In her memoir Who’s That Girl?, rapper and actress Eve opens up about an experience few in hip-hop have ever spoken on: a surreal evening at the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles.
Invited by a fellow rapper she later realized was a member, Eve describes the moment with a mix of humor and unease.
“She apparently was a Scientologist and so were her famous friends, my curiosity was so high,” she writes. That curiosity faded fast.
“After arriving I very quickly wanted to go home,” she recalls. “It looked like a religious amusement park but sort of like an Asylum. When I got there they had me park in the leader’s parking space, now I felt like a VIP — a VIP in the church of Scientology.”
The event doubled as an information session, where uniformed staff milled about. “Outside of the guests everyone else was wearing a uniform and they were all just walking around like a little friendly army,” she writes. “I very quickly realized I wasn’t being invited for some friendly conversation, I was being recruited. I immediately wanted to run back outside.”
Moreover, when food was served, Eve says she panicked. “When the food arrived I was too scared to eat it. I didn’t want to be rude but I wasn’t gonna eat out of courtesy… in a state of panic I told them I ate before I came.”
By the time she sat through their conversations, the weight of the group’s seriousness hit her. “Sitting through their conversations made me realize that Scientologists take this shit very seriously. I found myself confused at how I ever thought attending this event was a good idea.” Before leaving, they packed her a plate of food. “As I walked out of the Church of Scientology for the first and last time, I threw the plate into the garbage and walked to my parked car in the leader’s space.”
Founded in the 1950s by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology presents itself as a religion promising self-improvement through a system of teachings and practices known as “auditing.” Its global headquarters, the imposing Flag Building in Clearwater, Florida, and the sprawling Church of Scientology of Los Angeles — located on Sunset Boulevard — have become symbols of its reach.
The church is best known for its association with Hollywood stars, most famously Tom Cruise and John Travolta, who have been its most visible advocates. But it has also drawn high-profile critics — including former members such as Leah Remini — who have accused it of abusive practices, financial exploitation, and harassment of defectors. For decades, Scientology has been dogged by accusations of operating more like a high-control organization than a faith. Allegations include coerced recruitment, mistreatment of staff, and aggressive campaigns against critics. Documentaries such as Going Clear (2015) cast an especially harsh spotlight on the institution.
Its close proximity to Hollywood power has kept it in the public eye. The Los Angeles Celebrity Centre, a castle-like hub in Hollywood, was designed to cater to entertainers, creatives, and public figures.
“It was my first and last time,” Eve concludes
In the memoir, the rapper also details how she became a drug addict towards the end of her third album.
“I wanted to be in a state of blankness, where I didn’t have to process the face that things in my life were changing, that I was changing. So to combat those feelings I numb myself with drugs and alcohol,” she said admitting that her rodeo with narcotics started in 1999 when she had just became a star and was adjusting to her new found fame.
“Life changes were beginning again, and familiar people were leaving. The same emotions and feelings were coming back around and I was handling them in almost the exact same way. Drinking every night. smoking weed, dabbling in ecstasy again all just to not think about anything,” Eve recalls.
