If she had gotten many more people involved, they could have called it a church.
196
Seriously? This happened in Ms Mack's life, so what? Does that define who she is as a person for the remainder of her life? Will we ever allow the opportunity of change? The real tragedy here is our need to incessantly judge and label so we can keep our own ego standing.
61
I concur with other's comments about the complexities of Ms. Mack's history and current charges. But why is it necessary to focus on what she wore to court: "When Ms. Mack appeared in court in April to plead guilty, she wore a camel-colored mock turtleneck and tired eyes."
98
Dang.
And I liked her, too.
Oh well......
17
I get the sense you're trying to paint Ms Mack as a victim. I'm not buying it. Naive for sure and no doubt immature, but totally aware of the wrong she was doing. You spend more time painting a picture of a young girl lead astray and details of her career than on the horrible things she did to others. I'm also a bit curious as to why this article glossed over Sara Bronfman's involvement in all this. She didn't just give Allison a lift in her jet, she was neck-deep in this group and has plead guilty to money laundering and fraud charges related to her Nxivm activities. She's facing 2 years in jail and a $6 million fine. I would think that deserved a mention.
322
what is wrong with these women that they would join a womens empowerment that was founded by a guy who tries to get sex from women.
i am confused as how turing women into sex slaves empowers them?
142
Unquestioning adherence to the dictates of male leadership; compromising information required to be confessed; sexual predators. Echos of the catholic and evangelical churches' methodologies. One hopes the churches and their male predators will be prosecuted criminally as vigorously as this young woman.
106
I, like some others, fail to see why she is guilty of coercion in any actionable sense. Unless she kidnapped people, held them at gunpoint, extorted money, etc. Talking to people, employing psychological pressure? Not nice, but not use of physical force.
And if she is guilty of coercion, why isn’t Kristin Kreuk, who got her involved also guilty?
30
@LKC
The article is leaving out significant material details in order to make Ms. Mack appear as a scapegoat. She's facing significant charges and the D.A. undoubtedly has some good evidence against her to warrant such serious charges.
75
"[She] became enthralled by the teachings of a twisted leader." That could describe about 40% of the population of the USA today.
523
@CN An excellent and funny observation!
112
Creative explorations of similar situations:
"Martha Marcy May Marlene" (2011 film)
Season 2 of "The Sinner"
10
Makes one ask how is it so many people in USA are vulnerable to these gurus, these cult like organizations?
In guru ashrams in India, even there, Americans make up the majority of foreigners although folks do come over from all over the world.
Perhaps, it all begins from “being lost inside.”
With all due regard for atheists.... did disappearance of religion from our lives, communal family households, camaraderie in a tight knit communities... is that what all these women were looking for?
Is there truly a God sized hole in our psyches and whether we like it or not, we’re pursuing means to fill it?
Mack is (to me) just an emptying vessel, a pawn (although turned out to be a vicious one), in a game Raniere started a while ago—- his controlling, abusing women sexually, the very idea of branding someone!, possible pedophilia, and such coercive psychological control, where he cushioned the environment with all these willing female acolytes— to make women trust the organization more.
I think the psychologically and emotionally erosive role of social media which has made millennials & generation Z the most depression/ anxiety ridden generations in last 50 years— cannot be underemphasized.
I think there are many more Macks our there at risk of being brain washed into becoming willing aggressors!
I recall a survey with hundreds of teenagers done in 2015- one answer was there again & again: I wish I was born before the Internet age!
34
@Ash. you forgot to blame video games as well.
Your argument about "god-sized hole" is bogus. Americans are insanely religious compared to European levels. The whole concept of TV evangelists, mega (!!!) churches and all this zealocy is deeply troubling. It only begins making sense when you try to mentally adjust and think of US as "evangelical Iran" or "evangelical Saudi Arabia".
Quite contrary to what you wrote - the path out of this mess would be less religion in younger generation's lives. The less they'd expect any kind of guidance from a preacher of any type, the better.
