Cult News

Madonna seems to think that her teachers at the “Kabbalah Centre” can somehow save her marriage reports the Daily Mail.
But turning to them for advice may be like going “from the frying pan into the fire.” And further proof that once strong star known for her independent thinking has become far too dependent upon her spiritual advisors.

The “rabbis” at the center have supposedly advised Madonna to wait until after Passover to resolve the reported rift between her and film director Guy Ritchie, the father of her second child.

“She has confided in teachers about her fears for the future of her marriage because it is under a huge amount of pressure,” says a source from inside the London center that Madonna’s millions helped to create.

The same anonymous source added, “They have been discussing with her what she should do as being able to hold onto love and making marriage work …Kabbalism is supposed to help.”

However, after about a decade of involvement with the Kabbalah Centre’s and its brand of “Kabbalism” isn’t it time for Madonna to try something else?

The former “Material Girl” must know that the teachings of her mentor Philip Berg have often been derided by Jewish scholars as “McWisdom,” little more than slick marketing and magical thinking.

After all, if it’s broken why not fix it?

And why rely upon the mechanics that haven’t been able to keep her marriage running smoothly in the first place?

Continuing to wear the “red string” bracelet or gulping down “Kabbalah water” like other Berg believers is unlikely to help Madonna much.

The one-time music queen of the 1980s is reportedly “down in the dumps,” so why not dump the Bergs?

Rumor has it that Guy Ritchie has reconsidered his involvement with the Kabbalah Centre, so why not his wife?

“The teachers told her that hopefully she will see things more clearly after Pesach,” says the Kabbalah Centre insider.

But to really see things more clearly perhaps the pop icon needs to think this out alone or at least without her Kabbalistic handlers.

It may be too late to save her marriage, but it’s not too late for Madonna to save herself and once again be her own person, rather than a marketing tool for Berg Inc.

Apparently even a hernia operation couldn’t keep Madonna from her beloved “Kabbalah Centre.” Two days after a surgical procedure, which left the star “pale” with “no appetite,” she nevertheless showed up at the door of the Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles reported E Online.

Rumors continue that the pop queen’s marriage to film director Guy Ritchie is on the rocks.

The two managed to weigh in for a brief, but it appears rather strained appearance, at the Brits Awards this week in London.

Almost a no show, Ritchie clocked just 30-minutes at the awards ceremony, where his wife picked up a Brit for “Best International Female.”

The two appeared somewhat cold and indifferent to each other. And in her acceptance speech Madonna thanked everyone but her husband reported Sky Showbiz.

Ritchie had no smiles for the camera and had lost his beard, which many of the men tied to the Kabbalah Centre seem to favor. Was this a visible sign of his newfound independence?

Elton John is supposedly offering the pair marriage advice.

“Elton and I have spoken to Madonna plenty of times lately. She and Guy are close friends of ours,” said David Furnish the long-time partner of the rock star reports Life Style News.

Maybe Sir Elton and his mate should talk to the troubled two about the Kabbalah Centre? 

It seems that whatever spiritual guidance and influence the organization and its teachers have provided Madonna with it hasn’t done much good for the 47-year-old diva’s second marriage.

News also surfaced that the former “Material Girl” may leave England without Ritchie. “She thinks an extended break will do them…good” a source told The People newspaper reports Stuff online adding, “She feels like she is living in a goldfish bowl in Britain.”

However, the “Kabbalah” bowl the star insists upon swimming in appears to be a problem for her husband. And addressing that issue may require more than a simple geographical solution.

Perhaps if Madonna invested more time in her marriage and less time in the controversial group things might just get better. That likely would not sit well with her “Kabbalistic” handlers, but it may help her five-year marriage survive. 

Former sitcom queen Roseanne wants everyone to know that the Kabbalah Centre is just like other religions when it comes to its attitude towards gays reported Contact Muisc.com.

“They’re heavy on pushing the reproduction thing, as are all religions,” she said.

Madonna must be relieved to know that she has nothing to worry about regarding offending her large gay following due to the diva’s passion for the Kabbalah Centre.

Boy George walked away from a documentary about the group, which is often called a “cult,  with the impression that they believe “gay people are diseased and can be cured.” 

But don’t worry about that Roseanne observes, “You can find homophobia anywhere you want to look.”

Should Boy George take solace in the consolation that others feel that way too?

Is this an example of Roseanne’s supposed “religious enlightenment”?

All this from the same star that once shocked America with her controversial lesbian kiss?

