Allison Mack Describes Herself as “Not Innocent”
As Allison Mack looked back on her 2021 sentencing hearing after pleading guilty to racketeering conspiracy and acts for her involvement in NXIVM, the Smallville alum recalled the guilt she felt while listening to victim impact statements calling her a “monster” in front of her brother Shannon Mack and mom Mindy Mack.
“I was thinking, like, ‘Oh, my God, my poor brother behind me having to hear this about his sister. My poor mom. I'm so sorry, you guys,’” Allison admitted on the first episode of the CBC True Crime podcast Allison After NXIVM. “I can take it, but like, “F--k, you guys. I'm so sorry.’”
“That was hard,” she continued. “I don't see myself as innocent, and they were.”
At the hearing, she was ultimately sentenced to three years in federal prison, but was released in 2023 after two years.
How Allison Mack Used Her Smallville Fame for NXIVM’s Gain
In the years after joining NXIVM—a purported self-help group that has since been characterized as a sex cult by former members—Allison rose through the ranks to the inner circle of the group’s leader Keith Raniere.
And the actress—who appeared on the WB series for 10 seasons between 2001 and 2011—admitted that her fame was an asset to get others to listen to her.
“I capitalized on the things I had,” she shared, “and so, the success I had as an actor, I did capitalize on that. It was a power tool I had to get people to do what I wanted.”
At the time, her goal was to use that fame to the benefit of the leader, who is currently serving 120 years for his convictions of sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, attempted sex trafficking, racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy. As she put it, “I was very effective in moving Keith's vision forward.”
Allison Mack’s Sex Life With Keith Raniere
During her time in NXIVM, Allison also engaged in a sexual relationship with Keith, as well as other members, she told the podcast’s host Natalie Robehmed.
“She had sex with Keith daily,” the podcaster told listeners during the first episode after her interviews with Allison. “She had threesomes with another member, who was also having sex with him.”
Of Allison’s influence, Natalie added, “She told women inside the cult that they would reach enlightenment if they did as she did and developed a relationship with Keith.”
Allison Mack Describes What Led to Smallville
Beyond just detailing Allison’s legal trouble over her association with NXIVM, the podcast also delves into the circumstances that led her to the group in the first place—including her rise to fame as a teen actor. She began living on her own at 16 after booking the short-lived TV show Opposite Sex opposite Chris Evans and Milo Ventimiglia.
It was around this time that she started experiencing a bout of “severe depression.”
“I plummeted,” Allison said on the podcast’s first episode. “My emotions were all messed up and I’m newly living on my own in L.A. and I had gained weight and I wasn’t working.”
And though she was set to leave Los Angeles to study acting in Europe, she got her audition for Smallville and moved to Vancouver once she “got the part.”
“I always got the smart girls and I think part of that was because of my weird fear of sexuality,” Allison, who played Chloe Sullivan on the show, shared. “I never felt comfortable or confident being the ingénue girl.”
Allison Mack Says Her First Branding Was a Tattoo
During her early days on Smallville, Allison alleged she had a toxic romantic relationship that led to “the first time that I got someone's initials burned into my body.”
“I got his initial tattooed on my chest when I was 20,” she alleged. “He had gotten a big A tattooed on his chest. And then he was like, ‘If you loved me, you would get the same thing. If you loved me, you would do this.’ So, to prove my love for him, to try and make it so that he didn't hurt himself again, I got tattooed on my chest.”