130
@Ash. I used to go to a very reputable retreat center that often hosted noted Buddhist thinkers, authors and teachers for weekend discussion workshops. During one workshop in particular, I was taken by the number of people who seemed to be looking for a guru, despite the teachers' clear statements that each of us needs to find our own truth, and that a single teacher will not have all the answers one needs.
There's a big difference between being a seeker and being a pawn. It's stunning to see how many people are willing to simply surrender their free will to someone who claims to have the answer.
75
@Alexander B.
I disagree on the account... that if not 'a preacher', we do need teachers... in form of parents, relatives, friends, professors in college, and perhaps a preacher/imam/rabbi... you cannot lump the bad with all the good that has been done in communities with such leaders.
For every bad one, I know five good ones.
I'm a believer and have faith.
I hear you-- but I do not agree with your rhetoric.
USA is far more non-religious at this point in history than at any other point-- you're looking at +50 year olds. You're not looking at all below 40 year olds.
I don't see a "lack' of religion or guidance principle, or following an altruistic ideology, doing any benefit to our youth.
Being a physician, I see the ugly side of a society a little too often and it is NOT the same world it was 20 years ago, to what it is now.
15
One should not underestimate the power of cult leaders. There have been many cases in France, notably between the 70s and 90s. Bright people were lured into similar groups, never to recover. I Believe it can happen to anybody, to be trapped during a moment of weakness.
This is not to absolve Mack, but to add some perspective. She is certainly guilty, but she probably was a victim too. It's common to be both. Think of Jonestown for instance.
50
Appears she was victimized and felt the need to continue to satisfy the predator. Unfortunately being naive isn't a legal defense for her supplying the guy with more victims.
37
It is not clear to me exactly what she is guilty of, which would lead to a long prison sentence. Did she physically force anyone to see this guy? Exactly how did she coerce? It is hard to sort out to what extent she is complicit and to what extent she is a victim. Looks like a mixture of both. Seems many of her friends hit it on the head; she is a gullible and naive, and was searching for something. It made her an ideal recruit for this guy. I hope and pray she gets a light sentence.
14
@douglas gray
The article is leaving out significant material details in order to make Ms. Mack appear as a naive, innocent victim.
36
@Frank, as a child actress, Ms. Mack more than likely had tutors. Although academic rigor seems to have left the American educational system, she probably got a smidgen!
9
Color me unsympathetic. There is something psychologically off or missing in nearly everyone who commits a vile crime. The fact that she was vulnerable and naive is no defense for her horrific abuse and enslavement of other women. She was a grown woman of enormous privilege and means. And just like other criminals of lesser means, should have known better.
117
This is a dark story about someone who coerced young women to lose weight and have sex with the cult leader, and yet her story is treated like that of a endearing cute, giirl next door . Hollywood star who fell into wrong hands. Do young naive bubbly women somehow get a pass on these brutal behaviors when young men or most other gender types would not? The story infantilizes her skipping lightly over her irresponsible immersion in this cult. She comes out of it as if she is victim of her own upbringing and forgiven naïveté. Sorry that I don’t believe the portrait presented here.
185
@Richard So true, if it was the young street girl we wouldn't feel a thing but throw in the part that she had been part of the favored entertainment class and we now have empathy.
60
Was the history and sociology of cultism ever even discussed in her high school education ? Probably not -- too heavy, too serious a topic for American education.
42
The fact that this 'women's movement' was led by a man should have been a clue. But I don't want to blame the victims, of which Ms Mack was one: predatory sociopaths like Raniere are very good at finding vulnerable people. He's the one who should rot in jail.
39
@S North. How is Ms. Mack simply a victim? She coerced women to lose weight, have sex with Raniere, and worse, she collected “collateral” or “dirty laundry” to use against women who failed to comply. One branch of feminism allows this kind of thinking, women are vulnerable victims of the patriarchy (Raniere being patriarchy in this case). But other side of feminism bespeaks a faith that women are strong, responsible independent individuals on their own account. Until feminists work out this contradiction they lose credibility. If women are so simply victims as Ms. Mack is, women candidates for office lose our faith in their ability to lead.
