Before we start, let's get one thing straight. Will Smith is not a Scientologist, OK? Despite the fact that earlier this year he donated $100,000 to fund the New Village Academy, a private school that teaches Scientology doctrine about evil aliens being destroyed in nuclear explosions in volcanoes, he is not a Scientologist. Despite the fact that he gave the crew on his film 'Hancock' a free 'life audit' at a local Dianetics centre instead of a nice gift at the end of shooting, he is not a Scientologist. Is this clear?

One of the laudable things about the US is that you can sift through every citizen's tax returns if you're a bit nosey. And Fox News is incredibly nosey when it comes to things like this, so they have gone through Will's taxes and discovered something surprising. Yes, he was paid for the shit-fest called 'I Am Legend'. Even more surprising are Will's charitable donations, spread between Christian and Scientology organisations, like a man spread betting for the afterlife. Fox News says,

 

"Smith's biggest single contribution was, as usual, Yesha Ministries of Philadelphia. He gave the born-again Christian based organization a whopping $250,000. Another $200,000 went to a Christian ministry outside Los Angeles called Living Waters. He also gave a combined $122,500 to the Church of Scientology, broken into these donations: $67,500 to the New York Rescue Workers Detoxication Fund, $50,000 to the group's Celebrity Center in Hollywood and $5,000 to ABLE, another Scientology offshoot."

 

I make that about $672,000 that he donated to 'religious' organisations. Luckily, 'religions' are exempt from taxation, so they get to keep every penny of the donations (one of the reasons the Church of Scientology was so furious about their classification by the German authorities as a 'cult' rather than 'church' - it really messed up their Teutonic finances).

 

Well done Will for this charitable effort. What's the betting that he gives even more to 'charity' next year, once he's accepted into the 'Church' and starts donating nearer to the 100 percent mark?

by Ian McShane