Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.
Everything we learned from 'Seduced,' the 4-part docuseries on alleged sex cult Nxivm
Everything we learned from 'Seduced,' the 4-part docuseries on alleged sex cult Nxivm
Julia NaftulinOct 30, 2020, 20:22 IST
India Oxenberg.Courtesy of STARZ
The new Starz docuseries "Seduced" centers around former Nxivm sex slave India Oxenberg, who executive-produced the four-part series.
"Seduced" offers intimate details about Nxivm founder Keith Raniere's brainwashing methods, especially those allegedly he used to manipulate some women members into sex.
Raniere, who will serve a lifetime prison sentence for child sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor, orchestrated the branding of his initials, sharing of private information, and sexual abuse, according to the series.
In the years leading up to Nxivm founder and leader Keith Raniere's sentencing to life in prison on October 26, former members of the alleged sex cult endured psychological, and sometimes physical, abuse and manipulation.
The four-part docuseries "Seduced" on streaming platform Starz walks viewers through how Nxivm members joined the group with intentions of finding personal fulfillment, but ended up Raniere's pawns.
India Oxenberg, who executive produced "Seduced" and said she became a sex slave in Nxivm's secret sorority DOS, detailed how she was brainwashed despite the red flags she and others saw.
Unlike the HBO docuseries "The Vow," which focuses on Oxenberg's mother Catherine as she attempts to convince Oxenberg to leave Nxivm, "Seduced" centers around Oxenberg's story after she left and reveals new details about the insidious nature of Raniere's methods.
Advertisement
India's mother, actress Catherine Oxenberg, introduced her to Nxivm.
India Oxenberg and her mother, Catherine Oxenberg.
YouTube/Good Morning America
Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler took Nxivm courses.
Jennifer Aniston in 1997.
Dave Allocca/DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Advertisement
Nxivm seminars were designed to burn out members, cult researchers said.
The exterior of the NXIVM Executive Success Programs office at 455 New Karner Road on April 26, 2018 in Albany, New York.
(Photo by Amy Luke/Getty Images
Raniere kissed members on the lips.
HBO
Advertisement
Members were asked to wear electrode caps for psychology experiments.
The NXIVM Executive Success Programs sign outside of the office at 455 New Karner Road on April 26, 2018 in Albany, New York.
Photo by Amy Luke/Getty Images
India needed 50 hours of therapy to admit Raniere sexually abused her.
India Oxenberg.
Courtesy of STARZ
Advertisement
Mark Vicente guilt-tripped India when she didn't prioritize Nxivm.
Raniere said rape was a way to claim victimization.
REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
Advertisement
There were 150 known DOS sex slaves.
Yutong Yuan/Business Insider
In 2003, a Nxivm follower disappeared from training and never returned.
In this courtroom sketch Keith Raniere, second from right, leader of the secretive group NXIVM, attends a court hearing Friday, April 13, 2018.
Elizabeth Williams via AP