24
@Richard Allison Mack may be guilty of some crimes for which she ought to be prosecuted. According to reports I have read, she may have been a victim, but she also victimized. She will not be prosecuted for being a victim, but for acts of victimization which she committed. While I have empathy for what happened to her, she is still accountable for what she did.
27
This article describes the entire Republican Party today - the Trump cult. No different in any way.
134
@Citizen of the Earth I love you.
20
@Citizen of the Earth- Or the Dems during the Bill Clinton years?
7
@DesertCard
Total false equivalence.
59
The profession of acting selects for those able to immerse themselves into a fantasy world, to believe it, to feel part of it as if it were real.
To do that better, some suppress their natural connection to reality. Other just don't have that connection so strongly in their personality makeup.
Actors seem by design to be vulnerable to this sort of thing. It is what they train to do. They try for it, and it gets turned against them in this way.
20
***She bought a home in Clifton Park, N.Y., a suburban upstate town where many Nxivm members had flocked, including Mr. Raniere, who was referred to as “Vanguard.”***
As someone who lives about 5 miles from CP, is there a reason why the author cannot narrow down where this town is located in the very large "upstate NY?" This drives me nuts.
More important however, why were they in CP?
10
@JMM Probably because Keith Raniere went to RPI in Troy. I know because I was a house-mate/friend of his for a couple of semesters back around 1983. Scary!
35
@David Rogoff
That explains it.
4
''young woman in Hollywood who longed for enlightenment, but instead became enthralled by the teachings of a twisted leader'' wrote the author
That 'guru' thing in United States of Amnesia is attracting a fair share of gullible willing victims with every american generation. Ignorance? Very low self esteem? Absolute morons? Slavery culture atavism?
Pick and choose!
31
@Le Michel So true. Isn't it mindblowing????
6
This organization’s methods and brainwashing sound almost identical (except for the sex slave part) to the methods used by The Forum (formerly EST). Taking vulnerable people, convincing them that only in the cult can a person be all s/he can, turning them against real friendships - this is the bread and butter of the so-called “actualization” business. I lost a friend to The Forum and saved another from it. These organizations are evil, money-sucking, abusive, exploitive scams. Warn anyone you know who thinks for even a second that they are in operation for the betterment of people’s lives.
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@Maude
Also similar to Scientology in recording supposedly private verbal admissions of anything a person ever did that was less than great and then threatening to release the tapes as blackmail if they ever indicate that they would like to leave the cult or fail to follow all its precepts.
This is what in the United States of America qualifies as a religion deserving of tax exemption.
75
If one middling, delusional actress was able to recruit regular Americans into a cult so easily, why are the hundreds to thousands of stable, mega-star celebrities from actors like Meryl Streep and DeNiro to authors like Stephen King and JK Rowling to musicians like Beyonce and Paul McCartney having so much trouble convincing regular Americans that Trump is the sleazy fraud that New Yorkers have known him to be since the 80s?
156
@D.A.Oh It's not that people aren't convinced, they just love him for it.
49
@D.A.Oh Pretty easy, really. People are quickly convinced of what they want to believe but will dig in and refuse to believe things they find painful. It's never hard to sell people on mindless obedience to a super-powered daddy figure who will fix everything and punish their enemies. Suckers will line up to buy instant solutions, easy money, and overnight fame. They are easily convinced of their own special destiny (real Americans!), the superiority of their tribe, the deep and noble truth of their own idiot prejudices, etc.
Selling people on the idea that they've been suckered? Darn near impossible.
89
@D.A.Oh They know he is a fraud they don't care. His rhetoric confirms their own biases.
