More and more details about Smallville actress Allison Mack's involvement in the cult NXIVM are coming to light as she awaits trial for allegedly aiding in sex trafficking and forced labor. People have already noticed that Mack used platforms like Twitter to recruit women for the NXIVM female subgroup, JNESS, but another actress who claims she was targeted by Mack said the star used email as well.
Samia Shoaib told Megyn Kelly this morning that the two met while auditioning in New York City. Shoaib said Mack was good at mirroring her interests, and the two got to chatting over email, when Mack began pushing for Shoaib to meet with people in her organization.
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"I know it may not be your thing..." one of the emails read. "I just feel like you will love this."
In conversation with Kelly, Shoaib said that she had been struggling with drinking at the time, and Mack put forward NXIVM as an alternative to what Shoaib felt was the male-dominated AA. When Shoaib looked into it further, however, she wasn't impressed, but Mack kept trying, and even brought Shoaib to dinner with her and another NXIVM member, who may have been actress India Oxenberg.
"I barley remember this woman because she was very quiet and she seemed to be in awe of Allison. And somewhat under her control, she didn’t speak at all. Visually when I saw a picture of India, it may well be her," Shoaib said, saying of Mack that it "was strange to see her go from a smiling chirpy, extremely friendly girl to someone quite stern."
Mack eventually moved on, but recent news has caused Shoaib to reflect on that time in her life.
"To be honest, I have no doubt, looking back at the emails, it is very clear that she was really pumping up her feminist interests to lure me in [to NXIVM]," she said, adding, "I'm angry she used feminism for such nefarious ends."
Whether or not Oxenberg was at that dinner, Oxenberg's mother Catherine had previously spoken to Kelly about her daughter's involvement in the organization.
"It breaks you down, it locks in a new identity like a cult persona, is what I’ve been told. And then it makes you submissive and suggestible," she said in the November interview. "So the end result is you have women agreeing to do things like to hurt themselves."
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Watch Kelly's interview with Shoaib below:
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