Dear HBO
Letters from families

See the letters sent to HBO from the family members of Alex Gibney’s subjects in Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief. All were available and eager to speak with Alex Gibney to refute claims made by his subject. But Gibney and HBO refused.

February 12, 2015 Ashley Epstein letter to Sheila Nevins On February 12, 2015, Ashley Epstein, daughter of Gibney source Sara Goldberg, wrote to Sheila Nevins, head of HBO documentaries, to find out why she had made unauthorized use of her own and her daughter's faces in violation of their rights. Ashley stated that HBO did not have their permission to publicly use and profit from any of their images and names for the purpose of forwarding the lies in their film.

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February 12, 2015 Letter from Ashley Epstein to Richard Plepler On February 12, 2015, Ashley Epstein, daughter of Gibney source Sara Goldberg, wrote to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer HBO, Richard Plepler, to exposé the callous insensitivity of HBO—for the unauthorized use of her own and her daughter's faces in Alex Gibney’s Going Clear documentary. Ashley explains that HBO did not have their permission to publicly use and profit from any of their images and names for the purpose of forwarding the lies in their film.

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February 12, 2015 Gale Lister letter to Sheila Nevins On February 12, 2015, Gale Lister, father of Ashley Epstein and ex-husband of Gibney source Sara Goldberg, sent a letter to HBO notifying them that no-one has ever contacted him, his daughter or her husband to get their permission to use photographs of his granddaughter. He further explained that his daughter was made terribly upset that HBO would even think of taking advantage of an 8-year-old girl.

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February 12, 2015 Gary Epstein letter to Sheila Nevins On February 12, 2015, Gary Epstein, father-in-law of Ashley Epstein and paternal grandfather of Ashley Epstein’s daughter, demanded that any photographs or video footage of his 8-year-old granddaughter be removed from Gibney’s film. Like numerous others, Gary came to New York City with personal knowledge about the people suspected to be featured in Gibney’s film. Yet they were all refused a single audience with Gibney and HBO.

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February 16, 2015 Norman Taylor letter to Sheila Nevins On February 16, 2015, California lawyer Mr. Norman Taylor wrote to Sheila Nevins, head of documentaries for HBO, to shed light on the lies told by one of Gibney’s sources, “Spanky” Taylor. Interestingly, as Spanky’s husband at the time, he would have direct personal knowledge of all of the “facts” in question. This letter provides the facts. Unfortunately personal knowledge was not something Gibney sought, so Mr. Taylor, like so many other eye witnesses, were left standing in the cold when they came to New York to tell their story to Ms. Nevins and Mr. Gibney.

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February 20, 2015 Anne Joasem counsel’s letter to HBO counsel Counsel for Anne Joasem, the ex-wife of leading propaganda source for Alex Gibney’s documentary, Marty Rathbun, wrote to HBO concerning the materially false information about Ms. Joasem, which is presented in the documentary as true. Mr. Gibney’s inferences that Ms. Joasem was held against her will and that Ms. Joasem's comments on a national TV news program were “scripted” are disgustingly false. Anne Joasem is a highly-trained minister of the Church, and has been a senior Church executive since 1987 and a Scientologist since 1971. Unlike her ex-husband, whom she tried desperately to help when he suffered two psychotic breaks, she remained true to her faith. She also flew to New York to present HBO with direct, personal knowledge about a primary Gibney source, but was rebuffed.

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February 23, 2015 Cathy Bernardini’s counsel’s letter to HBO counsel Renowned litigator, John C. Hueston, wrote to HBO, on behalf of Ms. Bernardini, Mike Rinder’s wife of 36 years, as HBO and Gibney had refused audience to Ms. Bernardini and her daughter, when they both travelled at great expense to New York to provide personal testimony. Their statements were about Rinder’s physical violence toward her, from which she has still not regained the full use of her shoulder and suffers regular pain, his callous disregard for family, including his son who was afflicted with life threatening melanoma, a virulent form of cancer, and his abandonment of friends, family and faith.

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February 23, 2015 Jennifer Linson’s counsel’s letter to HBO counsel Expert Los Angeles litigator, Mr. Bert Deixler, representing Church executive Ms. Jennifer Linson, wrote to counsel for HBO, as Alex Gibney refused to meet with the Church when Ms. Linson flew to New York to attempt to meet with him and provide substantial information regarding the unreliability of his sources, most especially her former husband Tom DeVocht. HBO of course knew that Ms. Linson was in Mr. Gibney's film, so to show disinterest in the truth is all the more disingenuous and shoddy journalism.

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