48
The appeal of these cults to celebrities speaks to the personality traits many celebrities exhibit. The desire to create a facade for the outside world, to be someone else, to lose yourself in another character. It makes me wonder how many actors are psychologically damaged and specifically susceptible to the lure of groups like this and Scientology.
31
@red I can answer that from personal experience. I worked in the theatrical world not in front of the footlights, but behind them before I went back to school and became an attorney later in life.
At the time, some actor friends invited me to a special Scientology meeting just for theatrical folk. I went once and thought it was insane.
While on tour, I knew another group of actors who'd embraced Nichiren Bhuddism, where adherents chant for what they want. We had one woman who played a leading role who'd broken her leg. She was chanting for her leg to heal so she could play her role again. Meanwhile, her understudy, who also chanted, was asking to play the role permanently. I often wondered whether their diametrically opposed chanting would collide in mid-air cancelling them both out.
Of course all actors are not susceptible to cults like this, but a fair number of them are. Part of this is because actors are given preferential treatment and special access to the cult leaders. In the 90s, I remember going with some actor friends to meet Gurumayi. While the other adherents were cleaning toilets as part of their spiritual mission, my actor friends received special audiences with gurumayi and performed with celebrities like LuLu (of To Sir With Love fame).
Think Scientology and Tom Cruise, that should tell you all you need to know about (some) actors and cults.
50
For a short, but incisive explanation of the allure of cults, I recommend "The True Believer" by Eric Hoffer, a book published in 1951. He's out of fashion because he was a non-academic and anti-communist writing on a social and psychological phenomenon so the book may be hard to find, even in libraries. It shows the commonality of the appeal of quasi-religious self-help groups like Nxivm and scientology and poltico-religious terrorist organizations like ISIS.
22
I. for one, do not understand what this story implies about the human condition. The adults, in this case mostly women, who submitted themselves (in many ways) to Mr. Raniere seem to have done so consensually; at least physical force was seemingly not used. The victims provided “collateral” willingly, and some allowed themselves to be tortured consensually. They turned against their fellow human beings to bring others into the cult.
Does psychological coercion count as a crime, and if so, what happened to the concepts of free choice, free will, and self determination?
In the case of Nxivm most participants were women; in other cults (remember Jonestown?) both genders were involved. If coercion is a crime, where is the line between illegal coercion and perfectly acceptable persuasion? Is there reason for concern about some of the practices of some mainstream organized religions?
This is a scary story for what it says about the seeming frailty of the human psyche. There are far more questions posed than answers.
To change the topic a bit, there have been stories about the goings on at Nxivm for years, including a 2010 article in Vanity Fair and extensive coverage in the Albany Times Union. Why did it take so long for prosecutors to look in to Nxivm? Why did the authorities, especially state and local law enforcement, not act sooner?
22
@Alex
I appreciate your questions. In all I have read about this case, I can find nothing to suggest that these women were forced into anything. Well, there is the case of one underage victim raped and held against her will. But I have seen no evidence that Ms. Mack had any knowledge of or role in that.
The more salacious aspects of this story, e.g. ritual branding and paddling, have been going on in some of the country's most venerable and "prestigious" male secret societies and fraternal organizations for generations. Some of these male victims have even reported that photographs were taken and used to blackmail these victims into secrecy.
Why is this abuse sensationalized and prosecuted when women are involved, but largely accepted in male secret societies?
11
Humans like to follow a leader. Why else would we fund and endorse war and killing by marching off at the command of others. Following a leader adds value to many lives that death or religion cannot offer. It also means we don’t have to think things out for ourself. Then too, when the leader fails, it’s not the follower who failed as he or she was only “doing what everyone else was doing and following orders”. There are few great leaders in the world and many false prophets. In the end it’s really hard to tell the difference if you you just want to ‘go along to get along’. After all, thinking is such a drag.
26
A lot of the descriptives in this article and comments resemble the Republican party as well as the evangelical movement. Totally heedless of fact based evidence. An inward focus on building up the group and gaining power. Fundamentalist thinking that they've got the truth and anyone outside their circle of orthodoxy is suspect I. E. RINO. Could go on but you get the idea.
