NXIVM

Catherine Oxenberg Speaks About Frank Parlato – and Was the E-True Story Documentary on Nxivm a Serious Flop?

10/07/2019·

Frank Parlato

This comment came in from one of our readers:

“Hi Frank. I watched the E True Story on NXIVM and noticed that not only did you not appear, but your name wasn’t even mentioned. Did they interview you or ask you to appear? I know you despise Hollywood and its virtual signalling liberal actors and actresses, so am wondering if you refused to participate in that production and that is why you were ignored. But Oxenberg praised the New York Times. Why no acknowledgement for you?

“Will you be in the HBO documentary series? Do you get paid when you appear on shows like that Lifetime interview? Do some of these shows not use you because you charge too much?”

These are reasonable questions and here are my answers to them:

I don’t despise Hollywood or virtue signalling liberal actors. “Despise” is not the right word.

I may not approve of some of it – but I believe in freedom of speech and expression.

As for the E True[?] Story about Nxivm, I was not asked to participate in it and I have not seen it.

I suspect it was not very good – since I have yet to hear a single person discuss it or ask me about it other than one reader.

It was met with a unique form of total silence – like most inferior productions.

It was likely a very amateurish, ill-informed production, which is why there was no buzz about it – before or after its airing.

I suspect it was produced by people who knew little to nothing about Nxivm or the real back story of how it imploded – and were just filling up air time. I also don’t think the E True[?] Story was very true – if no mention of my role in the takedown of Nxivm was made.

But it is not important to me one way or the other. I neither seek nor avoid appearances. If I am called – which I am often, I try to comply with interview requests. I do not, like some ex-Nxivm members, try to get into documentaries or media interviews.

I am busy enough as it is and there is no payment for appearances on documentaries. That’s the industry standard.

[Recently I was asked to appear in UK, Australian, French and German documentaries about Nxivm.]

So I don’t charge for interviews for documentaries. However, it is standard – if the producers want you to travel – to be paid for travel expenses.

As for Catherine not praising me on the E -True[?] Story about Nxivm – it is possible she did praise me during her interview – but that part was cut. All documentary producers film much more then they use.

I will not bother to ask her about it for it is not important and it is understood that the executive producers and the network control the final cut.

As for whether I will appear on the HBO upcoming series on Nxivm, I was filmed on numerous occasions, including an extended two-day shoot in Niagara Falls – with Catherine Oxenberg.

I also filmed for a couple of days at Catherine’s home in Malibu, and in and around Los Angeles, along with Mark Vicente and Bonnie Piesse.

I did not go to Los Angeles to shoot for HBO – I was there on investigative business and was happy to accommodate the request to be interviewed and spend some time with my friends, Catherine, Mark, and Bonnie.

I also was filmed on several days in New York and Brooklyn – when I came there to report on the Raniere trial – and twice with Catherine and her mother, Princess Elizabeth, who says she is an avid reader of the Frank Report.

I am told I will be appearing in the HBO series.

By the way, the reason Catherine came to Niagara Falls was not to film with me for the HBO series. We were doing the real work of taking down Raniere [and her rescuing her daughter]. I was putting together a complete dossier – about 40 pages – on the details and the evidence I had gathered of the crimes that Raniere had committed. I also detailed what the actual state and federal statutes were and how Raniere had violated them including the way the prosecution could meet all the elements of those crimes.

This was in November 2017, five months before Raniere was arrested.

Catherine left my home with my files and presented them to the NYS Attorney General and later they were presented to the FBI.

Many of the charges that I laid out, actually became part of the FBI investigation and I’d like to think that my work [I was aided immensely by Mark Vicente] helped a little to form the foundation of the case against Keith Raniere and his codefendants.

As for not praising me on E True[?] Story, I might point out that Catherine did praise me in the Lifetime documentary.

And the intelligent producers there saw fit to not only keep the footage in the documentary but to invite me to appear on camera.

Here is what Catherine told Gretchen Carlson about me on the excellent, true and factual Lifetime Documentary, Beyond the Headlines: Escaping NXIVM Cult with Gretchen Carlson, “Frank was fearless. And once I’d given him this information [about her daughter, India, being branded] he ran with it, and he didn’t stop.”

Here is a clip from the documentary where Catherine speaks about my role.

https://frankreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Frank-Report-Intro.mp4

Here is the transcription of this clip from the documentary.

