Voice of Bart Simpson revealed as Scientology megadonor
¡Ay Caramba! Simpsons star Nancy Cartwright — the longtime voice of Bart Simpson — has been honored for donating at least $21 million to the Church of Scientology, according to a new report.
Cartwright, who has voiced the young rascal in the Fox hit for more than 30 years, has long been a fervent follower of Scientology.
The new issue of Scientology’s “Impact” magazine revealed that Cartwright, 65, was feted, alongside other multi-million dollar benefactors, at the Fort Harrison Hotel — a known church base — in Clearwater, Florida on New Year’s Eve 2022.
Wearing a navy blue evening gown, she was photographed alongside Scientology CEO, David Miscaviage.
“This was the most beautiful acknowledgement I have ever received in my entire life,” Cartwright told “Impact.”
Scientology blogger Tony Ortega wrote Monday the actress was celebrated for donating this “cumulative” amount to the International Association of Scientologists (IAS), the church’s membership organization.
Back in 2019, Cartwright achieved “Diamond Laureate With Honors” status, reflecting that she’d given Scientology about $17.5 million, Ortega said.
This new issue of Impact reported that on New Year’s Eve, she received a trophy for reaching “Patron Excalibur With Honors,” suggesting she’s now donated about $21 million in donations to the IAS.
Cartwright is also believed to have given a fortune towards the construction of the San Fernando Valley Ideal Org, which opened in 2017.
She has been public about being a Scientologist, lobbying state legislators in Illinois in 2011 to allow a children’s version of “The Way to Happiness,” a key text by its founder L. Ron Hubbard, to be used in schools.
And in 1992, she gave a lengthy interview to the Washington Post during a trip to the city with Isaac Hayes, the late singer and South Park voice, to promote the same book, explaining how she became a member after being raised as a Catholic in Dayton, Ohio.
She told the paper that she went to one of its events when she was approaching 30 because she was single, and decided to join, going to its “Celebrity Center” in Hollywood where she performed a purification. She described it as “sitting in a sauna for hours and taking lots of vitamins … and running.”
Cartwright said Scientology allowed actors to be themselves, but added that they can “have a tremendous effect on the public and can serve as role models.”
The revelation of the scale of her donations offer an unusual insight into how important big-money celebrities are to the organization.
Ortega said the big money donors are allegedly referred to as ‘whales’ by church execs, as he claimed ‘The Simpsons’ star is a “very hardcore” Scientologist, “who enforces it on other celebs…she’s there to remind you you need to donate more, show up more.”
Although high-profile Scientology followers give millions to the church, according to Ortega, they don’t “necessarily want the public to know,” he told The Post.
“They’re not idiots,” he said: “They know what the publicity could do to their careers.”
Tom Cruise, Scientology’s most high-profile follower, is believed to have donated a heap of his estimated $600 million fortune to the church.
Miscavige rewarded the “Top Gun” star in October 2004 at the October International Association of Scientologists (IAS) gala in England with his Freedom Medal of Valor in a ceremony that featured a 35-minute video tribute to the actor. Cruise also reached Platinum Meritorious status.
According to Scientology’s own publications, that means Cruise had, up to that point, given a total of $2.5 million to the IAS.
As Ortega said, that’s separate from what he would have given, since he began taking classes in 1986, for course fees, auditing intensives, security-check bills, and plenty of other costs associated with stays at the Flag Land Base for processing.
He may also have donated to other causes and campaigns separate from the IAS.
Outspoken Scientology critics Leah Remini and husband Angelo Pagan attained the level of Gold Meritorious, which means up to that point they had given at least $1 million to the IAS – and are believed to have donated at least $4.5 million in the past.
Meanwhile, another Scientology follower John Travolta has also been quiet about his donations – although, Ortega said trophies are visible in photos of his home seen on Instagram.
The biggest known donor to Scientology is Bob Duggan, a 79-year-old pharmaceutical and venture capital billionaire, who told the Tampa Bay Tribune in 2019 that his giving far outstrips $360 million, a figure he had himself volunteered to Forbes in 2016.
Reps for Cartwright and Scientology did not respond to requests for comment.
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