Copyright The Hollywood Reporter
Former Smallville actress Allison Mack claims fellow series star Kristin Kreuk introduced her to a life coaching course in Vancouver that was later revealed to be the NXIVM sex cult in a podcast that dropped on Monday. “We both were at the point where we were 25. We were in New York City together. It was our break. And we had rented an apartment in the same building in the West Village. And we both were like, why do we both feel so unsatisfied?” Mack recalled on the CBC Allison After NXIVM podcast. The seven-episode podcast serves as Mack’s first interview since she was released from prison after serving time for her role in the group. She added Kreuk told her about a self-help course in Vancouver that was looking for new members. “It’s the science of joy. It’s the most amazing thing. It’s made everything so much better in life. You’ve got to do this,” Mack recalled Kreuk telling her after she’d taken an earlier NXIVM course. “She was just like super excited about it, you know. She had a coach and she was talking about a vanguard and a prefect, which were the names you called Keith and Nancy at the time,” she added about NXIVM leader Keith Raniere and co-founder Nancy Salzman. At Kreuk’s apparent urging, Mack took an initial NXIVM course in Vancouver led by Salzman. “We were learning about what’s the purpose of mankind, and we were learning about how does that relate to gender differences and relationships,” Mack explains. The first episode of the Canadian podcast has the former Smallville star explaining the events that led to a federal prison sentence for her involvement in the recruitment of women to NXIVM, where they were trafficked and abused by the now imprisoned Raniere. Mack was initially arrested in April 2018, after federal authorities in March 2018 raided NXIVM headquarters near Albany. In a letter filed to the court before her sentencing, Mack addressed “those who have been harmed by my actions,” stating that she threw herself into the teachings of Raniere “with everything I had.” Mack served two years of a three-year sentence in prison, from 2021-2023, after pleading guilty to her involvement in the recruitment of women to NXIVM. Raniere is currently serving out a 120-year prison sentence after he was convicted of sex trafficking, racketeering and other charges.
