Yesterday was a lot for survivors, from Bill Cosby being released to the James Franco news and Allison Mack getting a sentence of three years for her role in the sex cult NXIVM. India Oxenberg, one of the survivors of the cult, has spoken out following the sentencing.
“I’m still in a state of disbelief, but I trust and honor the judge’s decision. I hope that her victims, including myself, feel vindicated and safer, given that she has denounced Keith Raniere. We all need time to process and digest everything. This is a big moment for all of us,” India said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
India Oxenberg is the daughter of Dynasty star Catherine Oxenberg and a descendant of European royalty—two things that led her to be targeted by the cult, which very much attempted to cultivate people of wealth and status, but also those with feelings of restlessness and a desire to do good. Both HBO’s The Vow and Starz’s Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult offered away into the mental landscape that was crafted by cult leader Keith Raniere and those within his inner circle.
Catherine Oxenberg, who worked so hard to get India out of Mack’s grasp, also shared a statement: “I concur with everything India said. I do believe people deserve a second chance, and Allison has shown remorse for her actions.”
During her own sentencing, Mack said to the court, “I am sorry to those of you that I brought into NXIVM. I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man.”
Where the line between victim and perpetrator lies with Mack will always be shaky, and her sentence of three years rather than seventeen is a hard one to swallow for many. Still, what people like the Oxenbergs think and other victims matters the most. Those women will have to live with the physical, mental, and emotional scars of everything that has happened.
Keith Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in October 2020. India said of Raniere, “He tries to mask and manipulate and get people to believe his lies. I know that he’s a sociopath. He cannot feel and he doesn’t feel remorse and he doesn’t feel empathy for any of the women.”
The NXIVM cult scandal was a haunting reminder that cults are not a thing of the past and people are always finding ways to manipulate the vulnerable, especially if they are wealthy. Raniere managed to take his drifting, sexist, and disturbed nature and manipulate people into thinking he was genius because as much as people are looking for some sort of fulfillment, there are those looking to weaponize that into their own dark army.
One with a lot of money and resources, even now.
(via THR, image: Jemal Countess/Getty Images)
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