Allison Mack, Second-in-Command of a Sex Cult

[costas22]

So much cognitive dissonance:

Which exposes another sad issue as of late: Celebrities, male or female, who insincerely pledge their support towards victims of sexual abuse after supporting perpetrators of such acts. Or after committing such acts themselves...

[SVfan87]

I read that this group and it's leader influenced Allison to have a minimal role in Smallville's last season. Interesting how all this had an effect on the show. For better or for worse season 10's storylines would have been radically different if she had stayed. Unbelievable this craziness started so long ago. Or maybe that was the point. To reach out to working actors and other influencers.

[Humdinger]

How can a guy who looks like this get away with this sh*t for so long? He looks exactly like a Smallville villain created by the writers. AM must have had some major psychological problems to be sucked into doing what this jerk demanded. Chloe was one of my favs on Smallville, but apparently Mack had little in common with the character she played for so long. Chloe would've called BS with a quickness and investigated his *ss. I'm amazed and saddened by the whole mess.

[DJ Doena]

How can a guy who looks like this get away with this sh*t for so long? He looks exactly like a Smallville villain created by the writers. AM must have had some major psychological problems to be sucked into doing what this jerk demanded. Chloe was one of my favs on Smallville, but apparently Mack had little in common with the character she played for so long. Chloe would've called BS with a quickness and investigated his *ss. I'm amazed and saddened by the whole mess.

I'm afraid it's one of these child actor issues again. Mack has had roles long before Smallville, for example on a show called Opposite Sex. Her first acting credit is from 1989 when she was only 7 years old.

She probably didn't really have the childhood other kids had.

And I read somewhere that she admitted to having a deep distrust of other women, even before she joined NXIVM.

All that reads like the recipe for a troubled soul.

I honestly just hope that she faces whatever is in front of her and doesn't do something stupid like Mark Salling did.

Even if she does has to serve for 15 years, she still can turn her life around and give back to the community.

[Wolflmg]

How can a guy who looks like this get away with this sh*t for so long? He looks exactly like a Smallville villain created by the writers. AM must have had some major psychological problems to be sucked into doing what this jerk demanded. Chloe was one of my favs on Smallville, but apparently Mack had little in common with the character she played for so long. Chloe would've called BS with a quickness and investigated his *ss. I'm amazed and saddened by the whole mess.

Very simple. And looks have nothing to do with it. Words. Words is all it takes and if you have someone who vunderable or going through things, has no one to talk to or feels that those closest to them so understand. All it take is someone like this guy, to get you under their control. They know exactly what to say, how to say it, how to treat you. Then they have you under their spell and you don’t even know it until it’s too late, some never even realize it. Go and look at any news story about victims of Stockholm syndrome and brainwashing. Cultest like this guy, Manson or the many others were able to get anyone under their spell, even people who come from loving families, have good and care friends, coworkers. The type of people who would go to hell and back for you.

[harryandginnyfanatic]

Hope she gets the help she needs. And that the court takes her mental state into account. She was clearly brainwashed.

Superman believes in rehabilitation, and so do I.

[Shaftell]

Hope she gets the help she needs. And that the court takes her mental state into account. She was clearly brainwashed.

Superman believes in rehabilitation, and so do I.

I really hope that was the case here.

[Billy Jor-El]

One of the saddest tales I've read. As of this morning, I understand she is still in jail awaiting a bail decision. A very high bail amount is expected, as she is considered a flight risk, and a potential danger to herself. It also appears she may enter a plea bargain in the case. If she was actually convicted, it would be years in jail. Raniere could actually get something like 15-life; and Allison could also find a devastating sentence.

My god, Allison has had so much going for her....acting, directing, stage performance, she's a singer. She has indeed likely been what we can say is brainwashed, and unfortunately, any recovery may never get her career back. I read a quote from someone that has known her and had described her as a lost soul.

She has been my favorite on Smallville since the beginning (my avatar give it away?). I hope she finds the right help; if she knew her fans do care (rather than a bunch of vile, rude comments I have seen on places like YouTube), I hope that helps.

[harryandginnyfanatic]

I just hope the guy rots for what he did to her and all those other women.

If there’s any justice she’ll get the help she needs, while they lock him up and throw away the key.

[Shaftell]

One of the saddest tales I've read. As of this morning, I understand she is still in jail awaiting a bail decision. A very high bail amount is expected, as she is considered a flight risk, and a potential danger to herself. It also appears she may enter a plea bargain in the case. If she was actually convicted, it would be years in jail. Raniere could actually get something like 15-life; and Allison could also find a devastating sentence.

My god, Allison has had so much going for her....acting, directing, stage performance, she's a singer. She has indeed likely been what we can say is brainwashed, and unfortunately, any recovery may never get her career back. I read a quote from someone that has known her and had described her as a lost soul.

She has been my favorite on Smallville since the beginning (my avatar give it away?). I hope she finds the right help; if she knew her fans do care (rather than a bunch of vile, rude comments I have seen on places like YouTube), I hope that helps.

Same here. When I logged back in after years of inactivity, it saddened me to see that my avatar is also of her character. She was my favourite on the show and it really makes it difficult to ever watch it again.

http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/allison-mack-bail-hearing-sex-cult-arrest-keith-raniere-1202785044/

She's been released on bail and is put under house arrest. Hopefully her family can talk some sense into her.

[Billy Jor-El]

She was released on bail today....$5 million dollars bail. Yikes. And house arrest (likely means an ankle bracelet to track her). She was released to the care of her parents. Once so proud of their lovely daughter, they must be very distressed over what has happened. I wish I could write her directly and give her some words of encouragement, if anything I could say would help.

