Cult News

Air America Radio talk show host Janeanne Garofalo of “Majority Report” was seemingly taken in by a Scientology-linked project selling a “detoxification” cure invented by the church’s founder L. Ron Hubbard.

Apparently, Garofalo either didn’t understand or didn’t care about the often-reported links between the privately-funded “New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project” touted on her Friday night show and Scientology.

CultNews began reporting about the Scientology-linked project more than two years ago and the story was later picked up by the New York Times and Associated Press.

The so-called “Purification Rundown,” which is a Scientology religious ritual, is at the heart of the program. Hubbard invented the process, which includes large dosing of niacin, sweating in a sauna and ingesting cooking oil. 

The Fireman’s Union ultimately dumped the project and the chief medical officer for FDNY Dr. Kerry Kelly said, “The essence of their program is you stay in it until you suddenly wake up and say, “I feel great.’ It’s hard to have faith in a program like that.”

Kelly concluded that there is no “objective evidence” to support the claims made by the project.

The usually sharp, well informed and at times cynical Garofalo is typically more skeptical. But she did the Friday night show without her Internet savvy researcher/wingman Sam Seder.

CultNews has witnessed firsthand as a guest on “Majority Report” how this team works with Seder hovering over his laptop grabbing information through the Internet while Garofalo gets in the zingers.

Janeanne Garofalo’s guest was Scientologist Leah Remini, star of “King of Queens,” a supporter of the New York detox project. She brought along Jim Woodworth, a “certified chemical dependency counselor” and Joe Higgins a “retired firefighter.”

CultNews reported in 2003 that Woodworth ran HealthMed of California, which like the “New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project” has a history of controversy.

Doctors at the California Department of Health Services accused HealthMed of making “false medical claims” and of “taking advantage of the fears of workers and the public about toxic chemicals and their potential health effects, including cancer.”

Is Woodworth trying to do the same thing in New York?

Joseph Higgins, the former firefighter that Remini brought along is a paid member of the controversial clinic’s advisory board associated with Woodworth in New York.

A listener told CultNews that it seems Ms. Garofalo had actually visited the Scientology-linked detox facility. And that there was something more or less said that “if it works, it works.” 

Well, it doesn’t seem to work according to the chief medical doctor at the FDNY. 

The same listener said that only “near the end” and “somewhat reluctantly” was there any mention of possible links to Scientology and/or L. Ron Hubbard its founder.

Garofalo closed her show repeating the Web site address “newyorkdetox.org,” which is incorrect. The correct address is actually “nydetox.org.”

Scientology frequently uses its celebrities to get media time for essentially what can be seen as an infomercial promoting its programs, services, and of course its founder the late L. Ron Hubbard.

CultNews previously reported how TV talk show host Montel Williams was beguiled by Scientology celebs Juliette Lewis, Anne Archer, Catherine Bell and Kelly Preston (Mrs. John Travolta). Williams consumed two of his hour-long program slots promoting celebrity Scientology-linked projects. 

But of all people has the seemingly cynical Janeanne Garofalo now been bitten by the celeb bug and followed in Montel’s footsteps?