Catherine:
I’m in bed panic-stricken that I’ve lost my daughter forever to NXIVM because she went back on a plane to Albany. I literally called 50 people and Frank Parlato was one of those 50 cold calls.

Voice over:
At that point, Frank Parlato was running a website called the Frank Report, a site that had been actively investigating NXIVM for years. Frank knew Keith well because he ran public relations for NXIVM for 9 months in 2007. But when Frank discovered some suspicious financial activity, Keith fired him. Frank fought back and the Frank Report was born. Parlato consistently published interviews with defectors, insights into the cult-like ways of the organization, and anything that seemed slightly suspicious.

Members of NXIVM were forbidden from reading it, which didn’t stop some members from following Frank.

Frank:
When Catherine called me that very first day, and she told me about the branding, my initial reaction was, if this is true, I’ve got him. I finally have this guy. I’ve written a lot of stories about him but nothing could really quite turn the tide. But if he’s actually branding women, he’s done.

Gretchen:
He knew NXIVM from the inside?

Catherine:
He did because he worked for NXIVM in the mid-2000s as their PR person, and then he became enemy number 1 for a period of time.

Gretchen:
And so he would write these blogs. Was the rest of the world paying attention to them at that point in time?

Catherine:
Well, the point for me of him writing the blogs is a way to get the information out at least into the NXIVM community.

Frank:
I ran with the story. I wrote my first story about the branding on the Frank Report. Women who were actually in DOS quit because they read the story. Some women who didn’t know they were going to be branded thought they were going to be tattooed, were set to go under the branding table, read the stories, and they bolted.

Catherine:
Frank was fearless. And once I’d given him this information he ran with it, and he didn’t stop.

Gretchen:
So he would put out these blogs?

Catherine:
Sometimes 3 blogs a day, with more and more information and people started calling him and giving him more information. So he was an unstoppable force.

Frank:
And then we’d go farther. The NY Times picked up the story. And when they wrote it, it then became official. Now, this is true. They have the credibility of the New York Times behind it which inspired the Department of Justice, Eastern District of NY to begin its investigation.

***

Here are a few other clips from the excellent Lifetime documentary, Beyond the Headlines: Escaping NXIVM Cult with Gretchen Carlson,.

https://frankreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Keiths-arrest.mp4

This is a clip describing Keith Raniere’s arrest and how he hid behind the women.

https://frankreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Frank-Parlato-on-India-Oxenberg.mp4

A clip discussing how India Oxenberg stayed on with Nxivm for a time after Allison Mack and Keith were arrested.

https://frankreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Remainers.mp4

I take Gretchen Carlson to the neighborhood where Nicki Clyne and other DOS slaves presently live in Brooklyn.

https://frankreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Sex-Trafficking-Charge.mp4

I describe DOS slave Nicole’s sex trafficking by Raniere.

***

In conclusion, and to answer the original questions, I can’t say anything about how good, bad or inaccurate the E True[?] documentary was but I suspect it will be soon forgotten – lost amid much higher quality presentations – such as the upcoming HBO series and the recently completed and superb Lifetime documentary with Gretchen Carlson.

In fact, I am reminded of an old Aesop fable of how lower quality productions like E True [?] Story sometimes try to act as if they are equal to superior presentations such as HBO or Lifetime.

It is not one of Aesop’s better-known fables but it is a good one:

An apple orchard and cow pasture were side by side along a river. One day, the rains came and washed the apples and the turds alike into the river. As the turds and the apples were being carried downstream, the turds were heard to exclaim, “My, how we apples can swim!”

Not all documentaries are the same.

Comments (27)

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Chaotic Soul10/07/2019

I watched it and although I expected it to focus almost solely on Hollywood and NXIVM, I was quite disappointed with how little it actually did focus on. I mean it completely skipped over Battlestar Galactica and only briefly mentioned Kristin Kreuk. It also split hairs on Allison Mack being a victim or a villain. I am fully aware the show had (less than) an hour to tell a story but it streamlined it far too much so nothing much was said. Unless you know next to nothing about NXIVM.

Linda10/07/2019

I agree frank name should be mentioned a lot more.

