An unearthed interview with Allison Mack is making headlines as the_Smallville_ star talked more about why she joined NXVIM. In 2021, Mack wassentenced to three years in prison for her role in Keith Raniere’s criminalorganization that’s been dubbed a “sex cult.”
Journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis spoke with Mack and Raniere in 2017, weeksbefore he was indicted for sex-trafficking, racketeering and other crimes. Onher new podcast _Infamous: Inside America ‘s Biggest Scandals_Grigoriadisplays the interviews for the first time which were conducted at NXVIM’s secrethideout in Mexico.
“I moved to Albany to fill that emptiness and find the soul of myself again,if that makes sense, as it had fizzled,” Mack says in an excerpt obtained byPage Six. (NXVIM’s headquarters was there in New York.) “I asked Keith if hewould help me become a great actress again because I felt like I was a fraud.”
Raniere co-founded NXIVM in 1998 and touted the organization as a self-improvement group. It attracted a number of famous and wealthy members, likeMack. The actress rose in the ranks and became one of Raniere’s closestconfidants, recruiting women to join the cultlike group. Within NXVIM was asecret sorority composed of “slaves” and “masters.” Mack enlisted some of the”slaves” to engage in sexual acts with Raniere, according to statements fromsome of the women. Victims were branded with Mack and Raniere’s initials. Inthe 2017 interview, Mack denied any wrongdoing and told Grigoriadis thatRaniere was “not the head of a harem.”
“I’m not recruiting young, nubile women to be his sex slaves,” Mack said. “Youknow, it’s The Crucible it’s the McCarthy trials, it’s just like, throwingaccusations and spreading like wildfire.”
Mack admitted friends were concerned that she was “brainwashed” and involvedin a cult.
Story continues
“I’m like, ‘Talk to me for a few minutes. Let me tell you what we’re doing,'”the Honey We Shrunk Ourselves star continued.
“I just was like walking with myself and I was going like, ‘Am I crazy? Am Ione of these awful people that you read about that does horrible things andthinks that she’s doing things for God?’ I had a lot of conversations withmyself like that,” Mack added.
“Ultimately, I just sat down and I like looked at my life and I looked at myrelationships and I looked at all of the things I had written, journals that Ihad kept — things that I had done over the last few years. And it was soconsistently good,” she explained.
Mack ultimately took responsibility for her role in NXVIM’s illegal operation.In 2019, she pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and racketeering aspart of a deal with prosecutors.
“I am so sorry,” Mack wrote in a letter ahead of sentencing. “I threw myselfinto the teachings of Keith Raniere with everything I had. I believed, whole-heartedly, that his mentorship was leading me to a better, more enlightenedversion of myself. I devoted my loyalty, my resources, and, ultimately, mylife to him. This was the biggest mistake and greatest regret of my life.”
Mack apologized to “those of you that I brought into NXVIM.”
“I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusiveschemes of a twisted man. I am sorry that I encouraged you to use yourresources to participate in something that was ultimately so ugly,” shecontinued. “I do not take lightly the responsibility I have in the lives ofthose I love and I feel a heavy weight of guilt for having misused your trust,leading you down a negative path. I am sorry to those of you whom I spoke toin a harsh or hurtful way. At the time, I believed I was helping. I believedin tough love and thought it was the path to personal empowerment. I was soconfused. I never want to be someone who is considered mean, but those aspectsof my humanity have been revealed in all of this; it has been devastating toreconcile.”
Mack added, “I have experienced overwhelming shame as I have worked to acceptand understand all that went on and all that I chose.”
The actress also apologized to family and friends who tried “to show me thetruth about NXVIM and Keith, but I didn’t listen.”
“The list of those harmed by the collateral damage of my destructive choicescontinues to grow as I become more and more aware of how my choices haveaffected those around me. I am grateful that I have made it through thisprocess alive and that I was stopped when I was,” she concluded. “Please knowthat I am dedicated to spending my life working to mend the hearts I broke andcontinuing to transform myself into a more loving and compassionate woman.”
Mack faced a maximum of 40 years in prison, 20 years on each count, but wasonly given three as she helped prosecutors with their case against Raniere. Hewas sentenced to 120 years behind bars, which an appeals court just upheld.
MORE: See the trailer for the new season of HBOs The Vow