Smallville Actress Allison Mack Speaks the First Time About NXIVM | Crime Alert 6AM 11.12.25

Summary

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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: Smallville Actress Allison Mack Speaks the First Time About NXIVM

Date: November 12, 2025
Host: Drew Nelson (filling in); segment from new CBC podcast "Allison After Nexium"

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on Allison Mack—former "Smallville" actress—speaking for the first time after her release from prison for her role in the notorious NXIVM cult. The episode delves into Mack’s origins, her rapid ascent in Hollywood, her introduction to and involvement with NXIVM, personal reflections on her actions and culpability, and her life after incarceration. Additional brief news updates follow, but the primary theme centers on Mack’s candid reckoning with her dual role as both victim and perpetrator in the NXIVM scandal.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Allison Mack’s First Public Statements Post-Release

• Setting the Scene:
  • Mack was sentenced on a humid June morning in 2021 after arriving at a Brooklyn courthouse in a black dress purchased for her sentencing. [00:00]
  • Once beloved as Chloe Sullivan on "Smallville," she was now publicly condemned by victims and the judge alike.
• Personal Reckoning:
  • Mack acknowledges her actions, stating:

    “I don’t see myself as innocent. I think that I capitalized on the things I had and so the success I had as an actor, I think I did capitalize on that. Yeah. And it was a power tool that I had to get people to do what I wanted.”
    —Allison Mack [00:47]

• Life After Prison:
  • Now 43, Mack served nearly two years of a three-year sentence, released in 2023.
  • Has remarried and begun studying for a master’s in social work.

2. Early Life and Career

• Raised in Long Beach, California by creative parents (an opera singer and a Montessori teacher).
• Began acting before she could read, experiencing early independence and pressure.
• By 19, was earning $40,000 a week starring on "Smallville," finding herself unprepared for the immense fame. [01:00]

3. NXIVM Recruitment and Descent

• Mack’s introduction to NXIVM came through her "Smallville" co-star Kristin Kreuk, who suggested trying out the group’s “executive success programs” while filming in Vancouver.
• Kreuk’s involvement was minimal and she denied any wrongdoing, later stating she was “horrified and disgusted by what emerged about DOS.” [01:00]
• Mack’s first seminar was in Vancouver; soon after she flew to Albany on a private jet to meet NXIVM leader Keith Raniere, a meeting she described as “ground shifting.”
• Within years, Mack left acting and moved to Albany, ultimately becoming Raniere’s second-in-command, recruiting women into the secret DOS subgroup under misleading pretenses. [01:00–02:30]
• Members faced starvation and sexual coercion.

4. Sentencing and Regret

• At sentencing, Mack faced statements from victims in silence.
• She expressed remorse, notably over the pain caused to her family:

  “Like, my poor mom. Like, I’m so sorry, you guys. You know, just like, it was more like, I can take it. Like, you know, but like, you guys, like, I’m so sorry.”
  —Allison Mack [02:55]

• Keith Raniere is now 65 and serving a 120-year sentence.

5. Mack’s Cooperation and Redemption Efforts

• Mack cooperated with prosecutors, providing key recordings and testimony to help convict Raniere. [03:07]
• She’s taking steps toward personal rehabilitation, but the episode leaves open questions about accountability, victimhood, and possibility of redemption.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Harnessing Fame:

  “I think I did capitalize on that. Yeah. And it was a power tool that I had to get people to do what I wanted.”
  —Allison Mack [00:47]

• On Regret and Remorse:

  "Like, my poor mom. Like, I’m so sorry, you guys. ... I can take it. ... but like, you guys, like, I’m so sorry."
  —Allison Mack [02:55]

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• 00:00–01:00 | Background: Opening coverage of Mack’s sentencing and the context of her crimes.
• 01:00–01:47 | Mack’s Beginnings: Early life, "Smallville" fame, and entrance into NXIVM.
• 01:47–02:55 | NXIVM Involvement and Recruitment: Descent from actress to cult leader’s accomplice.
• 02:55–03:07 | Regret & Sentencing: Mack’s in-court emotional apology.
• 03:07+ | Raniere's Fate & Mack’s Cooperation: Sentencing of Raniere and the impact of Mack’s cooperation.

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Additional Crime Updates (Briefly Mentioned)

• 05:01 | 1-800-411-Pain Founder Arrest: Robert Cash Lewin arrested with a loaded gun on a Miami school campus.
• 06:12 | Michigan Filicide Case: Amanda May Mason pleads guilty to the second-degree murder of her 3-year-old son, in St. Clair County, as part of a plea deal.

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Tone & Language

The reporting is direct and somber, weaving factual recaps with excerpts of remorseful, self-reckoning statements from Mack. Momentary quotes humanize the story, and the tragic consequences for victims are emphasized throughout.

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For listeners or readers new to the NXIVM story, this episode presents an unvarnished look at fame gone awry, the manipulative power of cult dynamics, and a rare public reckoning from a woman who became both a perpetrator and a victim.