Anonymous10/08/2019

frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank frank

Heidi Hutchinson10/07/2019

I’ve been in and around show biz for a long time and suspect when Frank’s critical role is sometimes maddeningly diminished or overlooked by producers and publishers it’s done deliberately for business reasons. Be it to cut out the competition, placate their legal department, promote another project or advance a network executive’s personal or political agenda, these showbiz barracudas have no compunction about rewriting history and little regard for the truth about anything. In the Lifetime docu-fiction for example — apart from Gretchen Carlson’s standout post-show interview special — Frank’s character appears to defeatedly turn the NXIVM takedown baton over to Rick Ross when Catherine Oxenberg seeks out Frank’s help in a scene set among the bleachers in an empty, small town sports stadium, before disappearing altogether from the story. I swear the first thought that sprang to my seasoned Hollywood head while watching was: “What else are they producing with Rick Ross?”

Niceguy10/07/2019

Frank, Thanks for showing those clips. It peaked my interest in the special. Not that you probably care, but I am definitely watching it now.

My Sides Still Hurt From Laughing So Much10/07/2019

I strongly recommend the E!Hollywood documentary – but only for those who love to see actors over-emote while delivering badly written lines. And I'm talking about that ultimate fairytale teller when it comes to all things NXIVM – BARBRA J. (LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!) BOUCHEY. OMG – so fucking funny…

Heidi Hutchinson10/08/2019

WARNING: Do not watch the E!Hollywood Premiere documentary on NXIVM without a barf bag by your side and a spoon to gag yourself with when Barbara Bouchey cries for her lost Camelot and Marc Agnifilo lies like, well, Marc Agnifilo.

Scott Johnson10/08/2019

I barfed without a spoon. Marky-Marc did not commit a lie, he did what lawyers and MLM scam artists do, he told his part of the story he wants you to know and expects to be believed without questioning his position. I call it a lie of omission, they call it advocating for their interests. If you don't question it and get more of the story, I call you stupid.

Shivani3310/08/2019

Hee hee, Heidi! So he's still acting, at least as a semi-pro, the Marc mark? It's been a dirty, awkward job somebody has had to do. I so enjoy turning on my boudoir smart-TV and then leaving immediately for the patio, letting it run with nada in that room from which to gather much data or any diverting material to film, except for a couple of our kittycats. Our kittyboys don't like Netflix or Hulu or even Amazon Prime much. They prefer Ted Turner's classic movies and even have their own recording of Mogambo, as well as one of their very favorite movies of all time, Juliet of the Spirits. One of our orange cats did have to ask, “who is this Barbara Bouchey whom Heidi mentioned?” One of my grandsons overheard and told the cats, “just stick to Ava Gardner, Fellini and his wife, Giulietta Masina, and never mind the big bouches.” That's my first grandson, the 11 year-old wood whittler and comedian! Be still my heart, as he is learning a bit of French with a dreadfully satirical accent, as his younger brother quietly mutters in Japanese and pursues interests of his own. What a wonderful life it is turning out to be.

Anonymous10/08/2019

Nicely said Frank. For those of us who have spent years working to dismantle NXIVM, we know who we are. We dont need book deals, we don't have to inflate our importance of what we have done on the battlefield, behind the senses, and we certainly don't need the acknowledgement of the media. We can sit back and laugh at the lies told by those scratching their way to the throne of “I did the most”. “It was me who take down the evil man.” We know it took a village to take down the the idiot Raniere. Though who, for whatever reason think its “a good thing to brag about” “I knew Keith Raniere BEST” Pin a ribbon on your over inflated ego and call yourself “SPECIAL”. Are those really important bragging rights ladies? It's not the Mirror Ball Trophy, you are not the Last Standing Survivor, and you certainly won't be in the Genesis World Book of Records. Most think your the biggest fools, the stupid ones, told his lies and shilded him from the authorities for yearz if not decades. Had you been honest from the time you discovered he was a fruad and yelled it from the rooftops instead of giving it the girl scout try, you could of saved thousands from the harm you helped put them through. Those who remained silent because you were afraid you'd get sued by the Bronfman's money, Shame on you. You all know who you are.

Scott Johnson10/08/2019

Why didn't YOU shout it from the rooftops, Anonymous?

Anonymous10/08/2019

“I will not bother to ask her about it for it is not important ” WOW for someone who claims this isn't important to them, you sure crapped out a lot of words attempting to stroke your damaged ego. LOL Does anyone other than people stupid enough to have believed Raniere or gone to work for him really buy your pathetic schtick?

