Kabbalah Distances Itself From Madonna

After a slew of bad press following lawsuits, a rumored IRS investigation, and the disaster that is/was Madaonna’s Raising Malawi charity, Kabbalah leaders are trying to shake off negative stories by saying they were planted by former disgruntled members.

Kabbalah Centre co-director Karen Berg (wife of the center’s founder Phillip Berg) sent out an email to members yesterday saying:

There appears to be a small group of individuals who are trying to discredit The Kabbalah Centre. We consider all our students to be part of our family—including those who have now turned against us. In sharing Kabbalah with the world for the last 40 years, we learned the many ways chaos and darkness can manifest themselves.

Berg also said that the center’s “formal role with Raising Malawi has come to a conclusion.” Berg’s son Michael—co-director of the Kabbalah Centre alongside his mother—founded the charity organization with Madonna in 2006, but have since scrapped plans to build a $15 million girls’ school following an audit by the Global Philanthropy Group which found that $3.8 million was spent on the board’s salaries and benefits before even breaking ground. Also, the charity is being sued by a number of workers and villagers.

Roger Friedman claims that the Kabbalah Centre is being investigated by the IRS, and that a grand jury has even issued subpoenas. The main focus of the investigation, he said, is the Bergs’ bookkeeping. Madonna is reportedly aware of the grand jury, and one Kabbalah student tells the NY Post, “Somebody has turned against us and is doing everything he can to destroy us. Will Madonna be here to worship this weekend or will the scandal force her away?”