S35 Trailer | Allison after NXIVM
Coming November 10. This is the inside story of Allison Mack — from TV star to NXIVM enforcer to federal prisoner. With exclusive access post-release, this series explores her rise, fall, and what comes next. Is she a victim, a villain, or something far more complicated?
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Transcript
Speaker 1 This is a CBC podcast.
Speaker 2 Nexium was one of the most insidious cults of modern times.
Speaker 2 Marketed as a self-help group, it drew in ambitious women with the promises of growth and empowerment, only to trap them in a system of control, manipulation, and abuse.
Speaker 2 Some were even branded with the initials of its founder, Keith Ranieri.
Speaker 1 And the person should ask to be branded, so it doesn't seem like they're being coerced.
Speaker 2 But Keith didn't act on these twisted fantasies alone. He had help from lots of people, including his most famous recruit, Smallville star Allison Mack.
Speaker 2 He said, in order for me to help you with that, we're going to have to be physically intimate.
Speaker 2
Allison helped push forward Keith's vision. And when it all came crashing down, a judge sentenced her to three years in prison.
He said you capitalized on your celebrity. Yeah.
Speaker 2 Do you think that's fair?
Speaker 2 I'm Natalie Robomet.
Speaker 2 I'm a journalist and I've gotten exclusive access to Allison since she was released from prison. For the first time, she's telling her side of the nexime story.
Speaker 2 And I've been haunted by how much her story blurs the lines between victim and perpetrator. How do you feel about intimacy?
Speaker 2
Elicit their discomfort around that and be like, okay, so I have an assignment that's going to push you through that. You're going to seduce somebody.
Like you're going to seduce Keith.
Speaker 2
I talked to the people around Allison. I mean, he messed with her brain.
She doesn't know what's going on.
Speaker 1 People don't understand what it's like when you get stuck in something like that.
Speaker 1 It's hard to get out.
Speaker 2 And I interviewed another top-ranking Nexium member who's never spoken publicly.
Speaker 3 My mom met Keith Thanksgiving my senior year in college and basically was fully indoctrinated and committed to him by spring break.
Speaker 2 I've been piecing together what really happened. And the truth? Well, you can decide for yourself what you believe.
Speaker 4 People assume that I'm like this pervert.
Speaker 4 And I'm like,
Speaker 4 okay. Like at a certain point, you just stop defending yourself.
Speaker 2 This is Alison Afternexium from CBC's Uncover, coming soon, wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca/slash podcasts.