[Quark]

I found out about this an hour ago and literally haven't stopped reading about it since.

It's just appalling what this organisation did. It's also really hard to believe that Allison Mack was involved when she was such a bright, sparkly character on Smallville. I don't think I can ever watch the show again.

I hope justice is served.

It's just so strange.

[myankskent]

I just hope the guy rots for what he did to her and all those other women.

If there’s any justice she’ll get the help she needs, while they lock him up and throw away the key.

This is a really difficult situation. Was Allison Mack a victim and brainwashed by this guy? Perhaps. But how do we know that Keith Raniere wasn't a victim of someone else in his life that made him the person that he is? Bottom line, for me, as far as Mack is concerned is that she still made a choice. She chose to let this guy into her life to the point where she jumped right in and committed criminal acts, assuming she is found guilty, just as he did while other women managed to get themselves out of the cult and talk to reporters about what was going on.

[harryandginnyfanatic]

It’s no surprise to me that they’re trying to make a deal with her. She’s their way of getting to him. They’ll use her and everything she knows to take him down.

No idea what that means for her in the long run. But I don’t expect we’ll be seeing her act anymore.

[Doranwen]

No idea what that means for her in the long run. But I don’t expect we’ll be seeing her act anymore.

I agree. It's so tragic. And as Billy Jor-El said, I hope she realizes that there are fans who do care for her ultimate well-being. This comment on this Artvoice article really struck me: https://artvoice.com/2018/04/24/phot.../#.WuFeUich104

"I think folks need to realize one thing.
All humans are capable of making mistakes.
All humans are capable of falling in with the wrong crowd.
Allison is no different. I would hate to see her swallowed by so much hate from the public that she feels that suicide is the only solution to move forward. It’s not. There is life beyond this.
Allow the justice system to do its job and refrain from tossing mud at her. The truth will come out in due time.
She has a heart. It beats. It hurts. It can be destroyed or supported.
I’m not saying you need to like her but there is so much about this case that WE the people do not know.
In time we will.
Let him who is without sin throw the first stone."

As some other comment I read somewhere put it, everyone is vulnerable in some way to things like this (well, in a broad sense - the sex/branding stuff is a little unusual even there), it's just a matter of whether a sociopath finds it and exploits it, and whether one has a strong enough support system to help keep oneself safe. Clearly Allison did not - one article even said her parents supported her being part of NXIVM at one point and didn't try to get her out of what people were already calling a cult (if true, they must be dealing with their own level of guilt in this), and clearly she had major vulnerabilities emotionally that Raniere saw and used. Given how he knew how to manipulate so well, he would've made sure she was truly hooked before he started making her doing things that would have gone against her conscience. None of us can speak to what that's like, unless we've been in a cult (not me!) and gotten out, the level of psychological distress and confusion. At that point, given having to face up to what one has become vs. the simple "truth" that Raniere presented her, I can see why she would've stuck with him for so long. Anyone who's studied cults knows that it takes a certain type of strength to get out of something like that, and it may be that she simply didn't have it.

Does it make her innocent of all wrongdoing? Absolutely not. But I would imagine that she's started the process of really examining her actions and facing up to things (which is what I've hoped for her all along, and figured it would take being arrested to do it), and that's going to be painful and difficult enough. I am not going to contribute to it any more by going around and saying that she's as guilty as the rest. Which, no. Raniere is more guilty than anyone else. He started it, he knew what he was doing, and I don't think he's got a speck of remorse, other than for being caught. I'm not sympathetic to what might have made him that way because there was no one holding him in psychological bondage. It's on the same level as a guy who's molested as a kid and goes on to molest other kids when he's older. The studies on child molesters, for instance, show that they know full well that what they're doing is wrong, but they don't ask for help to prevent themselves from acting on their compulsions (there are psychologists who will work with them that way), or they simply don't care who they hurt. There's an element of choice without anyone coercing them. Just because something happened to them in their past does not excuse their present actions in any way, because those actions were made with full freedom and choice. But Allison, on the other hand, was being psychologically manipulated and controlled. To me there's a big difference, both in the level of guilt and in the chance for redemption.

And as far as the show goes, I find myself watching the early S1 and S2 eps nostalgically, with a sad sort of "oh, what innocence..." I still will enjoy fic for it, though. Allison is not Chloe, and Chloe is not Allison. They simply share the same face - or did, before Raniere starved her so much that her face doesn't even look quite the same. (Whether I ever finish the epic Chlark fic I was writing off and on, who knows, lol.)

I have no idea what she might do with her life in the future - a lot depends on what comes out of the plea bargaining. But I hope she's able to find something she can do out of the public eye - because the stress of being watched by everyone is the last thing she'll need, especially after having a ton of bad publicity - and that she's able to build a strong support system of people who will help her get her mind straight and keep it that way.

Edit: Just stumbled across this: https://www.today.com/video/catherin...-1087139395742
and Catherine Oxenberg's explanation of the process of indoctrination is very eye-opening to anyone who thinks that anyone just waltzed in and volunteered to do exactly what Raniere said to do. I think it has some very profound implications on Allison's part in things - because she went through something similar. Even if she came up with part of the later parts of it, there's still the bit that Raniere brainwashed her and required collateral from her first. (I think I've seen articles quoting from emails people saw where he requested some of it.) One cannot say that she freely consented to everything.

This article is also very interesting: https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2...cult-get-help/
The quote "I don’t think that anybody goes into this group the way they come out" is telling, and Toni Natalie, who knows exactly what Raniere is like from personal experience, advises getting them all psychiatric help, which I can't agree more. One does not overcome years of brainwashing and manipulation easily.