Maybe that’s the difference a “cult” makes?

Madonna has a new hit album, but her second husband Guy Ritchie may be hitting the road reports Cinematical.Rumors are circulating that Ritchie has realized the downward spiral of his career is largely due to the influence of Madonna and her spiritual mentors at the “Kabbalah Centre.”

It was “Kabbalah” mumbo jumbo that mucked up and ultimately sank Ritchie’s last movie Revolver according to film critics. And that’s after the awful Swept Away, team Madonna/Ritchie’s film fiasco.

It appears “Mr. Madonna” thinks that a third strike, might bench him, or possibly put him out of the movie game for quite a while.

Madonna certainly didn’t help her first husband Shawn Penn’s career.

Does anyone remember Shanghai Surprise?

Most moviegoers may want to forget that one, though it seems that critics thought Swept Away was far worse.

Penn eventually recovered and picked up an Oscar.

At 37 Ritchie appears anxious to begin his recovery soon, sources say “the split is likely to be announced by summer.”

Whatever “light” the Kabbalah Centre supposedly sheds on its devotees Madonna may need it to get through some dark days ahead.

Perhaps Ashton Kutcher should consider Ritchie’s situation a warning. He is also married to another celebrity devotee of Philip Berg’s Kabbalah Centre Demi Moore.

Recently Kutcher reportedly was “fuming” because studio bosses wanted him to remove a Kabbalah Centre red string bracelet while filming his latest movie says Showbiz News.

The “red string” is an amulet worn by Berg believers to ward off evil. Apparently Kutcher was afraid to be without it.

But if the TV sitcom star wants to make it in the movies maybe he should consider separating the controversial Kabbalah Centre and its teachings from his day job.

After all, it didn’t do Guy Ritchie any good professionally and arguably not much personally either.

Britney Spears seems to drift from one religion to another lately and apparently can’t quite make up her mind.

Raised a Baptist she ended up veering off the evangelical Christian path to follow her idol Madonna into the “Kabbalah Centre.” Subsequently, she picked up a Hebrew tattoo.

Now it appears that the singer is interested in reincarnation and Hinduism.

Spears attended a Hindu temple in Malibu to bless her baby boy and according to a priest there seek “spiritual guidance.”

The former teenage pop star, per Hindu practice, even got a traditional red dot on her forehead reports Contact Music.com.

But that dot was done with dye, so unlike her tattoo it won’t require laser surgery to remove.

Britney Spears supposedly takes the Hindu belief in reincarnation quite seriously and is reportedly attending “reincarnation sessions” with a “Hindu psychic” says the Post Chronicle.

But unlike other stars that almost always reveal they were famous names from history in their past lives, Spears says she was just a dog.

A “Shetland sheepdog” that “worked on a farm in Virginia” to be exact.

This refreshingly humble singer has also taken up bowling, supposedly to improve her troubled marriage reports Spotlighting News. “Bowling allows us to curse at each other in a good way,” she reportedly was overheard to say.

Does Britney Spear’s latest incarnation as a would-be Hindu require her to take on a new moniker?

Given that she was “born a Baptist” does this make her a “Christian for Krishna”?

Maybe it’s best to say, “Britney is a bowling Baptist, Kabalistic, Krishna devotee.”

Now that’s a real tongue twister isn’t it?

Madonna seems to have joined the ranks of those suffering from eating disorders, but who will do the intervention?

There doesn’t seem to be much left of the former “Material Girl” who once was regarded as a sex symbol and sang songs looking like Marilyn Monroe.

She “exercises at least three hours a day, sometimes runs 10-miles, and eats mainly wholegrains and vegetables” reports The Mirror from the UK.

Apparently the 47-year-old 1980s icon’s spiritual journey with the so-called “Kabbalah Centre” hasn’t helped her to understand that the inner soul is more important than the physical body that contains it.

And whatever is driving the star she doesn’t seem to have either a positive self-image or the inner peace gained through some form of enlightenment.

Despite those endless interviews about newfound fulfillment Madonna has seemingly become only an empty shell of her former self.

Perhaps her spiritual mentors Philip Berg, his wife Karen and their two sons Yehuda and Michael should take some of the credit.

After all, it’s been a decade since the Bergs began extracting millions from Madonna and now it seems they should share in some of the responsibility for leaving the pop diva running on empty.

But the Bergs meanwhile have filled their bank accounts, bought mansions and embraced the very materialism they supposedly teach their students to reconsider.

