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CNN personality Van Jones and a star of “The West Wing” each wrote gushing letters in support of Nicole Daedone, the head of the alleged “orgasm cult” OneTaste, who was sentenced to nine years in prison on Monday.
Jones — a Yale-educated attorney who worked as a special advisor to President Barack Obama — called the 58-year-old Daedone “a woman of uncommon wisdom, grace and moral courage” in one of more than 200 letters sent to Judge Diane Gujarati.
“She has given her life to exploring what true empowerment looks like, particularly for women. I have never known her to be someone who seeks personal gain at the expense of others. She is someone who has given her energy to helping people evolve,” Jones wrote.
The political pundit, who said he met Daedone in the early 2000s in the San Francisco area, asked the court to be lenient on “one of the most thoughtful, ethical and service-oriented individuals I have met.”
“If there is any room in your consideration for mercy, for the belief that a person’s contributions and intentions matter, I ask you to see Nicole in full,” the media personality wrote. “She has already endured immense public scrutiny and personal hardship. Yet even now, she continues to show grace and strength.”
The judge hit Daedone with a nine-year sentence after a Brooklyn federal jury convicted her of grooming workers and members at her wellness company OneTaste to have sex with clients and investors.
Richard Schiff, who starred as Toby Ziegler on the prestige political drama “The West Wing,” wrote his own letter of support, saying that his wife, Sheila Kelley, became close to Daedone in spirituality and female empowerment circles.
“I do not know Nicole personally beyond brief interactions, but I have observed the deep respect and affection my wife holds for her,” Schiff wrote.
“Over the years, Sheila has shared with me how much Nicole’s work has meant to her and to the women she has served. I’ve come to understand that Nicole is not only a teacher but also a thinker who has spent her life trying to bring compassion, awareness, and honesty to a part of human experience that is often shamed or misunderstood.”
Among the large stack of letters sent to Gujarati were many accounts of women touting the benefits of “orgasmic meditation,” the practice of ritualized group pleasure that Daedone helped popularize.
But nine former OneTaste employees testified at a trial last summer that they were coerced into sexual and menial tasks over more than a decade.
Prosecutors accused Daedone and the company’s former head of sales, Rachel Cherwitz, of recruiting victims who had suffered past traumas by claiming she could help fix their sexual suffering. Both women were convicted of forced labor conspiracy.
Cherwitz was sentenced to six and a half years in prison Monday afternoon.
Daedone and Cherwitz have maintained their innocence and plan to appeal their guilty verdicts.
English (US)