43
Nice brief for the defense. When do we get to hear from the prosecution?
Mack is alleged to have personally held naked, blindfolded women down while they were branded — in some cases with Mack’s own initials. She was allegedly Nxivm’s second in command.
But, hey, she’s a celebrity! She’s good-looking! Where are my heart-eyes emoji?
68
Watching the Ted Bundy movie starring Zac Efron, I was shocked by how women were drawn to him, even after knowing how he killed and dismembered his victims. The horrifying side of vulnerable people seduced by charisma and power.
18
@Jorge Don't forget the women who are attracted to death row inmates, or all the young girls who swooned over the surviving Boston Marathon bomber.
23
@Jorge
As someone who’s followed true crime for 15+ years, I can attest that a significant percentage of the female “fans” are looking for future book deals.
5
@Jorge
Nah... there is a condition called Hybristophilia. This is a deliberate thing. Such women (mostly) are per se not vulnerable but you can read up on it here... https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-excess/201310/passion-victim
5
Quite a contrast you've drawn between the "bright, beloved young woman" and the "twisted" man who made her do all that bad stuff. Her PR team couldn't have done a better job if they'd written this story themselves.
68
Amazingly, our current ‘state of human affairs’ (pun intended)was accurately predicted by Huxley in his fictional book, “Brave New World”. Well it’s not fiction anymore. It’s us from now through the end of this century. If we don’t all go extinct before then.
16
Some lessons in life are learned the hard way...
3
This story is so vile, so disturbing on so many levels, so utterly revolting, and yet there were so many RED flags flying from the get-go that it is hard for me to believe that anyone fell for it, let alone enough women who joined in the first place.
No one. And I mean no one, can empower you except yourself.
Know thyself. And RUN FAST!
24
Should we extend this sympathy to every criminal?
12
We are living in an age of cults, from this Raniere guy on down to Trump, with a person selling allegiance to themselves as some sort of short-cut to a community of believers.
Any time someone tells you "I am the ONLY one who can fix it", run for the hills.
85
Unlike the NYT, I have little sympathy for Mack, who was well into adulthood at the time of her malfeasance and crushed the lives of numerous people. Where are they in this article? Did they somehow deserve her treatment, because they were not quite so famous and successful?
50
"...Nxivm (pronounced Nex-ee-um)..."
That's the first step in cult indoctrination. I pronounce it nxivm, as it's spelled. The first thing they do is make you change what you know to what they want you to think, starting right at the beginning, with their name.
25
There are two very difficult elements to question in Ms Mack’s particular story.
First, a lot of people in Hollywood— who gain fame & fortune via entrainment industry, are exposed to adulation or criticism based on this evidence (films, singing, stage, etc) & esp. ones involved from early age— eventually on becoming adults come across as untethered & lost. There are many forms of Lindsey Lohans out there. Is it lack of normal upbringing (forever in the denuding eye of the camera), lack of a family emotional connection & lack of spirituality which forms its basis in our understanding of universe & our place in it... is all that lack the reason for this hole in the soul? This constant need to look for a centre. I think all humans go through it, but majority of us do it in private, in silence. Not every emotion is broadcast to the world!
Second, was this conniving and cunning individual always hidden inside her awaiting a vampire like Raniere to come along & wake it up from its dormancy? This lack of ethics & moral compass, was it so easily channeled into literally putting a subservient choke hold on other female’s emotions & bodies? Was she already primed— and this was just an opportunity?
Both are painful to confront especially given her optics... an average, well mannered, well spoken girlish image. All that “voratensity” had painfully criminal and predatory connotations, I fear.
This case is particularly disturbing in how women were used to predate on other women!
14
This whole story — all of it — is just so sad
The take-away moral of this is to stay away from any group (especially religious ones like evangelical Christianity and other Bible groups) that say they are the only ones who are right and everyone else is still wrong.