It appears that Philip Berg’s teachings may be as empty as the woman who became his most public and recognized spokesperson and booster.

This is perhaps a warning to anyone wanting to place the star on a pedestal as a role model or make Madonna’s spiritual journey with the “Kabbalah Centre” their own.

Madonna is in an awkward position regarding her beloved Kabbalah Centre (KC), now that one of its most important leaders has been charged with fraud.

Shaul Youdkevitch head of the Israeli branch of the KC, the man that prompted the 1980s diva’s recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, has been charged with bilking a dying woman that was once his disciple.

Mrs. Youdkevitch has been pulled in for questioning too by Israeli authorities concerning the activities of the religious organization, which has been called a “cult.”

The husband of a ten-year member stricken with cancer says his wife was told if she gave tens of thousands of dollars to the KC, it would somehow improve her condition.

She gave the money, but died at the age of 50.

Subsequently, her husband filed an official complaint alleging fraud.

Such allegations against the Kabbalah Centre are not new.

Earlier this year the London branch of the religious organization was filmed undercover making similar claims to a cancer patient in Britain. This was later broadcast nationally and reported widely in the British press.

But now it’s not just bad press that Madonna and her fellow KC groupies have to contend with, it’s criminal charges and the prospect of jail time hanging over their leader’s head.

So far Madonna seems to believe whatever the KC tells her and continues to ignore the implications of these serious charges.

Madonna has reportedly given the organization millions.

Perhaps, the former “Material Girl” is more cocerned with protecting her investment and subsequent sense of equity, than her fans and the public from the “cult” she has promoted for so many years.

The 47-year-old 1980s pop queen told the New York Daily News, “We’re all in a cult.” And reportedly sounds “not wildly dissimilar to Pat Robertson” when going on about her spirituality.

The singer claims that the KC is “not hurting anybody.”

Maybe Madonna should amend that statement given the current circumstances, which includes her spritual mentor being held under house arrest.

In the same Daily News interview the singer went on to defend Tom Cruise, another celebrity, who constantly is out shilling for Scientology, another group often called a “cult.”

“If [Scientology] makes Tom Cruise happy, I don’t care if he prays to turtles,” Madonna says. “And I don’t think anybody else should.”

However, making celebrities “happy” isn’t the issue.

Since celebs like Madonna and Tom Cruise constantly use their status to proselytize, shouldn’t they accept some of the responsibility when things go wrong and people get hurt by their controversial religions?

Scientology has paid out millions in settlements over personal injury claims regarding its bad behavior and faced criminal charges.

Now it seems that the KC may be following in its footsteps.

Let’s hope the media begins ask Madonna some tough questions, instead of allowing her to use interviews much like infomercials to promote the Kabbalah Centre. After all, her spiritual mentors in Israel are facing tough questioning from the police.

Guy Ritchie “cult” career casualty?

Groups that have been called “cults” such as Scientology and the Kabbalah Centre include many celebrities and claim that their teachings somehow enhance a person’s life, notably the hi-profile stars that tout them.

However, do Hollywood stars ultimately benefit or lose because of these groups? Have they been sucked into something like a “black hole” that instead of increasing their success may limit or even extinguish their light?

Certainly, stars like John Travolta, Madonna and Tom Cruise want the public to think that their spiritual commitment has somehow elevated them in virtually every aspect of their lives, but what about their careers?

John Travolta’s career has been plummeting ever since he signed off on a Scientology-linked film called “Battlefield Earth,” which was reviewed as one of the worst movies of all time and based upon a book by his hero L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.

Since then Travolta has increasingly become Scientology’s paunchy pitchman, jetting himself around for the religion’s related photo ops while his career crashes.

Arguably since Madonna took up with the Kabbalah Centre her career likewise has been steadily trending downward.

A pop music queen in the 1980s Madonna doesn’t seem to be following in the footsteps of Cher and Tina Turner who maintained their standing for decades, instead the 47-year-old star may burn out before reaching fifty.

The one-time “Material Girl” trained in dance now apparently dances to the tune of her spiritual mentors. The singer’s most recent concert tour included a flashing light show in Hebrew and Kabbalah Centre souvenirs for sale, but her fans don’t seem to be buying it.

Maybe Madonna believes that her name is more than just a past publicity ploy and she sees herself as a proselytizing “spiritual mother,” a contradiction of her hit song that admonished a parent for preaching.

Who would have ever imagined this fiercely independent woman that once mocked the church establishment would one day become so seemingly compliant and subservient to some religious group?

