UPDATE: In her upcoming interview with Dateline NBC and Megyn Kelly, Dynasty actress Catherine Oxenberg admits she feels guilty for introducing her daughter, India, to NXIVM.
"I brought her in. And that’s why I feel responsible for getting her out," Oxenberg explained, according to Page Six. "At first I felt horrendous guilt that I had participated in bringing my daughter into an organization that was this deviant and dangerous. And then I started to educate myself. And I spoke to numerous experts. And they said, ‘Would you stop blaming yourself? These cults are well-oiled machines. And India never stood a chance.’"
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The full interviews will air on Dateline NBC on Monday, August 6, and Megyn Kelly Today on Tuesday, August 7.
Original story published below on August 4 at 12 p.m.
“I am a mother whose child is being abused and exploited. And I am not alone,” wrote Catherine Oxenberg in her soon-to-be-released book Captive: A Mother’s Crusade to Save Her Daughter from a Terrifying Cult. Between stories of high-profile members, Oxenberg’s book, and even a TV show about the cult in the works, NXIVM is all over the news. In two NBC News interviews with Megyn Kelly airing next week, the Dynasty star will be sharing the story of her journey to rescue her daughter, India Oxenberg, from NXIVM.
For Oxenberg and her daughter, it all started with a leadership seminar. The two attended the event in 2011 believing that it would help India achieve her dream of starting a new business. Claiming to be a self-help organization dedicated to helping clients become the best version of themselves, Catherine Oxenberg saw through NXIVM’s guise to the sinister cult underneath – her daughter did not.
Unable to stop her, Oxenberg looked on in horror as her daughter hung on every charismatic word uttered by cult leader Keith Raniere. Enthralled, India Oxenberg joined NXIVM, unable to see its insidious reality. (Raniere was also recently arrested on sex trafficking and forced labor conspiracy charges.) Falling victim to their brainwashing, India Oxenberg was drawn in even farther, eventually joining an elite “sorority” of women. As a member, she was required to maintain a strict diet, recruit other women as “slaves,” and be branded with Raniere and Smallville actress Allison Mack’s initials. Catherine Oxenberg’s fight isn’t over. She is still trying to reach her daughter, a process she is taking public with the release of her book.
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Brainwashing, forced labor, and sex trafficking are just some of the haunting stories from family of current and former NXIVM members to emerge in recent months. Mack, a high ranking member of NXIVM, has been charged with sex trafficking for her involvement in allegedly recruiting women to be sex slaves for the cult’s leader.
Oxenberg will share her story on Dateline NBC on Monday, August 6, and Megyn Kelly Today on Tuesday, August 7.
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