Current:Home > MarketsEthermac Exchange-OneTaste Founder Nicole Daedone Speaks Out on Sex Cult Allegations Against "Orgasmic Meditation" Company -BeyondProfit Compass
Ethermac Exchange-OneTaste Founder Nicole Daedone Speaks Out on Sex Cult Allegations Against "Orgasmic Meditation" Company
Johnathan Walker View
Date:2025-04-07 09:11:42
Nicole Daedone is Ethermac Exchangeaddressing allegations about her wellness organization.
The OneTaste founder denied accusations that she subjected employees at the "orgasmic meditation" company to emotional and physical abuse, including forcing them to perform sex acts.
Daedone told NBC News in an interview published Nov. 13, “It’s definitely not true."
As for other allegations about her company? The former CEO also said she's not totally surprised that OneTaste—which has been followed by celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Khloe Kardashian—has been accused of being a "sex cult," though she denies that it is one.
“The most honest thing I can say is, it makes sense to me on the one hand," she said. "And what I mean by that is, we do not have a culture that understands women’s power, women’s relationship to sexuality, women owning their desire."
Daedone founded OneTaste in 2005 with the goal of improving women's well-being by teaching "orgasmic meditation" classes, which are 15-minute partnered practices that aim to create a safe environment for women's sexual desires to be expressed. She sold the company, now called Institute of OM, in 2017. The wellness guru was charged with one count of forced labor conspiracy in 2023, one year after Netflix released the documentary Orgasm Inc., which featured former employees who said they were subjected to a toxic environment while part of the program.
Prosecutors allege that she preyed on victims of trauma, forced them into debt by opening lines of credit to pay for their courses at the company, had them sleep in communal homes and manipulated them into performing sex acts with investors and clients, according to NBC News.
But for Daedone, the allegations were simply "cut and paste."
"At OneTaste, we were rooted 100 percent in consent," the 56-year-old continued. "If I talk to you about the practice, from the very moment I would say to you, 'You can say yes or no,' and no is a perfectly acceptable answer throughout the practice itself."
As for her next steps? Daedone will stand trial in January 2025 for her charge and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
But she said she is looking forward to proving her innocence in court.
"As much as any human being, as this woman, this person, would not want to go to court because it’s grueling, just even going to small hearings," she said. "I want to go to court because I want all of this transparent."
She added, "I want it to be exposed. I want everything that I didn’t say to be said."
(E! News and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (6)
Related
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- A raid on a Kansas newspaper likely broke the law, experts say. But which one?
- Yellowknife residents wonder if wildfires are the new normal as western Canada burns
- Are forced-reset triggers illegal machine guns? ATF and gun rights advocates at odds in court fights
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Search for Maui wildfire victims continues as death toll rises to 114
- Why we love Bright Side Bookshop in Flagstaff, Ariz. (and why they love 'Divine Rivals')
- The Russian space agency says its Luna-25 spacecraft has crashed into the moon
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- Gambling spectators yell at Max Homa, Chris Kirk during play at BMW Championship
Ranking
- 'Most Whopper
- Microsoft pulls computer-generated article that recommended tourists visit the Ottawa Food Bank
- Kelly Clarkson's Kids River and Remy Makes Surprise Appearance Onstage at Las Vegas Show
- Federal investigators deploy to Maui to assist with fire probe
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Ron Cephas Jones, Emmy-Winning This Is Us Star, Dead at 66
- GM’s Cruise autonomous vehicle unit agrees to cut fleet in half after 2 crashes in San Francisco
- Block Island, Rhode Island, welcomed back vacationers Sunday, a day after a fire tore through hotel
Recommendation
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
Surveillance video captures the brutal kidnapping of a tech executive — but what happened off camera?
1 dead, 185 structures destroyed in eastern Washington wildfire
Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were Twins
Intellectuals vs. The Internet
Surprise: Golfer makes two aces in four holes, celebrates with dive into lake
Well, It's Always Nice to Check Out These 20 Secrets About Enchanted
Rare flesh-eating bacteria kills 5 in Florida, 3 in New York, Connecticut