India Oxenberg appeared on Good Morning America to discuss her relationship with Keith Alan Raniere and to announce a new docuseries about her role in Nxivm, DOS and Keith Raniere.
Oxenberg joined Nxivm in 2011 and left in 2018, after coming close to being charged herself in the Nxivm criminal case.
Now, she is appearing in a new docuseries on STARZ, a cable and satellite television network.
Sunday is the premiere of “Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult,” a four-part documentary series that takes a first-person look at Nxivm and DOS through the eyes of India.
It premieres at 9 p.m. this Sunday, October 16. The producers are Cecilia Peck and Inbal B. Lessner.
India is the daughter of former Dynasty actress Catherine Oxenberg who had a large role in the takedown of Nxivm.
India is shown in the series through “seduction, indoctrination, enslavement, escape and role as ‘co-conspirator in assisting the U.S. government with bringing down Raniere and his criminal enterprise,” according to Deadline.
I am not sure what role India had in the takedown since she did not leave the cult until months after Raniere was arrested.
“In addition to being a rigorous and unsparing examination of India’s abuse and her own culpability, Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult explores how India and a chorus of other women are still grappling to make sense of their experience,” Deadline reports.
India is credited with being an executive producer of the series.
Peck told Deadline, “I had been targeted for recruitment by NXIVM, so the subject was of personal interest. In many ways, India could be anyone’s daughter. She was a young woman victimized by a serial predator, and I wanted to find out how this 19-year-old girl had become indoctrinated. There was a fearless quality to her inquiry that we were drawn to.”
In the documentary, India returns to the house where she was branded with Raniere’s initials.
In her interview with Good Morning America, India said, “It was horrible.”
Her mother Catherine added, “And you had no idea that it was Keith’s initials.”
India said, ” [W] we were told that it was a symbol of the elements and that this was gonna be a bonding experience. And we were sleep-deprived. We were starved. We were coerced. You don’t just decide to be branded. You’re coerced into being branded.”
India told ABC News that she will attend Raniere’s sentencing and deliver a victim impact statement.
To obscure the brand on her groin, India placed a tattoo which says “ancora imparo,” which means “still learning.”
India’s appearance on Good Morning America with her mother was billed as an exclusive interview and her first statement to the media since leaving Nxivm..
ABC News India and Catherine Oxenberg sat down for an exclusive interview on “Good Morning America.”
Here are some excerpts of the Good Morning America interview with India and Catherine Oxenberg.
India Oxenberg spent nearly seven years in the organization and paid them nearly $100,000, now saying that she had been slowly brainwashed but at the time couldn’t see it while it was happening.
“That’s years of grooming. And when you’re unaware, it’s so easy to be led astray, especially by people who are masters at manipulation,” she said. “And these people were that, especially Keith Raniere. He’s a master at manipulation. If there’s one thing he’s intelligent at, it’s that. And he’s a predator.”…
India Oxenberg said that “Smallville” actress Allison Mack was the first person to introduce her to the [DOS] society under the guise of female empowerment.
“It was a trap,” she said bluntly. “And it was a ploy for Keith to enslave women for his own sexual desires.”
Her own relationship with Raniere, she said, “took a different turn and became sexual when — I was commanded to do a seduction assignment.”
“That was the beginning — of continual sexual abuse. And I didn’t see it as that at the time,” India Oxenberg explained.
“I would describe that sexual relationship as rape,” she continued.
Because of the nature of the relationship, she explained that she felt like she could not turn down what was being asked of her.
“I had given collateral, which automatically removes my choice,” India Oxenberg said. “So I did not have the option to say no. Saying no meant hurting my family or hurting my friends. And I wasn’t gonna do that.”
Her mother Catherine had a large role in getting India to leave Nxivm and DOS.
“I lived in fear for probably two years, but my faith is — has always been stronger than my fear, always,” Catherine Oxenberg said. “When I first confronted her at the end of May in 2017, I thought I could wake her up. I told her she was brainwashed and she was in a cult. And I said, ‘I know about the blackmail. And I don’t care if it’s about me — Don’t let that be the reason you stay in.'”
India replied, “I was too deeply in — I was scared. And I was confused.”
“I started working with a de-programmer who helped me tremendously,” she said. “But you have to be open to it. Like, you can’t force somebody to see the truth. They need to want to. And I didn’t want to for a long time.”
India Oxenberg said of her DOS brand “We all have metaphorical scars. I have a physical scar — but you don’t have to live with that. You don’t have to live with Keith Raniere haunting you. You can reclaim your life. You can learn from it. And you can move on. And you can heal. And you can have love. And I — I just feel so lucky that I can have that.”
