- Nicki Clyne supports Nxivm leader Keith Raniere.
- Raniere received a 120-year jail term.
- Clyne doesn’t want people to like Keith in this situation.
Nicki Clyne insists that he is a “nice” person even though Keith Raniere is incarcerated on a slew of heinous criminal offences.
Contrary to popular belief, the 39-year-old says of Keith, “Keith is a very pleasant, kind, and amusing person,” according to an exclusive interview.
Clyne, a former member of Nxivm, a now-disbanded group that has been widely labelled a “sex cult,” is not permitted to contact Raniere, 62, while he is imprisoned.
She continues, “I miss just being able to have conversations with him about life, about philosophy, about deeper existential concerns of why we’re here.” She says she longs to get back in touch with her ex at some point.
“I genuinely liked his viewpoints and methods of thinking about things. He is, in my opinion, a terribly misunderstood individual.
Following his 2019 conviction on federal sex trafficking, racketeering, and possession of child pornography charges, Raniere received a 120-year jail term. The controversial person, who is incarcerated in a facility close to Tucson, Arizona, was also assessed a $1.75 million fine.
Certainly, Clyne doesn’t want people to like Keith in this situation. But there are a lot of things about Keith, the neighborhood, and all the participants that I miss.
In 1998, Raniere and collaborator Nancy Salzman established Nxivm. The personal development business provided “Executive Success Programs” and a variety of methods that promised self-improvement with a focus on adding “more joy” to people’s lives.
Numerous famous people attended courses at the Nxivm headquarters in Albany, New York, including Hollywood legend Shirley MacLaine, “Star Wars” alum Bonnie Piesse, Hallmark actress Sarah Edmondson, and “Smallville” star Allison Mack.
Mack, who was wed to Clyne from February 2017 to December 2020, made headlines when he joined the DOS alliance, which Clyne, who is also a member, has said is “different” from Nxivm. DOS is an acronym for a Latin term that loosely translates to “master over obedient female companions.” The relationships that each woman had with Raniere overlapped with their marriages.
Mack was given a three-year prison term in June 2021. She pleaded guilty to allegations that she persuaded women to become DOS sex slaves and was sentenced to a prison term in a Dublin, California, facility where she is confined and is unable to contact her ex-wife Clyne.
According to Clyne, who spoke to Page Six, “people are confusing a group with thousands of members with Keith’s private sex life.” “In my opinion, any woman that was in a relationship with him did so voluntarily,” she said.
The “Battlestar Galactica” actress also thinks that every woman who joined DOS agreed to have Raniere’s initials tattooed on their bodies.
“To the best of my knowledge, everybody who opted to join DOS knew that getting a brand was a requirement. And this dedication, this gesture of solidarity with the other sorority members, was part of the brand, she says.
Clyne adds, “It’s something that males do all the time in fraternities.” “I believe that it merely sounds incredibly nasty because of a few specific factors. I’ll admit that if I had heard it from the outside, my reactions would have been the same.
Acolyte Dr. Danielle Roberts permanently tattooed the initials “KR” right below the bikini line of roughly 20 women between January and May of 2017. Since then, Roberts’ medical license has been suspended.
Reformed Nxivm adherent Edmondson, 45, describes the videotaped ceremonies as “a sadistic method of training” in her book “Scarred.”
When asked how she feels about her personal branding icon right now, Clyne responds with satisfaction and pride.
I feel fantastic. I’m proud of the choices I’ve made, she says. “I mean, you hardly even notice it. Really, it’s not a huge issue. However, I am pleased with my decision and reasoning.
Because of Edmondson’s portrayal, Clyne thinks the brands have become divisive in talks of Nxivm and DOS.
“I believe the reason it is so contentious is because one woman claimed she was assured it would be something different than it actually was. I wasn’t present when she was invited, but Clyne tells Page Six that being informed about the brand in advance is part of the routine for invitations.
“People frequently get tattoos as a result of friendships or bonds. And that was much more like it.
She continues, “I think it’s really odd that only one woman out of 105 indicates that she was told something different,” without mentioning Edmondson by name.
In the wake of Nxivm’s demise, Clyne was never charged but is no longer in contact with Edmondson. She still maintains connections with other veterans who share her respect for Raniere, though.
“There are eight of us, and we get along well. Other women who were involved in DOS also exist, but they don’t want to come out since there is still so much hostility, she claims.
People can feel frightened or uneasy when someone expresses that they had a pleasant experience. Nevertheless, Clyne claims that adjusting to life after Nxivm and DOS has been simpler than anticipated.
According to Clyne, who does not see herself as a victim, “I think DOS equipped me to… be able to manage a lot of the hate and the attacks that I get and to really keep centered inside myself and not identify with these beliefs about me that are in the public.”
I don’t want to brag, but considering how much hardship I’ve had, I believe I’ve adjusted very well.
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