March 30, 2015

Tim Heidecker spoofs scientology in music video

Song comes on same night as documentary "Going Clear" released

By Daniel Craig
PhillyVoice Staff

Allentown native and Temple University graduate Tim Heidecker says he has a new album coming out later this year entitled "In Glendale." Heidecker, most commonly known for being half of the comedy duo Tim and Eric, released one of the songs from the upcoming album on Sunday. For fans of his previous work, the music video won't disappoint.

The song is called "Scientology (That's The Plan For Me)," and was originally recorded in 2013. According to Heidecker's Facebook, the song has been rerecorded and given a new music video:

Heidecker, who has made light of religion before, isn't the only one to poke fun at Scientology recently. Season 10 of the FX show "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" ended with an episode that featured Mac and Charlie joining a cult with similar aspects of the religion. This isn't the first time the show has alluded to Scientology, as an episode in Season 9 satirized the church using a timeshare as a metaphor.

While the timing may not be intentional, both Heidecker's song and the episode come on the heels of the HBO documentary "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief," which debuted Sunday Night.

In the documentary, several allegations are made against the church by former members, including claims of intense punishment of church members and invasive tactics used to affect Tom Cruise's marriage to Nicole Kidman. The church has responded to the documentary with intense criticism, focusing on the director Alex Gibney and attacking his approach to the film.