Former Smallville actress Allison Mack has broken her years-long silence about her involvement in the NXIVM cult through a new podcast series that launched November 10, marking the first time she has publicly discussed her experiences since her release from prison.
The six-episode series, titled Uncover: Allison After NXIVM, features journalist Natalie Robehmed conducting raw interviews with Mack as the podcast explores themes of influence, accountability, and redemption. The series provides exclusive access to the former television star following her release from federal prison, tracing her path from Smallville fame to her position within NXIVM’s inner circle and her current efforts to rebuild her life.
Allison Mack served as a high-ranking member of the Halfmoon-based cult, where she provided vulnerable women to NXIVM leader Keith Raniere‘s secret group called Dominus Obsequious Sororium, or DOS. The Latin name translates to mean master over slave women. Women in the group were subjected to sleep and food deprivation, were branded on their pelvises, and were blackmailed into sexual acts.
Mack, now 43, was released early from prison in July 2023 after serving two years of her three-year sentence for racketeering charges. At her sentencing, she expressed remorse, stating she was sorry to those she brought into NXIVM and apologized for exposing them to what she called the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man.
Mack first became involved with NXIVM in 2006 after attending a two-day introduction to a women’s group called Jness, eventually rising to second-in-command of DOS in 2015. The organization presented itself as a self-help group but was later revealed as a sex-trafficking operation.
NXIVM founder Keith Raniere, known within the group as “Vanguard,” is currently serving 120 years for sex trafficking, forced labor conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and racketeering charges that included underlying crimes of extortion, identity theft, and possession of child pornography.
The podcast explores how Mack must now unravel the beliefs she once evangelized, determining what was true and what was manipulation during her time in the cult. Through interviews with people who knew her before, during, and after her NXIVM involvement, the series examines her journey from child actor to television star to convicted felon.
But even as brainwashed as Mack seems to have been, she did victimize other women as well. It’s satisfying to hear her admit this on the podcast, as she describes herself as “emotionally aggressive” and “callous.”
“I was the go-between between him and this person,” she says, referencing Raniere and a victim. “It was my job to relay what to do with him for her growth. The more she said, ‘I’m scared, I don’t want to do it,’ the more I would say, ‘You need to do it, and the longer you wait, the more consequences there will be.’ The coercion started, and the pressure and the pressure and the pressure…. And then it was like rape.”
She also speaks candidly about the thrill of control: “Yes, I was excited by the power that I felt having these young, beautiful women look to me and listen to me. And yes, the sexuality of it was exciting.” Articulating the truth of this, Mack explains, “continues to be a process and a challenge.”
In a surprising twist, however, episodes of the Allison after NXIVM from Uncover podcast feature occasional comments from the former actor’s mother. While she clearly loves and supports her daughter, the actor’s mom can be heard being very blunt during the podcast. For example, Mindy Mack reflected on how arrogant her daughter’s involvement in the cult made her, even remarking that Allison Mack’s father, John Mack, avoided her at one point.
