Celebrities who have spoken about cults or high-control groups

The word “cult” can be sensitive, legally loaded, and sometimes disputed. Some groups are widely described as cults by former members, journalists, courts, or experts. Others are better described as controversial religious movements, high-control groups, or organizations accused of cult-like behavior.

1. Allison Mack

Allison Mack is one of the most widely reported celebrity names connected to NXIVM.

The former Smallville actress became involved with the self-help organization, which was later exposed as a criminal enterprise led by Keith Raniere. Mack pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges and served prison time for her role in the group. PEOPLE reported that Mack later said she did not see herself as innocent and acknowledged using her fame to help promote Raniere’s vision.

2. Catherine Oxenberg

Catherine Oxenberg became publicly connected to NXIVM through her fight to help her daughter, India Oxenberg, leave the group.

The Dynasty actress later became one of the most visible public voices against NXIVM. Her story was covered in documentaries, interviews, and the Lifetime film Escaping the NXIVM Cult: A Mother’s Fight to Save Her Daughter. NXIVM’s leader, Keith Raniere, was sentenced to 120 years in prison after being convicted on charges including racketeering and sex trafficking.

Oxenberg’s involvement is different from Mack’s. She was not known as a recruiter or leader. Her public role centered on exposing the group and helping her daughter escape.

3. India Oxenberg

India Oxenberg, daughter of Catherine Oxenberg, has publicly discussed her time in NXIVM.

Her experience became central to public understanding of how the organization recruited and controlled members. She later wrote and narrated Still Learning, a memoir about her experience and escape. NXIVM has been widely described as a cult and pyramid scheme, and its leader Keith Raniere received a 120-year prison sentence.

4. Kristin Kreuk

Kristin Kreuk has been publicly linked to NXIVM because she took courses connected to the organization.

Kreuk has denied involvement in NXIVM’s criminal activities and said she left years before the group’s darkest abuses became public. Recent coverage noted that Allison Mack claimed Kreuk introduced her to NXIVM, while also reporting Kreuk’s earlier denial of involvement in criminal conduct.

5. Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix has spoken about being born into the Children of God movement.

His parents were part of the group when he was very young, but Phoenix has said the family’s time there was brief. ABC News reported that Phoenix discussed growing up in the Children of God, a religious group that some critics have called a cult.

6. Rose McGowan

Rose McGowan has spoken publicly about being raised in the Children of God.

She was born in Italy and spent part of her childhood in the group before her family left. PEOPLE described her as recalling a difficult childhood in a fringe sect, while The Guardian reported her claims about witnessing mistreatment inside the group.

7. River Phoenix

River Phoenix was also connected to the Children of God through his family’s early life.

The Phoenix family left the group when the children were young, and the experience became part of the family’s public history. Esquire has covered Joaquin Phoenix and Rose McGowan’s childhood connections to the Children of God, including the broader background of the group.

8. Glenn Close

Glenn Close has spoken about growing up in Moral Re-Armament, a religious and social movement she has described as cult-like.

Close has said her family joined when she was young and that the experience shaped her sense of freedom and identity. In a recent interview, The Guardian described her upbringing in Moral Re-Armament as traumatic and reported that she saw the group as psychologically abusive.

9. Michelle Pfeiffer

Michelle Pfeiffer has said she once became involved with a controlling couple who promoted breatharian beliefs.

She has described realizing later that she had been in a cult-like situation while helping her then-husband research a film about the Moonies. ABC News reported that Pfeiffer said she came to that realization after hearing about psychological manipulation from a former member of another group.

10. Paul Haggis

Filmmaker Paul Haggis was a Scientology member before publicly leaving the church.

His departure and criticism became widely discussed after Lawrence Wright’s reporting on Scientology and later the book and documentary Going Clear.

Paul Haggis was formerly involved with Scientology, an organization critics and former members have described as high-control.

11. Christopher Owens

Christopher Owens, singer of the band Girls, was raised in the Children of God. He has spoken in interviews about his upbringing and later leaving that environment.

12. Jeremy Spencer

Jeremy Spencer, a former Fleetwood Mac guitarist, left the band in the 1970s and became connected to the Children of God. His story is one of the more famous music-world links to the group.