Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
Allison Mack has opened up about her life after prison in her first set of interviews since getting out.
The former Smallville actor, now 43, was sentenced to three years because of her role in a sex cult.
NXIVM, founded in 1998 by Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman, presented itself as a self-help organisation promising empowerment while quietly operating as a marketing scheme.
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Aged 24, Mack came across the group during Smallville’s run and eventually relocated to NXIVM’s Albany headquarters, where she was manipulated into a sexual relationship with Raniere in 2015 and was subjected to starvation diets and sexual coercion.
Mack says she was both a victim and an enforcer within NXIVM’s secret sorority, DOS, where she would brand women with Raniere’s initials.
The American TV star was sentenced to three years in prison for racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, and was released in June 2023.
Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison for crimes including sex trafficking, forced labor, racketeering, and conspiracy.
Since her release, Mack has earned a psychology degree, works for a nonprofit teaching arts in prisons and has married reformed former neo-Nazi Frank Meeink, the inspiration for the film American History X.
In her first interviews since getting out of prison, Mack admits that she 'feels this odd emptiness and it feels so wrong given the nature of my life'.
“People assume I’m this pervert. But that’s not what it was for me… People can believe me, or people can think I’m full of s**t and not listen. But I feel like I at least have to say it out loud for myself, once,” she told The Sunday Times.
“I was abusing my power, and I was mean, and I was forceful.
“But I also can’t negate the fact that there was a part of me that was desperate to help people.”
Mack explained that she was 'so incredibly naive' at the time but 'trusted Keith would not do anything'.
“The logic behind it was, ‘He’s going to work on me and my jealousy issues and my feelings of insecurity. And he’s going to help [her] with her struggles around her acceptance of her sexuality and her body’.
On rebuilding herself after prison, she said: “How do you put back together a glass that you break? You can’t.
“And also, you can’t live the rest of your life staring at shattered glass.”
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: Allison Mack, Celebrity, Sex and Relationships, Dating trends, Crime, Celebrity News
Anish Vij