Newcomer to The Real Housewives of New York City as a friend of the housewives in the latest season of the series Rebecca Minkoff has been a lifelong member of the Church of Scientology. This fact drew a lot of criticism from fans online and conversation from her co-stars and now, Rebecca Minkoff is responding to the hate that she's received for her belief system.
Rebecca Minkoff calls Scientology critique "bigoted" and "hate speech"
During the RHONY reunion special, Rebecca Minkoff responded to Andy Cohen asking her about her thoughts on the fact that people criticize her involvement in the Church of Scientology and even go so far as to refer to the group as a "cult."
Unsurprisingly since Rebecca Minkoff had previously defended her belief system, Rebecca Minkoff didn't take particularly kindly to this criticism.
"That is a bigoted term. It's hate speech to keep calling a religion a cult," she told Andy Cohen during part 2 of the RHONY reunion special. She went on to say that people wouldn't feel so comfortable questioning any other religion or referring to anyone else's beliefs as a "cult," so she feels that it's unfair that people regularly feel that it's acceptable to speak about scientology that way.
"You wouldn’t be asking these questions about Christianity, Muslim, Judaism. I’m tired of the attacks, and it’s suddenly okay with this religion. It is not," Rebecca Minkoff said during the RHONY reunion special, having previously said that she had never witnessed anything "weird" during her time as a Scientologist.
Rebecca Minkoff is a lifelong member of the Church of Scientology, meaning that she was part of the system long before she became a fashion designer or a member of the RHONY cast. This is because she grew up in a family of Scientologists and her family's history of criticism for their involvement in the church goes far beyond attacks from Bravo fans.
Who is Rebecca Minkoff's father, Dr. David Minkoff?
According to Radar Online, Rebecca Minkoff's link to the Church of Scientology comes from her father, Dr. David Minkoff, who has a sordid history within the church.
In 1995, Dr. David Minkoff was named in the lawsuit that came from the tragic death of Lisa McPherson, one of the most well-known deaths connected to the Church of Scientology. After seemingly suffering from a mental health episode, Scientologist Lisa McPherson was taken to a Scientology treatment center where she was allegedly held against her will for over two weeks without medical care before she passed away.
Following Lisa McPherson's death, Dr. David Minkoff lost his medical license but continued to work out of his Florida clinic and has recently been named in yet another lawsuit involving the 2022 death of another member of the Church of Scientology.
Although Rebecca Minkoff, who is a fashion designer and was a member of the RHONY cast as a friend of the housewives for one season, is not directly involved with her father's clinic or the lawsuits that name him, it's still something that has drawn some suspicion from fans. Especially following her most recent defense of her belief system.