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

[Billy Jor-El]

John Glover used to comment that Allison was always a smiling, shining light around the set. This is all such a shame.

I read things like Allison was tired/frustrated with her acting career (didn't need to be...overall she's really talented, and should have secured most anything). And now I read where she will face the courts in Brooklyn, and with currently under house arrest with her parents in California, it was recommended she not be allowed to have the monitoring bracelet removed for travel because she is a huge flight risk.

Tom needs to save her now more than ever (and all kidding aside, I wonder if he has been in touch with her at all? Or any of the other cast members??)

[Doranwen]

I know, she used to be such a lovely person, from most accounts - and this has transformed her into a miserable human being.

One article I saw recently had a really insightful bit about how this happens - that we shouldn't ask what's wrong with someone, that they got involved, but rather how we're all vulnerable. They (a cult expert - who was a cult member years ago) put it into words better than I could:

"‘This is something that can happen to any of us,’ she argues, especially for people in a ‘normal life blip. Perhaps you’ve recently gone to or left university, or you’ve just broken up with your boyfriend or had a bereavement. It has changed your circumstances and made you more open to a new social network or a different experience.’ It is, she says, a ‘situational vulnerability’ that leaves people susceptible to the attentions and influences of a cult, not a ‘personality vulnerability’."

Allison must've been in a situational vulnerability, feeling like Smallville wasn't taking her where she wanted to be… or she was having difficulties in a relationship area, who knows. And when a friend invites you to something that'll make your life better, and you see all these beautiful people affirming that, and the guy can hypnotize you and you don't have anyone going "hey, wait a minute, there's something not right about this"…

The rest of the article is here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/...ful-women.html


I haven't heard of any of the cast talking to her - she's not allowed electronic methods whatsoever, including cell phones (unless to talk with her defense counsel), and I have no idea if they include regular old-fashioned phones in that or not. And even if using one of those was OK, who says that she's stayed in touch with any of them? Most likely anyone who didn't get on the NXIVM bandwagon (or who left, like Kristin) has been cut off because of the cult label, which I read somewhere she would just stop talking to people if they called it that. So it's unlikely she's talked with any of them - or will talk with any of them - while this is all going on. Unless someone was particularly close, it can see them wanting to distance themselves at this point. I wonder how bored she's been stuck at home. How many movies one can watch, or books one can read, before getting utterly sick of the whole thing. Which is where I hope she can start to wake up from the spell Raniere had her under and realize what really was happening.

[Doranwen]

Most of the cast have been pretty silent on Mack's arrest, but someone asked Rosenbaum about it in an interview recently: https://www.ibtimes.com/smallville-s...-about-2701156

[DJ Doena]

Most of the cast have been pretty silent on Mack's arrest, but someone asked Rosenbaum about it in an interview recently: https://www.ibtimes.com/smallville-s...-about-2701156

Here's the interview:

The question comes at 1 hour 3 minutes.

[Doranwen]

Wow, they spend 16 minutes discussing that question—with some rambling, of course, but still… Thanks for sharing the video!

[Martin le Magicien]

A statement released by the US Attorney’s Office read: ‘The victim was confined to a room in Clifton Park, New York, for nearly two years as punishment for having romantic feelings for a man who was not Raniere.

‘The victim was told that if she left the room she would be sent to Mexico without any identification documents.

‘As threatened, she was driven to Mexico and her family was instructed by co-conspirators, including Lauren Salzman, not to send the victim her identification documents.’

It gets more and more disturbing...

Complete article: https://metro.co.uk/2018/07/26/allis...years-7760627/

[Doranwen]

Yeah, that story's been floating around on Artvoice for awhile, glad they're finally getting it documented and added to the charges. It's looking like she's going to be facing quite a lot of prison time; I don't think she's flipping yet, and as they say, the first ones on the bus get the best seats. She may have lost her chance at this point, we'll see. I'm at least glad that Clare Bronfman was arrested (even if they didn't detain her until she came up with bail, like they should've).

Just saw this article, which I found interesting: https://www.elle.com/culture/a225501...m-mara-wilson/


EDIT: This article gives me some hope, though: https://hollywoodlife.com/2018/07/26...-nxivm-leader/

And this is a really good article on why we shouldn't hate Allison (save it for Raniere, if you're gonna hate at all - but personally, life's too full to waste any effort or emotions on that): http://www.patheos.com/blogs/without...-allison-mack/

[Doranwen]

Sadly, the likelihood of Allison ever flipping on Raniere may be dwindling… See the latest ArtVoice article: https://artvoice.com/2018/10/06/to-f...tion-for-many/

The section on Allison:
– Allison Mack (10% Probability): Although some think that being away from Raniere will help clear her head, I think she’s simply too indoctrinated to turn on Keith. And she has this Joan-of-Arc self-image that can only be fulfilled if she “stands by her man” and goes to trial – and prison – with him.

So tragic, to think of where she came from and where she's heading now… It's sobering, to realize how a few bad decisions can lead down a road that transforms someone for the worse and ruins their lives.

[Doranwen]

(I'd quote from other news sites but Artvoice consistently has had details earlier - and aside from guest views and clear speculation, they've been accurate. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on them as this case slowly makes its way through the courts—emphasis on slowly, as they've almost certainly got yet another superseding indictment coming.)

And now it sounds like even if she tried to flip, there wouldn't be any seats on the bus for her: https://artvoice.com/2018/10/26/has-...t-stop-part-i/

Relevant part:
"Allison Mack: Given all the evidence that the prosecution has already accumulated against Allison – and all the witnesses it has already lined up to testify against her – it’s also extremely unlikely that it will accept any type of reduced-sentenced plea deal from her. Her only chance was to cut such a deal right after she was arrested – and she stupidly failed to do that. She’s also a “high-value target” in this case."

They particularly noted the high headline value they'd get from convicting a TV star.

[DJ Doena]

[Billy Jor-El]

Sad to read the initial reports that if convicted, she could face 15 years to life in prison.

Her career is over no matter what. I doubt she will be considered for any acting roles regardless if she walked free (which is seemingly unlikely); and she had so many talents.

[Doranwen]

Well, she might avoid that with a plea deal, at last: https://artvoice.com/2019/03/18/brea.../#.XJBIUyd7l04

A comment referenced her crying leaving court, which, I can't find anything reported about that, but I did find this photo on a news article: https://pagesix.com/2019/03/18/allis...-cult-charges/

Maybe all of this is finally waking her up to reality. One can hope, at least. She has a lot to atone for.

[Martin le Magicien]

She hasn't been in contact with Raniere for about a year, right? His influence is maybe finally wearing off, and she is waking up to this nightmare...

[Martin le Magicien]

I just heard an audio file of Allison talking to Raniere about the branding ritual. They were even laughing. That was chilling...

[Doranwen]

I haven't listened myself (I have no interest in listening to Raniere for anything), but it's been described that in that recording Raniere pretty much led her along as he wanted and she was extremely suggestible - would you say that's true? The transcript snippet I saw seemed to show that. (By that point, her full cognitive faculties were not functioning properly anyway - when you put people on the limited diet that she was on, interrupt their sleep with readiness drills, etc., you're not going to have good critical thinking happening. Raniere knew what he was doing with that, I'm sure.)

I still pity her - because I don't think she would ever have ended up doing what she did, or being as cruel to some of the others as she was, had he not deliberately set out to ensnare her and then lead her along the path he set for her. Most recollections I've heard of what she was like don't describe someone anything like who she has become - and I still hold out hope that as she recovers from the brainwashing Raniere imposed on her, that she will be able to recognize the wrongs she has committed and find ways to atone for them.