By Paul Serran
US Atty. Richard P Donoghue: “Keith Raniere was a master manipulator, a con-man and a crime boss of a cult-like organization.”
Five years ago, Nicki Clyne stood powerless in a sidewalk on a street in Chacala, near Puerto Vallarta, in Mexico. Heavily armed Federales wearing balaclavas raided the house she was staying in, and arrested her mentor and guru Keith Raniere, the man she ‘perceived to have a knowledge of humanity and spirituality that could help [her] on the quest to find [her] higher self.’
The indictment and trial of the leader of NXIVM revealed the underbelly of the self-help group and the secret society of DOS, who practiced master-slave relationships and involved branding the female members – followers of Raniere – with a cauterizing pen in the groin.
US Attorney Richard P Donoghue: “Keith Raniere, who portrayed himself as a savant and a genius, was in fact a master manipulator, a con-man and a crime boss of a cult-like organization involving sex-trafficking, child pornography, extortion, compelled abortions, branding, degradation and humiliation.”
Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in jail, and a whole segment of the cultural industry sprung into mainstream media, from documentaries like HBO’s ‘The Vow,’ Starz’ ‘Seduced,’ and Investigation Discovery’s Lost Women of NXIVM, to a plethora of TV shows, books, podcasts and articles.
Most members were quick to disavow their former ‘Vanguard,’ and some even made a lot of money in the process. But not Nicki.
She felt betrayed by the way producers portrayed her on ‘The Vow’ Season 2.
For five long years, she stood by her Master, to be reviled by the media and popular culture.
If someone told her she was brainwashed – which they often did – she just smiled quietly, asked not to be dismissed, and engaged in a rational debate.
Sure enough, her pro Raniere arguments were usually flawed, but, anyway, Clyne was a puzzle – you expect ‘cult followers’ to be wide-eyed, loud mouthed freaks.
I had the opportunity to write quite a bit about her for the Frank Report, and learned – to my surprise – that, but for her defense of her ‘mental captor’ Raniere, she was a lovely and agreeable person all around.
So I was overjoyed to learn that a couple of weeks ago she had, at long last, renounced her ‘Master’ and ‘Vanguard.’
Her awakening is a beautiful thing, and I’m a sucker for redemption stories.
Clyne wrote on the Frank Report:
“I have changed my position on Keith Raniere. I no longer believe he is a man of noble character, as I once did.
I also do not believe he considered my best interests or helped me achieve the goals for which I sought his guidance.
I have come to certain realizations about my past decisions and views, which leave me with no choice but to renounce the man who influenced them. I will no longer publicly support or try to free him for these and many other reasons.
I do not believe my intentions were false or impure, but the methods I followed were misguided.”
Kicki kisses her ‘mental captor’.
Clyne first met Raniere at 23 years old, with a little fame, a little money and a yearning for spiritual growth. He quickly convinced her that ‘he knew better than anyone how to achieve or become what [she] sought’.
“He then asked me what my biggest fear was concerning him. I said I feared that he would want to sleep with me.
So, when he inevitably encouraged our sexual union, I assumed it was to help me overcome my biggest fears and attachments.”
So, for 16 years, she was operating under his nefast and pervasive influence. And she made her fair share of mistakes in that dysfunctional community.
The one kickass aspect of the teachings Nicki Clyne brings to her life from NXIVM is the absolute refusal to see herself as a victim. This is a breath of fresh air in this crazy world of ours that values self-pity above all.
“I say this not for sympathy, and I am not seeking retribution. I have no one to blame but myself and my myopic view that Keith was the ultimate guide for my spiritual advancement.
[…] I persuaded myself that Keith’s abusive treatment was part of the path to the freedom I was seeking. Instead, through calculated deception, he taught me to doubt myself, distrust my intuition, believe myself unworthy, and, most of all, he taught me to fear him unconditionally.”
Raniere followers keep defending him, even after all the revelations. Now, Clyne has left this group.
The break-up letter was published on the Frank Report, which is the home for all things NXIVM, and the hub where the whistleblowers and escapees from the cult congregate.
The news blog is published by Frank Parlato, widely regarded as the man who took down NXIVM with his relentless, in-depth, no-holds-barred reporting.
After Raniere and his top lieutenants were tried, convicted and incarcerated, everyone – including me – advised Parlato to move on from endlessly engaging the ‘remainers,’ the NXIVM followers who persisted in their support for Raniere. One of them was Nicki Clyne.
I’m elated to be proven wrong, in this case, as I read the generous words of Clyne about Parlato:
“My recent realizations were facilitated by a man I once feared, the person I considered my biggest enemy, and the reason for my life’s destruction[…]. Frank Parlato has been blamed and applauded for taking down Keith Raniere and NXIVM. For years, I resented and feared him.
[…] Frank’s rigorous investigation into Keith and NXIVM allowed me to re-evaluate my views and my own experience in such a way that it is irrefutable.
[…} I thought it would have greater personal significance to Keith, and to his remaining supporters, that I announced my departure on the Frank Report over any other publication.”
A few days later, Clyne penned another article on the Frank Report, and together, both offerings reveal a LOT of what we already suspected.
Look at what I wrote about her in the past: ‘Indeed, as we look at Nicki Clyne’s face in her manifold videos, we can arrive at the same conclusion. Beneath the kind smile, there is always a certain sadness.’
Look at what Nicki wrote: “a part of me that secretly hoped Keith would never be released from prison. […] I prayed that Keith would let me go in peace once all legal remedies were exhausted to free him.”
This was not a mere metaphorical fear. As a member of DOS, Clyne surrendered to Keith an endless stream of ‘collateral’ in the form of nude sexy pictures, family secrets and other embarrassing kompromat to be used against her should she ever betray the Master.
Frank Parlato: the man who destroyed NXIVM was also the man who engaged Nicki for years, and helped her de-program away from the cult.
In a way, Parlato slowly and gently ‘deprogrammed’ her, which is another huge victory of his against NXIVM lunacy. However, the bulk of the work was done by her.
It takes enormous mental fortitude to publicly admit you have been conned for years. Most people can’t do it. She proved she is the exception.
Her awakening is her own. Way to go, Nicki!
People who hate her (there’s never a shortage of them) will certainly connect the timing of her decision to renounce Keith Raniere with the revelation that her estranged wife, actress Allison Mack, one of the people convicted on the NXIVM prosecution, received an early release and will be free in about four months.
Clyne’s insistence on supporting Raniere, even after Mack turned on him and gave prosecutors evidence against him, was reported to be a massive source of tension in the couple, so maybe there is some meaning in this ‘coincidence’.
I don’t care. Today I just want to celebrate Clyne’s awakening, and pray that she can live a life free of the influence of a ‘master manipulator, con-man and crime boss of a cult-like organization.”
This article was originally posted on Paul Serran’s blog, read the original post here.
