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A candid interview with Alison Mack makes headlines like Smallville star talks more about why she joined NXIVM. In 2021, Mack was sentenced to three years in prison for her role in Keith Raniere’s criminal organization, which was dubbed a “sex cult.”
Journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis spoke with Mack and Raniere in 2017, weeks before he was charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and other crimes. In her new podcast Infamous: Inside America’s Biggest ScandalsGrigoriadis is releasing the interviews for the first time, which were conducted at NXIVM’s secret hideout in Mexico.
“I moved to Albany to fill that void and find my soul again, if that makes sense, since it had fallen away,” Mack says in an excerpt obtained by Page Six. (NXIVM headquarters was there in New York.) “I asked Keith if he would help me become a great actress again because I felt like a fraud.”
Raniere co-founded NXIVM in 1998 and promoted the organization as a self-improvement group. It attracted a number of famous and wealthy members, such as Mack. The actress rose through the ranks and became one of Raniere’s closest confidantes, recruiting women to join the cult group. Within NXIVM there was a secret female community made up of “slaves” and “masters”. According to statements from some of the women, Mack enlisted some of the “slaves” to engage in sexual acts with Raniere. The victims were branded with the initials of Mack and Raniere. In the 2017 interview, Mack denied any wrongdoing and told Grigoriadis that Raniere was “not the head of a harem.”
“I’m not recruiting young, married women to be his sex slaves,” Mack said. “You know, it is The Crucibleit’s the McCarthy trials, it’s just hurling accusations and spreading like wildfire.”
Mack admitted that her friends were concerned that she had been “brainwashed” and drawn into a cult.
“I’m like, ‘Talk to me for a few minutes. Let me tell you what we’re doing,” Baby we’ve shrunk – continued the star.
“I was just walking around by myself thinking, ‘Am I crazy? Am I one of those horrible people you read about who does horrible things and thinks he’s doing things for God?’
“Eventually I just sat down and I liked looking at my life and I looked at my relationships and I looked at all the things I’ve written, journals I’ve kept – things I’ve done over the last few years. And it was so consistently good,” she explained.
Mack eventually took responsibility for her role in NXIVM’s illegal operation. In 2019, she pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy as part of a deal with prosecutors.
“I am very sorry,” Mack wrote in a letter before the sentencing. “I threw myself into Keith Raniere’s teachings with everything I had. I believed with all my heart that his mentorship was leading me to a better, more enlightened version of myself. I devoted my loyalty, my resources, and ultimately my life to him. It was the biggest mistake and biggest regret of my life.”
Mack apologized to “those of you I brought to NXIVM.”
“I am sorry that I ever exposed you to the criminal and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man. I regret that I encouraged you to use your resources to participate in something that ended up being so ugly,” she continued. “I do not take lightly the responsibility I bring to the lives of those I love, and I feel heavy guilt for abusing your trust by leading you down a negative path. I am sorry for those of you I have spoken to in a rude or hurtful manner. At the time I believed I was helping. I believed in tough love and thought it was the path to personal empowerment. I was so confused. I never want to be someone who comes across as mean, but these aspects of my humanity were revealed in all of this; it was devastating to come to terms with.”
Mack added: “I felt a tremendous amount of shame as I worked to accept and understand everything that happened and everything that I chose.”
The actress also apologized to her family and friends who tried to “show me the truth about NXIVM and Keith, but I didn’t listen.”
“The list of collateral damage from my destructive choices continues to grow as I become more and more aware of how my choices have affected those around me. I am grateful to have come through this process alive and to have stopped when I did,” she concluded. “Please know that I am dedicated to spending my life working to mend the hearts I have broken and continue to transform myself into a more loving and compassionate woman.”
Mack faced a maximum of 40 years in prison, 20 years on each charge, but got just three while helping prosecutors with their case against Raniere. He was sentenced to 120 years behind bars, which an appeals court has just upheld.
MORE: Watch the trailer for HBO’s new season The vow
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