That should always — always! — send off alarm bells.
23
When I was a sophomore at NYU I went to lunch with one of my very good friends. As we sat down my friend recognized a young woman eating at the table next us. She said her name was Allison Mack and she was famous for her role in Smallville. I do not remember how, but we started to talk to Allison about women’s rights groups and she told us about a non profit she was part of. We exchanged names and became friends on Facebook. For about two months Allison messaged me asking me to become part of her women’s group, Jness. She invited me to go upstate New York to take part in their monthly gatherings.
I was very busy with school work and thought it was odd that she was trying so eagerly to make me join her “ women’s rights group”. I decided to ignore her and block her. Looking back I am so happy I did.
152
I knew Allison for two years when we were teenagers in acting school together in Los Angeles. She was slightly older than I, and played the part of the super cool, worldly, confident girl to perfection. We all looked up to her. This was right before she booked Smallville. It pains me to read about what's happened to her in the 15 years since we last spoke. I remember Allison as being very kind (I can't stress that enough) and mature for her age, but also living in something of a fantasy world due to some pretty fortunate life circumstances -- although, this personality trait makes sense for someone focused on acting. It's not altogether that surprising to me that she ended up buying into a cult; but it is beyond shocking to learn of the cruelty associated with her actions and those of her co-conspirators. Those are not the actions of the person I knew, not by a longshot. Between when I knew her and today, some serious re-programming has to have been done to make her capable of losing the ability to distinguish between right and wrong to such a degree. It will always make me sad to know that Allison lost her way so completely. It was so unnecessary considering her support system and advantageous life circumstances.
119
I think the interesting thing about this from the outside looking in, is that I can can see how someone can initially find interest in something like this. The idea of community and improving one's self is appealing. However I think it takes a special person to be able to rationalize it once it comes to holding another human down and branding them like cattle. Something is really missing in a person's foundation at that point.
102
I find it really creepy that cults like this one and Scientology requires members to hand over incriminating evidence against themselves. Clue number one that they’re up to no good.
238
@Anita Larson Yes. Exactly. One would think that the request for that handover would be kind of a VERY big giveaway that something really weird is up.
53
@Anita Larson
Agreed. Clue number two that they are up to no good is when sex is involved.
39
Weak people seek a strong leader.
77
@Potlemac
Weak people are vulnerable to a manipulative leader.
24
@Potlemac
Remind you of anyone else? Maybe Individual #1's supporters?
38
@Potlemac Meh. It's easy to label these people as weak, but there is little evidence to back that up. Throughout history, many very strong and intelligent people have fallen under the spell of charsimatic leaders with corrupt practices.
9
Ms. Mack, as millions of others have been, is as credulous as a 10-year-old boy from the backwoods of south Georgia, as I once was, but I've never let anyone convince me that he or she can make my life better. Happiness, love, whatever develops inside a person and flows out.
30
@willlegarre.
We all need healthy relationships. We do not develop ourselves alone. Then we can take respnsibility for our authentic selves.
7
Well, at least no one was playing around with Kool-Aid this time.
50
@Bob Burns True!
2
@Bob Burns
Flavor-Aid
3
Child actors (and child elite athletes as well) really need to be better protected in order to become healthy adults. Being a working child, a professional performer, is such a terrible way to grow up, and really does a number on the psyche. So many turn to drugs and several have died - what happened to Ms. Mack was not much better. I do feel sorry for her.
106
@Mcmw
There have been plenty of child actors who have grown up just fine. Ron Howard, Tony Dow and Andrea McArdle are three notable ones. It is not a universally terrible way to grow up.
36
@Hotblack Desiato
It may not be universal, but the toll of cults, drugs, and suicides does seem higher for child/young adult stars than in the general population of young people. But I don't have any statistics, so what I say is only based on anecdotal evidence. Still, the industry might do well to establish support systems, perhaps through the Screen Actor's Guild, particularly for young people whose fame has faded.
