Allison Mackformer Smallville star who pleaded guilty to related charges to her role as first lieutenant NXIVM founder Keith Ranierespeaks for the first time since she release from prison in a new podcast, Allison after NKSIVM.
The full premiere of the seven-episode series took place today, November 10, on the channel CBC and Campside Media. It is hosted by Nathalie Robemed and produced by Vanessa Grigoriadis, who has written about NXIVM for New York Times Magazine following Raniere's arrest in 2018.
Mack, 43, has given extensive interviews, detailing her career as a child actress, how she came to NXIVM, and her time spent in a self-improvement group and multi-level marketing organization that became widely known. described as a “sex cult”. Mack also discusses his plea deal and testifying at Raniere's trial, which ended his conviction on all charges (including sex trafficking, racketeering and fraud conspiracy) and 120 years imprisonment.
Mack was considered Raniere's second-in-command and allegedly served as a “master” in DOS, a secret subset of NXIVM where members were called “slaves”, labeled with Mack and Raniere's initials, and required sex with Raniere to prove their loyalty. Mack and other “masters” allegedly recruited others into the so-called “women's empowerment group” and allegedly forced recruits to provide “collateral” such as nude images or sexually explicit videos.
First episode Allison after NXVIM begins with Mack recalling her 2021 sentencing hearing after she pleaded guilty to racketeering charges. She said she remembers thinking about her mother and brother who were in the courtroom as they all listened to victim statements describing what Mack did to them.
“I can take it, but damn, guys, I’m so sorry,” Mack said of her family. “I think it was tough. I don't consider myself innocent, but they weren't.”
When she finally sentenced to three years in prisonThe judge said Mack “profited” from her fame by working for Raniere. On the podcast, she agreed with that assessment, calling her fame “a powerful tool that I need to get people to do what I want.” She added: “I think I've been very effective in moving Keith's vision forward.” (Mack was released from prison in 2023 after two years.)
Talking to Vanity Fair Regarding the new series, Robemed admitted that she wasn't initially interested in “being instrumental in Allison Mack's redemption arc” when Grigoriadis came to her with the idea for the series. She changed her mind after talking to Mac and found that she was “surprisingly down to earth” and willing to talk openly about everything that had happened.
“What convinced me was her desire to fight the evil she did,” Robemed said.