Transcript

[Drew Nelson]

Crime Alert Hourly Update Breaking crime news now. I'm Drew Nelson. Alison Mack speaks out for the first time since her release from prison. It was a humid June morning in 2021 when Mack sat in the backseat of a car headed to a Brooklyn, New York courthouse wearing a black dress that she had bought just for the occasion. That day, the Smallville actress faced sentencing for her role in NXIVM and exivm, the so called self help empire turned sex cult run by Keith Ranieri. Once known for playing the sharp and loyal character Chloe Sullivan, Mack was now branded a criminal. Victims called her a monster. In court, the judge called her an essential accomplice. On the new CBC podcast Allison After Nexium, Mack said, quote, I don't see myself as innocent.

[Alison Mack]

I think that I capitalized on the things I had and so the success I had as an actor, I think I did capitalize on that. Yeah. And it was a power tool that I had to get people to do what I wanted.

[Drew Nelson]

Now 43, Mack had served nearly two years of a three year federal sentence before being released in 2023. She has since remarried, begun a master's in social work, and for the first time is confronting the contradictions of being both a victim and a victimizer. Mac grew up in Long Beach, California, the daughter of an opera singer and a Montessori teacher. She began acting before she could read. By her late teens, she was living on her own in Los Angeles, starring in network TV shows. When Smallville began filming in Vancou in 2001, she was just 19, earning $40,000 a week and suddenly surrounded by fame and pressure that she didn't understand. In the podcast's first episode, Mack recalls how her co star, Kristen Crook, helped lead her into what would become the most destructive decision of her life. According to Mack, crook began taking NXIVM's so called executive success programs while they filmed in Vancouver and later urged her to try it. Crook has long denied any wrongdoing, saying in 2018 she left NXIVM years before the crimes came to light and had minimal contact. Afterward. She said she was, quote, horrified and disgusted by what emerged about dos. That's the so called secret sorority where women were branded with Ranieri's initials, max. First NXIVM seminar was held in a hotel in Vancouver. Soon after, she accepted an invitation to fly by private jet to Albany, New York, where she would meet Ranieri for the first time. She says the meaning left her disoriented yet captivated in a way that she described as ground Shifting. Within a few years, Mack had moved to Albany, leaving her acting career behind. Prosecutors later said she became Ranieri's second in command, recruiting women into dos under the guise of empowerment. Members were starved and forced into sexual submission. At sentencing, Max sat in silence as victims read their statements.

[Alison Mack]

Like, my poor mom. Like, I'm so sorry, you guys. You know, just like, it was more like, I can take it. Like, you know, but like, you guys, like, I'm so sorry.

[Drew Nelson]

Now 65, Keith Ranieri is serving a 120 year sentence for sex trafficking, racketeering and related crimes. Mack cooperated with prosecutors, providing recordings and testimony that helped convict him. More crime and justice news after this.

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[Alison Mack]

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[Drew Nelson]

The founder of 1-800-411-Paine is arrested after allegedly bringing a loaded gun onto a Miami Dade High School campus. Deputies say 59 year old Robert Cash Lewin of Southwest Ranches was taken into custody around noon on Saturday at Miami Coral Park Senior High School in the Westchester area. According to the Miami Dade Sheriff's Office, Lewin was seen sitting on the gym bleachers with a handgun tucked in his waistband. When he bent over, the weapon became visible and a student snapped a photo that was sent to an assistant principal. Administrators alerted law enforcement who found Lewin sitting inside a black Lincoln Navigator in the school parking lot bearing a vanity plate referring to the legal service 411pain. Deputies ordered him out of the SUV and conducted a pat down, discovering the gun, an extra magazine and a knife. Lewin told them he had brought the weapon to school, quote by accident. He was arrested on one count of possession of a firearm on school property and the gun in magazine were impounded as evidence. As of now, Lewin does not appear as an inmate on the Miami Dade Jail website. A Michigan mother accused of killing her 3 year old son to quote unquote make room for a baby with her boyfriend has admitted to the crime, ending a years long investigation into one of St. Clair County's most disturbing cases. Amanda May Mason, age 33, pleaded guilty to second degree murder in the 2018 death of her son Matthew Mason inside their home in Port Huron Township. Babysitters discovered Matthew unresponsive, responsive in his bed on February 18 of 2018, prompting an investigation that went cold for years. Authorities reopened the case this year after what they called, quote, significant new developments leading to the arrests of Mason and her then boyfriend Maurice Houle, now 28. Investigators and prosecutors said the pair killed Matthew as part of a plan to, quote, make room for a child that the two of them could have together. Assistant Prosecutor Joshua Sparling told the court that Houl regularly beat the boy and that Mason hid his injuries from Child protective services between 2016 and 18. Sparling said the child was locked in his room for hours without food or water and died of blunt force trauma and possible suffocation. During her plea hearing, Mason admitted to shoving her son's head into a wall during what she described as a, quote, military style timeout. She told the judge she allowed an environment where Matthew was systematically abused and later helped Houl conceal the manner of Matthew's death. Court records show she also admitted to lying to investigators and covering up earlier Child Protective Services visit that could have saved her son's life. Both Mason and Houle were charged with first degree murder in April. They initially pleaded not guilty, but Mason changed her plea as part of an agreement requiring her to testify against Houle when his trial begins early next year. Mason remains in custody at the St. Clair County Jail and faces up to life when she is sentenced for the latest crime and justice news. Follow Crime Alert's hourly update on your favorite podcast app with this Crime Alert, I'm Drew Nelson.

[Alison Mack]

This is an I Heart podcast.