Why does Nicki Clyne still support the NXIVM cult? Find out right here
Despite the accusations of cult-like activities and sexual abuse that came from NXIVM members, the fact that founder Keith Raniere was convicted of multiple felony charges, and sentenced to 120 years in prison, high-ranking NXIVM cult member Nicki Clyne is still defending the organization and its controversial leader.
Prurient pride
In a first interview with The Sun, Nicki Clyne revealed she still supports Raniere and the choices she had made, saying, “We made bold choices. I accept that. I was part of a group that really tried to uphold accountability, discipline, honor, & trust amongst women, which is something I think is important and needed.
“I think there were misunderstandings and things that are still misunderstood,” Clyne continued. “And, obviously I’m being careful with my words because it’s a very sensitive situation and this is the first time I’m speaking about it. Right now the most important thing is that the world knows that I am saying, ‘I am proud of who I am and the choices I’ve made. And I believe that it was very positive for me.’”
Coital consent
Prior to Raniere’s sentencing, Clyne also offered a letter of support for NXIVM sex-cult leader Keith Raniere, revealing she dated him for a decade. In the Battlestar Galactica star’s note, to the Brooklyn federal court judge who oversaw Raniere’s sentencing, Nicki Clyne argued the man she dated is not the guy facing life behind bars for creating a cult so he could be surrounded by sex slaves.
“I find this idea completely absurd and even offensive – as a woman and a partner of Keith’s for over a decade,” Clyne wrote. “I have never known Keith to want intimacy with someone who doesn’t want it, and it’s a ridiculous notion to think he would have gone to all that trouble for sex.”
Nicki Clyne’s letter was one of dozens written by former students & supporters ahead of his sentencing for sex-trafficking and other charges. The actress was identified by federal prosecutors as having been a part of Raniere’s “inner circle” at Dominus Obsequious Sororium (DOS), alongside former Smallville star Allison Mack, who is also facing sentencing after pleading guilty to racketeering & conspiracy charges.
Slavish sovereignty
Clyne was initially named as a co-conspirator at Raniere’s trial, & witnesses testified that she recruited at least three so-called “slaves”, then initiated them into a relationship in which speaking out or going against Clyne’s orders were grounds for collateral release. Clyne has not been charged with any crime in connection to the scheme.
Clyne, thirty-seven, was a first-line slave – and a master – who recruited her own slaves, in the secretive sorority at the heart of NXIVM. The women of DOS made a lifelong vow to their “master,” provided explicit & damaging, collateral evidence like nude photos, were at their leader’s beck & call, and were then blindfolded and branded with the initials AM & KR.
Nicki Clyne doesn’t deny every aspect that came from the trial or the HBO documentary The Vow, which chronicled the rise of NXIVM, but she maintains that no actual crime took place. “There’s evidence that certain things happened,” Clyne said. “How they happened, why they happened and why certain people chose them — that’s a whole other conversation.”
Dance of the demented
In July 2020 Vice.com reported Nicki Clyne and a handful of other NXIVM associates who remained loyal to Raniere launched a quick-pivoting “movement” called “The Forgotten Ones” or “We Are As You”, depending on what week of July you checked their social feed.
Nicki Clyne’s “movement” campaign claimed to shine a light on terrible prison conditions through nightly dance performances, but the group only made its connection to Raniere public the week of July 13. Ultimately, the group’s main accomplishment was having the prison move Raniere to a new cell.
