According to a 2017 interview with Vanessa Grigoriadis, Allison Mack joined NXIVM while facing a case of impostor syndrome. “I moved to Albany [NXIVM’s headquarters] to fill that emptiness and find the soul of myself again,” Mack explained in the interview, which was re-released on a December 26 episode of Grigoriadis and Gabriel Sherman’s podcast, “Infamous: Inside America’s Biggest Scandals.” As Mack recounted, she asked NXIVM ringleader Keith Raniere “if he would help me become a great actress again because I felt like I was a fraud.”
Although she later helped prosecutors dismantle NXIVM’s criminal empire, Mack denied accusations of criminal wrongdoing in 2017. Mack insisted to Grigoriadis that Raniere was “not the head of a harem” and that she was “not recruiting young, nubile women to be his sex slaves.” The “Smallville” alum also likened her situation to a witch hunt, saying, “It’s just like, throwing accusations and spreading like wildfire.” Although she admitted to questioning her convictions after some friends called her “brainwashed,” Mack still stayed with NXIVM.
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As reported by Us Weekly in 2018, Mack attempted to recruit — to no avail — high-profile celebs such as Emma Watson and Kelly Clarkson. Mack reached out to the “Harry Potter” star via a tweet, writing that she was “involved in an amazing women’s movement” to which Watson might take interest. Neither Watson nor Clarkson responded to her outreach.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