41
@Hotblack Desiato. Yes, because they were fortunate to have healthy relationships with adults throughout their childhoods.
13
As in the political landscape of the U.S. the accolytes in this cult (there's no other word) seem to have been incapable of critical thought,of separating the con from reason. Where is the pattern recognition that keeps one from falling for these fakirs ?
20
@Russell C. They don't have it. It's missing from a huge part of the population. All the warnings about cult thought and belief went over their heads, just as all our fine talk about democracy and the rule of law did. They don't care about those things, they only care about the warm feeling of belonging. I wish they would gather themselves onto a remote island and carry out their own destruction rather than dragging us along with them.
46
@sedanchair Congratulations, sedanchair. It seems to me you have very clearly analyzed the major fault with Christianity as practiced today that leads so many of its people to fall for the Trump con game. Much the same dynamic as with "Nxivm" and "Vanguard" Raniere.
23
@George Odell It is, but we can’t say that in mixed company because that cult has too much influence. We’d be accused of bigotry for wondering if, maybe, there is a connection between a religion that teaches unquestioning acceptance (called “faith”) as a virtue, and people accepting the lies of the powerful without asking questions.
14
Wouldn't this all look rather different if we imagine Ms. Mack as a man and Raniere as a woman? Isn't it less plausible, for one thing, and wouldn't Mack get a good deal less sympathy?
7
@J -- It doesn't seem plausible. And why is that?
19
@J and that is relevant how?
4
@J I don't read this article (or other NYT articles) as sympathetic (unless you remove the "sym"). She may have been stupid and naive, but, in my books, that doesn't forgive being an enabler, bringing young women into that sphere and assisting while they were branded. She deserves some prison time for what she did.
16
In a world where "the more things change, the more they stay the same," I think that this is an important story. One would have thought that all the media coverage over the years of exploitative cults from Charles Manson to Jim Jones to Scientology itself would have warned people away from succumbing to their allure. But no. People still get seduced. I think it's important to keep the word out there to a new generation of readers, some of whom may be alerted to the dangers of cult thinking and behavior.
138
@Gregory I was badgered as a young adult to go to a cult meeting and in the middle of I decided it was not for me and told the person who had invited me that I had to go, got up and left. Very much with me was the knowledge of Charles Manson and Jim Jones and that added to my increasing feeling of uneasiness as the meeting went on led me to split, quite rudely. So those horror stories did have an impact on some of us.
38
This is not a new nor a unique story. How many "Hollywood people" have become Scientologists - one of the most toxic albeit financially successful cults in modern history? I'm no psychologist but it appears as if people like Ms. Mack and others similarly situated, are overcompensating for something they perceive is missing from their lives, a situation that the psychologically predatory leaders of cults are always ready to exploit.
245
@Jason Shapiro - artists (which actors are) tend not to be the healthiest emotionally - they are sensitive souls and many turn to performing in the first place to fill their live with love and admiration from strangers because they never learned to give it to themselves. Many turn to drugs as we know...and cults are a drug of sort, offering false security and an alternate reality not so different from chemicals. Of course, having huge piles of money also confuses the psyche - Ms. Bronfman was not an actress, but she was possibly too rich. It's all very sad.
51
@Mcmw I think you mean well, but I'm tired of the 'actors are weak people' canard. Sensitive souls are vulnerable but not necessarily credulous. People don't turn to acting for the applause; we do so because we enjoy exploring the lives of our characters. We want to share what insights we may or may not have. It's not about needing the audience.
32
@Mcmw
Your statement "artists ... tend not to be the healthiest emotionally" is both misinformed and extremely offensive.
Artists, whether they be actors, musicians, comedians, architects, etc. possess creativity, inventiveness, imagination, expressiveness, resourcefulness, and ingenuity, among many other positive attributes. Some may indeed be sensitive and suggestible, but that is not what defines a creative person.
You apparently do not count any creative people in your social circle - how sad.
23