Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
An actor who was convicted for her role in a ‘slave and master’ cult has broken her silence in a controversial new podcast.
Allison Mack, who is best known for starring in the Superman prequel TV show Smallville, was imprisoned in 2021 for her part in the cult NXIVM.
The celebrity was found to have been one of the most senior members of the cult, which trafficked people, 'branded' them, and would force women to be 'slaves' to NXIVM’s leader, Keith Raniere.
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Mack was sentenced to three years on racketeering and conspiracy charges in 2021, whilst Raniere was sentenced to 120 years for a litany of crimes. The actor was released in 2023 after serving a two-year prison sentence.
The 43-year-old has since spoken out in a new podcast, where she went into detail about what happened and her role in it.
NXIVM was initially started in 1998 as a 'self-help' group; however, it was soon discovered that Raniere had been operating a 'slave and master' dynamic where women were allegedly branded with his initials and expected to have sex with him.
Mack was one of the 'masters' of NXIVM and its subgroup DOS, with court documents claiming that she 'recruited her own ‘slaves’ by approaching young women and falsely describing DOS as a secret women’s empowerment group or sorority while intentionally concealing Raniere’s role in the organization'.
Before her sentencing, she apologised to the victims in a letter, writing: "I threw myself into the teachings of Keith Raniere with everything I had. I believed, wholeheartedly, that his mentorship was leading me to a better, more enlightened version of myself... This was the biggest mistake and regret of my life.
"I am sorry to those of you that I brought into Nxivm. I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man."
Speaking to CBC in a seven-part series titled ‘Allison After NXIVM’, Mack states that she was ‘wilfully ignorant’ at times, saying: “I purposely kept myself from hearing things that would’ve been uncomfortable for me.”
However, she said that she didn't see herself as 'innocent', adding that she used her fame as 'a power tool ... to get people to do what I wanted'.
One victim said that Mack was ‘the most charismatic co-leader anyone could ask for’ and accused her of being ‘inhumane’ in her treatment of those in the cult.
She recognises this in the podcast, calling herself ‘callous’ and ‘emotionally aggressive’, adding: "I did make people feel like they had no choice and was incredibly abusive to people, traumatic for people."
Speaking in the podcast, the actor said: “If I recognized that Keith was manipulating all of us, and that this was a strategy for his own perversion, I had to acknowledge what I had chosen and that I had hurt people.”
Addressing allegations she'd 'helped' Raniere, Mack said it was '100 per cent all those allegations are true', but added that she is 'someone who cares deeply and wanted very much to grow and wanted very much for everybody that I was involved with to grow'.
"Both of those things are true about me," Mack continued.
"I definitely recognise and admit that I was abusing my power. But I also can’t negate the fact that there was a part of me that was altruistic and was desperate to help people. I wanted to be better, and I was willing to do anything to be better in myself and to help other people be better."
Meanwhile, over on social media, people have been sharing their reactions, with one person claiming they have 'absolutely no sympathy for her and other people like her'.
Another wrote on YouTube that her 'pain and suffering is nothing compared to that which you inflicted on other people'.
One comment on Reddit, however, was more sympathetic, saying: “Cults have perpetrators and victims. And most people in them are variating degrees of both.”
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.
Topics: Celebrity, Crime, Podcast, TV, TV and Film, Allison Mack
Michael Slavin