It’s uncommon for conservatives to see a celebrity walking the red carpet wearing their political beliefs in a way that Joy Villa did last night at the Grammy’s. Villa, a singer most famous before last night for wearing a MAGA dress to a previous awards show, made all of the headlines she could have hoped. The dress she wore had a baby in utero represented and she carried a purse with “choose life” in large letters, broadcasting an anti-abortion message picked up by the press (see here on CBS or here on EW.com). Villa isn’t known for much outside of wearing conservative dresses at awards shows, and so one could be fooled into cheering the move. But the story doesn’t end there.
Villa isn’t just an innocent pro-life activist trying to highlight the humanity of a “fetus” on her dress for the world to see. She is a prospective candidate for Congress, and a Scientologist. The former explains why she showed up at the Grammy’s this year aiming to make headlines again, and the latter is the reason why conservatives shouldn’t be taken in by her act.
Villa is, above all, an opportunist. Writing on his blog, former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder exposed how Villa once called the President crazy, and expressed enthusiasm for obtaining “Feel the Bern” gear during the election.
Ann… her walking the red carpet in that dress is in poor taste. She's using a VERY important issue to create shock value like she's done many times in the past. Please read this evidence collection and learn more about Joy Villa and her deception. -VJhttps://t.co/Zs5HlaZhGm
— RealVinnieJames (@RealVinnieJames) January 29, 2018
After the election, Villa saw the quickest way to make headlines in a liberal dominated Hollywood: express her support for the President. And it paid off: after last year’s Grammy’s Rinder explains “So, with her ‘statement’ dress rousing Republicans to encourage downloading her songs on iTunes ‘for being a brave supporter of our President’ she rocketed up the charts. Fox News was right onto the story.” Villa is now hoping to ride that Trump train to Washington D.C., according to reports.
Villa, 31, had said in October that if she chose to run, she would advocate for the same policies President Trump supports.
“Have you looked at Congress lately? In the news, we see that they’re getting nothing done. They are a house of cards that is tumbling. I mean, healthcare reform they couldn’t get done. Immigration they can’t get done. They are not working with the president, which means we need to put new people in, we need to vote fresh blood,” Villa said Wednesday.
Villa added that White House senior adviser Ivanka Trump recently encouraged her to pursue a political office.
The fact that Villa is a card-carrying and enthusiastic Scientologist is the second red flag for conservatives cheering her ensemble and potential candidacy (the first being her naked ambition for political office, which is always its own warning sign). Scientology is famous for many things, or it should be at least, and one of them is its reputation for allegedly forcing its members to obtain abortions when they work for its management arm the Sea Org.
Those in the Sea Org work long hours for little pay; and introducing a baby into the lives of its members would greatly decrease their productivity and worth; and thus, having a baby while a member (signed onto a 10,000 year contract) is banned. Those who find themselves pregnant are reportedly given a choice: abortion or departure from one’s job, family and home. Even those who choose the latter are still allegedly coerced into getting an abortion.
Mike Rinder and the actress Leah Remini have exposed the group over the course of two seasons of their show Scientology and the Aftermath. To their credit, the issue of forced abortion became a focal point of an entire episode last year, and their interview with a victim of the policy, Claire Headley, was one of the most powerful of the entire series (I reviewed it here). The organization, which portrays itself a Church but is anything but, has been the subject of lawsuits and controversy about the practice of forced abortion previously; and should be a target for pro-life activists. We decry how authoritarian regimes in China and North Korea force its mothers to abort their babies; and we should be utilizing all of our resources to stop a so-called religion from doing it here in the United States.
After the Remini episode aired, several pro-life blogs called attention to the practice, and more pro-life Americans are now learning what atrocities are being committed by Scientology. Which is why, as long as Villa remains a member of this evil organization posing as a religion, conservatives would be profoundly gullible to fall for her transparent attempts at manipulation. Would we support Cecile Richards’ run as a pro-life Republican were she to decide to run for Congress tomorrow because she showed up to an event in a “Choose Life” dress? Of course not. Supporting Villa, who uses her celebrity to promote Scientology, would be just as foolish.
