Michael John Rinder (; born 10 April 1955) is an Australian-American former senior executive of the Church of Scientology International (CSI) and the Sea Organization based in the United States. From 1982 to 2007, Rinder served on the board of directors of CSI and also held the post of executive director of its Office of Special Affairs, overseeing the corporate, legal and public relations matters of Scientology at the international level. Rinder left Scientology in 2007. Ever since then, he has spoken about the physical and mental abuse inflicted upon staff members by Chairman of Scientology, David Miscavige and by Rinder himself before his departure from the cult and explained how abuse was embedded into the culture of Scientology. From 2016 to 2019, he co-hosted the A&E documentary series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. In 2020, he and Remini reunited to launch the podcast Scientology: Fair Game. In September 2022, he published a memoir named A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology. Scientology career Early years Rinder was born in Adelaide, Australia, to Ian and Barbara Rinder in 1955. When he was 5 years old his parents became interested in Scientology and the family began attending the Church of Scientology International center in Australia. After finishing high school he joined the Sea Org on the ship Apollo at 18. This ship functioned as the headquarters for Sea Org. Rinder quickly became an early member of the Commodore's Messenger Organization, after which he continued to rank up until he had his position with the Office of Special Affairs. In a 2006 interview with Rolling Stone, Rinder said he had experienced discrimination in Australia during the period when the state of Victoria had banned Scientology: "You couldn't own Scientology books ... If you did, you had to hide them because if the police came and found them, they'd take them away." Office of Special Affairs As executive director of the Office of Special Affairs, he served as the chief spokesperson and representative of Scientology to the media for 25 years until replaced by Tommy Davis in 2005 under orders from David Miscavige. This office is responsible for overseeing public relations and legal issues for the church, as well as handling "internal investigations into members' behavior." In a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, Rinder describes the scope of his position: Rinder cites specific examples of