Allison Mack Is out of Prison and Started a Podcast, as One Does

You may remember the girl-next-door actor Allison Mack from her roles on Smallville and Wilfred. For all of you '90s kids, she was also in classics like Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves and Camp Nowhere. But her acting gigs aren’t all she’s become known for in recent years.

Mack was revealed to be a “high-ranking member” of Keith Raniere's self-help group, NXIVM, which prosecutors described as a sex cult and pyramid scheme. Mack's participation involved recruiting women to be "slaves" and branding them, per The Hollywood Reporter.

After pleading guilty to racketeering charges in April 2019, Mack was sentenced to three years in prison followed by 1,000 hours of community service and a $20,000 fine, per Variety. She was released in July 2023 and has a new project. Let's get into what she's doing now.

A little more than two years after Mack was released from prison, she is telling her side of the story via a podcast. The seven-episode series, produced by the CBC, is titled Allison After NXIVM, reports Variety. In the first episode, which dropped Nov. 10, Mack tells host Natalie Robehmed she was introduced to NXIVM by her Smallville co-star Kristin Kreuk in 2006. The podcast goes on to frame Mack as both victimizer and victim.

"Allison has not spoken publicly since her incarceration," says Robehmed. "She’s had lots of offers, but always said no — until now. She wants to tell her story in podcast form, because she loves podcasts, and because she’s no longer comfortable in front of cameras like she used to be."

Mack was arrested and charged with alleged sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and forced labor conspiracy in April of 2018, as E! News reports. She was released on a $5 million bond, later pleading not guilty to the charges against her in her first appearance in court. But a year after her initial arrest, in April of 2019, Mack pled guilty to racketeering, and the judge accepted her plea.

"I must take full responsibility for my conduct and that is why I am pleading guilty today," she shared following her plea. "I am and will be a better person as a result of this."

NXIVM marketed itself as a company that helped members become their best selves. Mack went from member to senior leader throughout her 12 years with the organization.

“I joined NXIVM first to find purpose,” she shared during her plea hearing, according to The New York Times. “I was lost and I wanted to find a place, a community in which I would feel comfortable.”

She reportedly wanted to use the courses NXIVM offered to “help eliminate psychological and emotional barriers” (per NYT), enhance relationships, and improve her acting abilities. As she became more involved in the organization’s inner workings, it was reported that she ran her own “slave pod,” subjected women to diets of 500 calories a day, berated them as they sat on the floor, and watched as they endured beatings.

Her slaves were also branded with a combination of Allison Mack and NXIVM founder Keith Raniere’s initials.

“I believed that Keith Raniere’s intentions were to help people and that my adherence to his system of beliefs would help empower others and help them,” Allison said in her plea hearing. “I was wrong.”