March 20, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): Kirstie Alley, American actress known for her role in television show Cheers, in which she played Rebecca Howe and also won an Emmyas the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for 1991 is again in news. This time it because of the new reality Organic Liaison, the first USDA certified organic weight loss product. Since starting the program on January she has lost 20 pounds.

There is nothing particularly wrong with Kirstie Alley’s new reality show, except that the weight issues of famous people are like the Chinese food of celebrity gossip. There have been questions about whether her new weight-loss program is linked to Scientology.

Scientology is a belief system created by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and connected to Dianetics, which is a self-help program. Critics have claimed it is a cult that exploits its members for money.

Though the actor has denied this and said that of the five executives on the advisory board, only one is a Scientologist. She further said that of the company’s 25 or so employees, four are Scientologists, adding that her company “does not discriminate in its hiring processes including religion.”

The show makes it clear she doesn’t much care for the media that has fed on those stories, though she has discussed her weight battles in public forums.