations department in charge of trademarks.

Thompson asked if USC would indeed allow its trademark to be used by Dr. Murray to advocate for the censorship of Leah Remini’s television program. Robin’s letter shows the importance of knowing exactly where to focus a letter in a large bureaucracy such as USC. We congratulate Robin for her expert skills in identifying where to send her letter. Our e-mail to USC Media Relations was ineffective.

USC’s VP of PR and Marketing Brenda Maceo responded to Robin Athlyn Thompson:

Dear Ms. Thompson,
I want to personally acknowledge your letter to President Austin, which she has read and shared with me. She has asked me to respond on her behalf.
We strive for accuracy and appropriateness in all of our university communications. Reverend Murray has stated that he was not the author of the letter that was addressed to Mr. Iger on a discontinued letterhead. We are currently looking into the misuse of the university’s trademarks.
Thank you for sharing your concern with us.
Brenda Maceo
Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing
University of Southern California

USC issued this additional statement:

This is where the Scientology high strangeness begins. Below is the USC letterhead on Murray’s purported letter posted to Scientology’s STAND League website:

Despite USC’s statements, our review today of Scientology’s STAND League website shows the exact same letter from Murray with the USC letterhead removed. In its place is a small letterhead from the First AME Church in Los Angeles where Murray served as senior pastor for 27 years:

Here are the present state of affairs:

1. According to USC’s reply to Robin Athlyn Thompson, Dr. Murray denies that he was the author of the letter on Scientology’s STAND League website.

2. The Church of Scientology has removed the USC logo from the Dr. Murray letter and substituted it with a small First AME logo.

3. While the Church Scientology changed letterheads, Scientology has not removed the Dr. Murray letter from its website; this despite USC’s insistence that Dr. Murray did not author the letter. This creates the appearance that Scientology is digging in its heels and insisting that Dr. Murray did in fact author the letter.

4. Absent an unequivocal denial for Dr. Murray, the presence of his letter on Scientology’s website remains troubling.

Here are an indisputable fact: Dr. Cecil “Chip” Murray appeared at the Scientology Interfaith Event held at the Valley Org on the morning of January 22, 2019. The event across from the main gate of Disney Studios was held later in the afternoon and Dr. Murray did not attend. Dr. Murray appears in the Scientology group photo taken that morning at the Scientology Valley Org:

There is a second letter purportedly written by Dr. Murray on Scientology’s STAND League website. second This letter is on First AME letterhead and is incorrectly dated January 28, 2018. The year should be 2019. Nevertheless, this Dr. Murray letter once again asks Disney CEO Bob Iger to engage in censorship by cancelling Leah Remini’s show. USC has neither addressed nor repudiated this second Murray letter:

Even as Dr. Murray’s purported letters to Disney decry violence, the second purported Dr. Murray letter contains an implied threat of violence from the African American community if Disney CEO Iger does not respond to Dr. Murray concerning Scientology and the Aftermath:

When did Scientologists stand beside the African American community during very dark times? This purported letter from Dr. Murray offers no examples. USC needs to be cognizant of this second purported letter from Dr. Murray and repudiate it if Murray did not write it.

As it now stands, USC’s denial seems unconvincing given the presence of the two Dr. Murray letters on Scientology’s website. If the two letters remain on Scientology’s website and both USC and long-time Scientology supporter Dr. Murray do nothing then the conclusion that must be drawn is that Dr. Murray wrote the letters.

On a final note, it is worth pointing out that the Church of Scientology’s Rev. Alfreddie Johnson and Nation of Islam Minister and Scientologist Tony Muhammad have been completely absent from Scientology’s s Interfaith movement. Why have these two clerics who loom so large in Scientology PR been excluded from OSA’s Operation Interfaith?

The answer seems to be that Scientology wants to firewall its bogus interfaith movement from the Anti-Semitism of Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Tony Muhammad on why the Jews control it all:


9 replies »

  1. Jeffrey you mention that DISNEY has issued a couple statements regarding this fraud. However, I cannot find anything that has been issued by them. Do you mean USC?

  2. Yes, I meant Disney and have made corrections. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

  3. Here’s something I have found troubling about the claim that Chip was completely uninvolved in this: The letter repeatedly urges Disney to respond to him directly about his grievances.

    If I were writing a letter impersonating a third party without their knowledge the LAST thing I would do is encourage the receiver of that letter to respond to that unknowing third party. Even a polite form letter response to the impersonated author would run the risk of blowing up my scam and alienating if not infuriating a party who has been a helpful shill for me for years. Especially given the paucity of allies with ministerial as well as academic credentials!

    I am not convinced that Chip actually authored the letter. As chukicita points out it is an awfully strange slip that the writer holds himself out as a Black community leader with the power to incite or calm Black unrest yet refers to the “Black community” as “they.” But I am equally unconvinced that Chip knew nothing about this despite the letter being conspicuously posted on the cult’s web site.

  4. Whoever wrote it, it worked! Both the letter and the massively impressive protest by a dozen quasi-clergy near the Disney entrance last week got Disney to convince A&E to cancel several remaining Aftermath episodes. [Sarcasm]

    Wanna bet that’s what Scientology and its front groups will claim? Somebody’s stats are up this week.

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