Allison Mack, the former Smallville actor, has spoken publicly for the first time since her release from prison about her involvement in the Nxivm sex cult, describing her actions as abusive. In a new podcast series titled Allison After Nxivm, Mack said she was excited by the power she wielded over young women recruited for the cult's leader, Keith Raniere.
Mack pleaded guilty in 2021 to charges of manipulating women to serve Raniere, who was convicted of sex-trafficking crimes and sentenced to 120 years in prison. Mack was released from a federal prison in California in 2023. On the podcast, produced by CBC's Uncover, she recounted how she used her celebrity from Smallville to recruit women into Nxivm, which posed as a self-improvement group.
Mack explained that she was introduced to Nxivm by co-star Kristin Kreuk and later met Raniere, who convinced her that physical intimacy with him would help her deal with childhood sexual exploitation. She described being indoctrinated into recruiting women who were then brainwashed, branded with Raniere's initials, and forced to have sex with him. Mack admitted she was 'emotionally aggressive' and 'callous' towards victims, saying, 'I was not kind, and … I was abusive.'
In one instance, Mack acted as a go-between for Raniere and a woman, pressuring her to comply with his demands. 'The coercion started, and the pressure and the pressure … And then it was – like – rape,' she recalled. Mack helped authorities prosecute Raniere after her arrest in 2018, and at her sentencing in 2021, she expressed remorse, saying, 'I made choices I will forever regret.'
