Why are TikTokers 'speedrunning' Hollywood's Church of Scientology building?

Seven years after a Facebook event went viral for calling on people to “storm” the classified Nevada base known as Area 51, the internet has turned its attention to another secretive building which it wants to ‘speedrun’ through: that being the Church of Scientology Information Center on Hollywood Boulevard, in Los Angeles, California.

Founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology boasts Simpsons voice actor Nancy Cartwright and Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise as followers.

In an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, former Scientology member Aaron Smith-Levin explained that the ideology operates on the idea of spirits known as ‘thetans’ being “stuck" to a person’s body.

He continued by saying Hubbard believed a galactic dictator known as Xenu captured beings from his planet 75 million years ago, “froze them in glycol” and then flew them to Earth.

“[He] dropped them in volcanoes, blew them up with hydrogen bombs, and then captured them with, like, spirit magnets – I’m making up words – and these disembodied spirits of these people that got blown up have just been blown in the wind here on Earth and they attach themselves to things … and they all have reactive minds.

“So at Scientology’s upper levels, if you get sick or you have cancer or there’s something wrong with you, Scientology will say, ‘that’s one of your body things, you need to get some auditing’.”

Back in 2013, King of Queens actor Leah Remini quit the Church of Scientology, with an unnamed source telling the New York Post at the time that Remini was “stepping back from a regime she thinks is corrupt” and thinks “no religion should tear apart a family or abuse someone under the umbrella of religion”.

Scientology’s own website states members of its religious order The Sea Organization still sign a billion-year contract to “symbolize their eternal commitment to the religion”.

It has also been accused of bilking supporters for cash, separating members from their loved ones, harassing and threatening journalists, and has been branded a “cult” by critics.

And when it comes to the aforementioned Information Center on Hollywood Boulevard, videos shared by content creator Streets LA – a vocal opponent of Scientology – show just how secretive the building is to people, shutting the doors and blurring windows whenever the individual arrives on the street.

With all the secrecy and high security buildings, it’s hardly surprising that a trend seeking to ‘map’ the interior of the Information Center has emerged…

Shouting ‘Xenu’

In a video shared online by content creator @IsDurpyy on 25 March, a man was seen walking past the main reception before running deep into the building shouting “Xenu”. He was then escorted out through a side door.

The first ‘Scientology run’

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the trend started off the back of a second video from user @Swhileyy - since deleted - which was filmed on 31 March, showing two men running through the building and into a back office before being directed to the same exit as in the previous video.

“[IsDurpyy] asked Swhileyy to do a second run with him. That collaboration, filmed March 31, is the one that broke containment,” the outlet states.

It is not clear if this is the same video as one available on @IsDurpyy’s YouTube channel and uploaded on 2 April.

Swhileyy said: “All I did was explore the building. I was never asked not to come back to the premises.”

He also claimed that Streets LA told him “the whole story about Scientology”, that he “thought it was funny”, and after a video of a Scientology staffer selling him a book went viral, he “pretty much knew that Scientology was like a free gateway to a lot of views”.

“I never once in any video or any comment section or anywhere promoted the idea of running through there or beating my record,” he said.

Nevertheless, the trend escalated…

Airhorns

Another ‘speedrun’ - understood to have been originally posted by the @widerlense TikTok account, and since deleted – shows people in masks and sounding airhorns scrambling through the building, with a staffer known as Shannon seen blocking off a doorway and telling people to “get out” as they are “trespassing”.

Jesus and Sonic storm Scientology

In the latest ‘speedrun’ to go viral, which was seemingly filmed at the weekend, people in Jesus and Sonic costumes are seen throwing open the doors to the L. Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition – also on Hollywood Boulevard – and running through the building, as well as entering the Information Center targeted in previous speedruns.

The map

One of the main reasons people have been storming the Scientology building has been to compile a detailed map of its exterior, with floor plans shared on Reddit and other social media platforms.

How have the police and the Church of Scientology responded?

According to TMZ, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) “responded to a call” of a reported 50 individuals “causing a disturbance” at a Hollywood Church of Scientology building.

Meanwhile on X/Twitter, Streets LA (known on the platform as Film The Police LA) shared footage purporting to show Scientology buildings with their door handles removed, and bike chains wrapped around the doors on the inside.

It appears as though the speedrunning trend is showing no signs of slowing down…

Why not read…?

• Every high-profile celebrity associated with the Church of Scientology
• Ex-Scientologist Leah Remini says don't let Tom Cruise's 'charm fool you'

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