Television

Scientologists made the decision without permission from Isaac Hayes. Not surprising knowing how they operate but damn.

Getting to your dad’s departure from the show, what was his reaction to “Trapped in the Closet?”

So, initially, the episode came out in November, and there was no reaction. There wasn’t any upswell about that episode at all. It really wasn’t a big deal at the time. That January, in 2006, my dad had a stroke, and during the course of his recovery, I think that March, they re-aired the episode. When it re-aired, that’s when Scientology got upset.

At that time, my father was recovering from a stroke — literally learning how to talk, learning how to function. I visited my father. He was really struggling sometimes to even speak and say words. At the time, the people that were around him were largely Scientologists — his publicists and management. Those decisions about his involvement in the show, his leaving the show, were made by those people and not him. He would have never quit that show. He loved that show, and he was making a lot of money doing that show. So, I take issue with the way those decisions were made on his behalf because it put him in a position to actually have to go on the road and tour before he was ready to tour.