Catherine Oxenberg reveals her guilt for introducing daughter to cult

Dynasty actress Catherine Oxenberg has revealed that her daughter India is home and has reunited with her family, seven years after she joined NXIVM.

Oxenberg has spent the past year trying to bring down the cult in a bid to get 27-year-old daughter away from the organization which has been accused to branding female members and using them as sex slaves.

The group, headquartered in New York, is led by Keith Raniere and his right-hand woman, Allison Mack.

In a Monday night Dateline interview with Megyn Kelly, Oxenberg said: ‘I did my darnedest to try to get her involved in other things, to try and redirect her interests, to try and get her other jobs. But nothing worked… I couldn’t believe the hold that they had over her.’

The actress revealed her daughter has made the decision to reconnect with loved ones following her longtime involvement in the group.

Oxenberg revealed in an interview with Megyn Kelly that India was branded with Nxivm leader Keith Raniere’s initials

Oxenberg said her daughter has made the decision to finally reunite with family (the two are seen above October 19, 2007 in Los Angeles)

Oxenberg said her daughter has made the decision to finally reunite with family (the two are seen above October 19, 2007 in Los Angeles)

‘So this is what she says in her own words: “I am moving on with my life. It’s a complex situation. I understand my mom’s struggle, and the people involved. I care for all of them very deeply. Right now, I would like privacy. And I will share my side of the story in the near future, in my own time,'” Oxenberg said.

The actress discussed the moment she learned India was branded with the initials of Raniere and Mack.

‘I was horrified,’ Oxenberg said in the Dateline interview.

When asked if her daughter had ever been branded with the marking that ‘slaves’ were forced to have in the cult’s secret organization known as DOS, Oxenberg said: ‘Yeah she did’.

‘She did and I said, “are you aware of what you’re branded with?” And she said, “some Latin symbol”.

‘So it’s very possible she was told it was a Latin symbol because a lot of the girls were not told it was Keith’s – and possibly Allison’s – initials.’ 

Oxenberg added: ‘She said it was character building.’

Kelly then asked Oxenberg what it was like to see that symbol branded on her child.

‘As the mother of a daughter, I can’t imagine. You look at their beautiful skin, their beautiful bodies that you’ve tried to raise in a way that wont be corrupted and to think some man put his brand on there. What does that do to you?’ Kelly asked. 

Oxenberg simply stated that she was ‘horrified.’

The Dynasty star says her 27-year-old daughter India was branded with Keith Raniere and Allison Mack's initials. Pictured above is the branding on one of the women

The Dynasty star says her 27-year-old daughter India was branded with Keith Raniere and Allison Mack’s initials. Pictured above is the branding on one of the women

Oxenberg has spent the past year trying to bring down the cult in hopes of getting her 27-year-old daughter away from the organization and leader Keith Raniere (above)

Oxenberg has spent the past year trying to bring down the cult in hopes of getting her 27-year-old daughter away from the organization and leader Keith Raniere (above)

Raniere and Allison Mack (above leaving court last month) are accused of coercing Nxivm followers into becoming slaves to senior members

Raniere and Allison Mack (above leaving court last month) are accused of coercing Nxivm followers into becoming slaves to senior members

Oxenberg had initially taken India to a meeting for a Nxivm motivational course back in 2011 after her daughter wanted to try her hand at being an entrepreneur.

While she ended up distancing her from the group, India became immersed and eventually moved to the group’s headquarters. 

‘I brought her in. And that’s why I feel responsible for getting her out… At first I felt horrendous guilt that I had participated in bringing my daughter into an organization that was this deviant and dangerous,’ she said. 

‘Then I started to educate myself… I spoke to numerous experts and they said, “Would you stop blaming yourself? These cults are well-oiled machines. India never stood a chance.”‘

Raniere was arrested in Mexico this year and taken to the US to face charges that he, along with an adherent, Smallville actress Allison Mack, coerced followers into becoming slaves to senior members.

Prosecutors said Mack helped Raniere recruit women to a secret sub-society within Nxivm whose members were branded with a surgical tool with a symbol that resembled his initials. 

Despite criticism for years by ex-followers who called NXIVM a cult and a pyramid scheme, the organization’s intense self-improvement classes had, at one point, earned it thousands of adherents, including some with Hollywood ties.

They included Nicki Clyne, an actress who appeared on Battlestar Galactica, Bronfman’s sister Sara, and a son of former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

Raniere and Mack pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking charges.



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