Scott Johnson10/08/2019

I do. But if I were Frank, I would still ask Oxenberg. After all, he's a journalist. It's not about his ego, it's about getting as many of the facts that he can obtain.

Heidi Hutchinson10/08/2019

Anonymous troll on October 7 @ 11:16 pm: I understand why you are upset. Without Mr. Frank Parlato’s “schtick,” Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman would still be in business using the Bronfman sisters’ and Salinas family billions to attempt further military coupes against the U.S. in Libya and possibly Mexico, brand hundreds more girls with KAR’s monogram, collect collateral aka blackmail material on those girls and their families, force them to forsake their future to labor without pay and sexually service their masters. Without Mr. Parlato’s “schtick,” Dr. Porter’s human fright experiments on the slaves would continue despite suicides and mental breakdowns and the Rainbow Culture Garden would continue to produce illiterate sociopaths supplied by surrogate births, indoctrinated in Raniere’s perverse teachings including embracing pedophilia, the subservience of woman and “killing for one’s beliefs” here in the U.S. Mr. Parlato not only broke the branding story but researched, compiled and supplied decades worth of evidence to present to the media and FBI, which the DOJ relied upon to make its case. Mr. Parlato also found Raniere and the harem in hiding in Mexico before they managed to flee to Figi where, like Sara Bronfman in France, they may have been untouchable. Yet, Mr. Parlato has the temerity to carry-on with his “schtick” despite tremendous opposition and often little acknowledgement. Must be tremendously upsetting to you and others who would rather see NXIVM thrive and the guilty go free to help make certain it does.

Anonymous10/08/2019

Can you reclaim your money for Toni Natalie's book if it is untrue even though it promised to tell the true story?

K.R. Claviger10/08/2019

Large-scale sellers such as Amazon might well take the book back – and grant you a full refund – because it has a fairly liberal policy on “Returns”. Local bookstores might be less likely to do so. But if push comes to shove and this issue ends up in front of a judge – which would most likely happen in Small Claims Court – I think you'll likely win your claim.

Scott Johnson10/08/2019

Anyone who thinks the E! show is anything but a nutjob, celebrity-centric, Hollyweird drama is truely deluded. And it's not just this NXIVM program, it's ALL of their programming. LOL I'm sure BB put in a good word for Frank (eyes roll). Instead of fixating yourselves on this Hollyweird crap, try getting some REAL information about REAL people being scammed: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2019/10/multi-level-marketer-advocare-will-pay-150-million-settle-ftc Advocare is not an outlier, it is typical of most MLMs, which are also scams. Instead of/in addition to being focused on Hollyweird stories, do your part and submit a complaint to the FTC at http://www.FTC.gov and forward the below John Oliver video link to everyone you know, except current Amway IBOs, and encourage them to do the same, and so on, à la network marketing/MLM. If you don't, then you're part of the problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6MwGeOm8iI Amway has 2 major problems, and most MLMs have at least one of these issues: 1. The products are overpriced, which makes them almost impossible to sell to customers and results in Amway being an illegal pyramid, according to the FTC and SEC websites and previous court decisions; and 2. The Tool Scam is hidden profit for the top level distributors only, and the vast majority of distributors operate at a net loss as a result. This is RICO fraud. For recent examples, google “FTC” along with the following companies, one at a time: FHTM, BurnLounge, Zeek, TelexFree, Vemma, Advocare, and Herbalife. Make a complaint on the FTC website: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/?utm_source=takeaction#crnt&panel1-1 Although there is no federal law defining pyramid schemes, the FTC has a long and successful track record of using its Section 5 law prohibiting “unfair and deceptive” business practices to go after MLM scams: https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/multilevel-marketing which states, in part, “Not all multilevel marketing plans are legitimate. If the money you make is based on your sales to the public, it may be a legitimate multilevel marketing plan. If the money you make is based on the number of people you recruit and your sales to them, it’s probably not. It could be a pyramid scheme. Pyramid schemes are illegal, and the vast majority of participants lose money.” Read about these and much more at these websites: http://www.StopTheAmwayToolScam.wordpress.com and http://www.AllMLMFacts.org, and email stoptheamwaytoolscam@yahoo.com to help shut down Amway and other MLM scams. Watch this video about Amway and other MLM scams, then forward it to everyone you know, except for current Amway IBOs, and encourage them to do the same. When enough people know, these scams will collapse: English version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6MwGeOm8iI Spanish version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy-O4myeUzg