Does slavish devotion to groups called “cults” ultimately lead to some sort of professional meltdown?

The casualty list appears to be growing.

Guy Rtichie, Madonna’s husband, embraced his wife’s passion for the Kabbalah Centre. And according to critics his latest film Revolver may flop largely due to its influence reports Daily Snack.

It seems Ritchie may now want to “kick” his Kabbalah habit, but if he does it might cost him his marriage, due to Madonna’s diehard devotion.

The “world’s biggest movie star” may also be waning due to purported “cult” influence. Tom Cruise has become better known lately for couch jumping on Oprah and ranting at Today Show host Matt Laurer about psychiatry instead of his latest picture.

Scientology’s leading celebrity wants his would-be wife to get his religion too, so Katie Holmes may soon be hearing the same sucking sound as Madonna’s mate.

But Holmes can always cling to the hope career-wise that in the future she will end up like one of Cruise’s ex-wives Nicole Kidman, who found out that dumping him and Scientology led to both a career boost and an Oscar.

Endnote: Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how ephemeral you really are. Once above the world so high like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle little star now I wonder what you are!

It looks like Madonna and her spiritual mentors at the Kabbalah Centre (KC) can breathe a sigh of relief thanks to movie star Tom Cruise sucking up the oxygen in the news lately.

A scathing series about her supposedly Jewish mystical group run by Radar Magazine and an investigative report on ABC’s 20/20 went largely unnoticed by the tabloids and mainstream press because the “biggest movie star in the world” has been having his own little media meltdown.

As Tom Cruise stumbles and fumbles from one interview and/or public appearance to another with his new galpal Katie Holmes in tow no one seemed to notice the reports about that other “Hollywood cult.”

Nevertheless, it is the controversial KC that has arguably become the number one “new religion” within the entertainment industry, drawing in popular celebrities such as the Hiltons, Donna Karan, Britney Spears and Ashton Kutcher, while stars within the Church of Scientology become less liked, relevant and/or struggle with weight problems.

Hawking everything from its staple “Kabbalah Water” ($2.65 per one-liter bottle) to the hot selling “red string” amulet ($26.00) and more recently its very own “Kabbalah Energy Drink” (a carbonated combination of its holy water and caffeine), the controversial KC seemed poised to bump Scientology off its perch in Hollywood.

Well maybe not just yet.

Tom Cruise, Scientology’s remaining big star has managed to bring his faith back into the media limelight, though the actor’s co-religionists may not feel their getting the kind of attention they like.

Meanwhile, Radar has revealed that the family who controls the KC (Mr. and Mrs. Philip Berg and their sons Michael and Yehuda) just might be better at garnering stars and accumulating assets than the late L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology.

Reportedly the supposed “Kabbalists” have built a spiritual empire with assets of approximately $60 million, a total disclosed through the paperwork of just a few Berg-controlled nonprofit entities. Much of this accumulated wealth has been developed since 1996, the magical year that Madonna began to grace the KC’s mystical minions.

The former “Material Girl” alone has reportedly personally contributed at least $18 million to various Kabbalah Centre linked coffers.

All this has enabled Papa, Mama and the baby Bergs to live life large, which includes pricey customized mini-mansions in Beverly Hills, paid for by the tax-exempted charity they control.

It seems like the once tough Madonna has become a soft touch when it comes to her spiritual mentors and may be little more than their stooge, pouring her time and money into such things as children’s books that benefit the Berg-controlled charity called “Spirituality for Kids” (SFK).

Radar reports that SFK actually only had about 150 participants in Los Angeles during 2003, despite the fact that this specious spiritual endeavor spent $813,092 on program services: $440,332 of it on salaries and wages, and a “scandalously low” $1,985 through a scholarship fund.

SFK apparently is better at flipping LA real estate for a profit than helping children.

The nonprofit organization, which touts Madonna as its international chairperson, reportedly loaned out about $1.5 million in private mortgages to a company controlled by Berg devotees.

How does making a fast buck on real estate help kids to become more spiritual?

Never mind.

Madonna seems to be so “brainwashed” she doesn’t appear to care. Instead of showing up where needy kids might be the aging pop icon was recently seen at a public signing for her latest children’s book in Bergdorf’s Manhattan store, a venue the Berg’s probably felt could potentially provide them with more rich patrons. The store also sells KC products.

And what about the “wisdom” the Bergs dole out to their awed disciples?

