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The glamorous leaders of an embattled wellness company that promoted “orgasmic meditation” offered members “yoga with a twist” in a consensual setting — and the alleged victims are now ashamed of their sexual experiences, their lawyers insisted as the scorching federal trial kicked off in New York.
“Now they’re married and have kids and don’t want their neighbors to know what they were doing in their 20s,” Jennifer Bonjean, who represents “orgasm cult” OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone, told the 12-person jury during opening statements in US District Court in Brooklyn Tuesday afternoon.
“At the time, they were having a blast. Grown people made grown decisions they don’t want to stand by.”
The trial comes nearly two years after Daedone and the controversial company’s former head of sales, Rachel Cherwitz, were accused of grooming members into having sex with investors and clients in a flagrant scheme that ran for 14 years until it ended in 2018.
They were each charged with conspiracy to commit forced labor after prosecutors alleged the duo ran the business like a cult by recruiting those who endured prior trauma with claims they could fix their sexual suffering and dysfunction.
Prosecutors alleged the duo then forced members and employees into debt and subjected them to “economic, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse” as well as “surveillance, indoctrination and intimidation” to get them to work for free.
“They worked because they were taught the way to enlightenment was to obey the defendants’ demands,” Assistant US Attorney Sean Fern told the court, noting many worked seven days a week.
“They worked because they were told doing things they found sexually disgusting was the path to freedom. They coerced their victims to provide sexual services to OneTaste clients. They grew OneTaste on the backs of unpaid or underpaid labor, much of that labor included serving OneTaste’s investors.”
But the defense painted their alleged victims as disgruntled former employees and members who relished in the sex they were having — but have since become embarrassed by their past.
They pressed that the sexually explicit meditation — described as a mindfulness practice — had no bearing on whether staff at the contentious startup were forced to work there.
“No one put a gun against anyone’s head to make them work; they stayed because they believed in the company,” Cherwtiz’s attorney Mike Robotti said, claiming members were seeking a spiritual awakening through orgasmic meditation.
“They were having fun, and they were having sex. The exit door was always open.”
The company has had a fall from grace since 2018, when more than 35,000 people attended its in-person events, they were endorsed by Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop website and Daedone delivered a viral TED talk encouraging skeptical attendees to try out orgasmic meditation.
OneTaste was also the subject of a 2022 Netflix documentary called “Orgasm Inc,” which detailed some of the allegations that are part of the criminal case.
If convicted, both Daedone and Cherwitz face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The trial is expected to last as long as six weeks.
English (US)