What is Nxivm?
It’s the ‘cult’ that supposedly branded women, so...
It was the scandal that not only shocked America, but women around the world. With high-profile female members, bizarre practices and some serious criminal charges, how did Nxivm – a self-help group – become likened to a sex cult?
Nxivm (pronounced Nexium) was founded in 1998 by Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman, who served as company director. Based in upstate New York, the secretive group offered psychological techniques aimed at self-improvement and getting more joy from life, alongside ‘Executive Success Programs’ (ESPs). The group had headquarters in Albany, New York, as well as centres in Vancouver and Mexico.
Raniere, 57, was thought of as a charismatic man, and those who knew him spoke of his humility, compassion and dedication to the betterment of the lives of others.
Nxivm was said to have
many famous female members, including Sara and Clare Bronfman, whose stepfather is Nigel Havers, Smallville actress Kristin Kreuk, and Dynasty actress Catherine Oxenberg’s daughter India.
Probably the most shocking was that Smallville actress Allison Mack – who played Chloe Sullivan in the TV series for 10 years – became Raniere’s ‘second in command’.
By 2017, rumours were circulating about the true nature of Nxivm and, in 2018, Raniere was arrested on suspicion of sex trafficking.
Video footage of Allison’s worrying reaction to this was leaked online. It showed her looking distressed and she was later rumoured to have got into a high-speed car chase with the police. How had she become so dedicated to him?
Details about the group started to emerge. There was a section called The Vow or Dominus Obsequious Sororium – DOS, for short – which loosely translates from Latin as ‘ lord over obedient female companions’.
In one interview with a New York Times journalist, Allison explained that the woman who invited you to this group was your master, or the ‘representation of your conscience, your higher self, your most ideal’.
Masters would help slaves count calories to save them from the ‘trap of emotional eating’. They would dictate acts of ‘self-denial’, such as cold showers, getting up at 4am or standing still for a time.
Slaves were told to carry out ‘acts of care’ for masters, like bringing them coffee. It was ‘about devotion’, Allison tried to explain, ‘…like any spiritual practice or religion’.
She continued, ‘I found my spine, and I just kept solidifying my spine every time I’d do something hard.’
DOS was ‘about women coming together and pledging to one another a full-time commitment to become our most powerful and embodied selves by pushing on our greatest fears, by exposing our greatest vulnerabilities, by knowing that we would stand with each other no matter what, by holding our word, by overcoming pain’.
In a ‘pyramid scheme’ model, each master was supposed to bring in slaves. Then to become masters, those slaves would recruit slaves of their own. Shockingly, about 150 women joined and Allison said each circle was ‘ like a little family’.
Allison, now 35, tried to recruit high-profile women including Emma Watson and Kelly Clarkson, as well as feminist writers, into the group. She referred to it on Twitter as ‘ human development and women’s movement’ and invited the women to learn more about her techniques of female empowerment.
She also admits to being the one who came up with the idea of ‘ branding’ the women. Allison said, ‘I was like: Y’all. A tattoo? People get drunk and tattooed on their ankle “BFF” or a tramp stamp. I have two tattoos and they mean nothing.’ She said she wanted to do something meaningful that took courage.
But ex-members of Nxivm tell a very different story. Actress Sarah Edmondson, who was part of the group until she left in May 2017, explained that she and four other ‘slaves’ were blindfolded and placed naked on a sheepskin rug before an initiation ceremony began.
The women were supposedly ordered to say, ‘Master, please brand me, it would be an honour.’
Sarah was led to a massage table where she was told to help restrain one of the other women, who was then branded with a hot device. Sarah also endured the same treatment.
‘It’s a searing, white pain,’ she later said. ‘I was being wounded and humiliated, and I was being filmed.’ Sarah, now 40, said the smell of burning flesh was strong and she cried the whole time.
The women were allegedly branded with a symbol that incorporated the initials KR and AM – Keith Raniere and Allison Mack.
They also had to provide collateral, like deeds to their houses or naked photographs to ensure they didn’t talk about their experiences. Raniere was said to be having sex with women in the group.
After Raniere’s arrest, FBI official William Sweeney said, ‘Keith Raniere displayed a disgusting abuse of power in his efforts to denigrate and manipulate women he considered his sex slaves. He allegedly participated in horrifying acts of branding and burning them, with the co-operation of other women operating within this unorthodox pyramid scheme.’
Both Raniere and Allison were charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labour. They denied the charges. Allison was released on $5 million bail with a monitor, while Raniere has requested bail.
Their trial is due to begin on 1 October and it’s safe to say, all eyes will be on them.
‘Raniere doesn’t care about humanity and ethics. We were pawns in his little chess game – especially women. [He’s is a] sociopathic, narcissistic, nut job,’ Sarah Edmondson said.
The women provided collateral, like deeds to their houses or naked pictures