Well, Radar reported that it’s often written by paid professional ghostwriters possibly recruited through ads on the Web site “Craig’s List,” while some was allegedly plagiarized.

Can ghostwriters and/or purported plagiarism provide religious revelation? Madonna seems to think so. When asked about Radar’s revelations she said, “I have an incredible leader [Philip Berg] who is very wise. The last thing you’d accuse him of is charlatism…don’t listen to the messenger, hear the message.”

Radar also pulled back the Berg’s corporate shells and uncovered a labyrinth of intertwined entities controlled by the family and its friends, which raises serious questions about KC tax-exempt nonprofit status.

And why does the KC maintain branches in such unlikely places as Bogotá, Cali, and Medellín, Colombia, which are known more for drug trafficking and money laundering rather than Jewish mysticism?

Madonna looks more like a dupe than a diva these days.

As the middle-aged singer approaches fifty and her career opportunities turn more to clothing ads and perfume instead of new music, perhaps the spiritual bromides and trinkets offered by the Bergs make her feel better.

But won’t that feeling turn to humiliation as the public exposure of the KC begins to set in?

So far the diva turned diehard “cult member” seems unfazed by the growing controversy surrounding the KC. “They’re not worldly-wise, they’ve been naive about marketing themselves,” she is quoted to say in ContactMusic.com.

Does Madonna think spirituality is about “marketing”? Perhaps she does given her penchant for selling herself. And she may believe that the Bergs should sell themselves in much the same way.

But Madonna’s “Lucky Star” appears to have fallen as many of her disillusioned fans fade away. It seems they liked her sex book better than the “Kabbalah” branded stories she now sells for kids.

In its apparent never-ending thirst for increased cash flow the so-called “Kabbalah Centre,” run by the Philip Berg family of California and favored by Madonna, has launched a new energy drink.

The “Kabbalah Energy Drink” is sold in a red; white and blue can and produced through the same company that puts out 7 Up.

It will be sold for an “average price of $1.99 per can,” whatever that means.

According to a press release at eMediaWire posted today “Madonna, Guy Ritchie, Ashton Kutcher, and Demi Moore…are drinking” this concoction.

A Kabbalah spokesperson says, “It’s infused with Kabbalah water, which is holy water” reported MSNBC.

“We’re going after the Red Bull market,” he also said.

But the bottom line with energy drinks isn’t “holy water” it’s caffeine content. And according to the product Web site this new drink doesn’t pack the punch of its most well known competitor Red Bull.

The Kabbalah Energy Drink ingredients list claims that the formula includes 100mg of caffeine per sixteen ounces, as compared to the 80mg contained within an eight ounce can of Red Bull.

Both energy formulas also include an amino acid Taurine and assorted vitamins.

But what the Bergs seem to be banking on is the buzz produced by the Kabbalah Centre’s celebrity devotees, not the caffeine contained in its new drink.

Of course the so-called “Kabbalists” will likely claim that the “power” in their new energy drink, not unlike that held within the “holy water” they consume, is somehow intangible.

How far will all this go?

Given the Berg family track record for milking an ever-increasing product line of supposed spiritual accessories, which includes everything from children’s books to red string amulets, this may become another cash cow.

In what looks like misleading advertising the Kabbalah Energy Drink Web site seemingly quotes MSNBC stating that this “…Kabbalah Energy Drink tastes better…”

However, this is actually the product spokesperson gushing within an article and not an outside review and/or endorsement. In fact, within that same article MSNBC reports that “the Kabbalah Center has been blasted as a shallow money-making operation and even called a cult.”

Get ready for Berg disciples like Madonna, Britney Spears, Ashton Kutcher and maybe even Lindsay Lohan gulping down the new brew while conveniently posing for pictures before the paparazzi.

It should also come as no surprise when some celebrity’s face appears super-sized on a LA billboard slurping down the drink.

Jay Leno and David Letterman will have some fun with this one.

What’s not funny though is the crass commercialization of the centuries old Kabbalah tradition and it becoming yet another example of the dumbing down of religion in Hollywood. Seemingly just another glitzy guru group with a fatuous following of celebrities.

What’s next for the self-styled Kabbalah guru Philip Berg?

His “nonprofit” tax-exempted centers seem to be run more like a family business than a religious charity.

A Kabbalah Centre spokesperson said, “If [the energy drink is] successful. There will be more Kabbalah products.”

Note: France and Denmark have banned Red Bull. To better understand the concerns raised about such energy drinks click here.