What Drew Gerard Butler And Other A-Listers To NXIVM — And Why It Was So Dangerous

Sarah Edmondson is still unpacking the NXIVM mess, and this time she dropped a very Hollywood wrinkle: some of those early 'self-improvement' trainings happened inside A-list homes in Los Angeles. Yes, actual movie-star houses. Glamorous on the surface, rotten underneath.

Edmondson says NXIVM pitched trainings at A-list homes

On the Julian Dorey Podcast, the actress and former NXIVM member talked about staying based in Vancouver while the group tried to make inroads in LA. According to her, the organization ran sessions at the homes of big-name actors, which definitely helped sell the vibe.

'I was in it to win it, but I wasn't moving to Albany. I was out in the world in Vancouver. At this point we're doing trainings down in LA. We're doing trainings at A-list actors' homes. It was very glamorous.'

She would not name the actors involved, saying she doesn't want to drag anyone into it. She did note that some people have acknowledged brushing up against NXIVM, and pointed to Gerard Butler as one who has publicly said he took courses. Others have quietly distanced themselves and don't want the association.

Edmondson also mentioned one 'very famous' actress who took a five-day training at her own house. Nancy Salzman, NXIVM's president, personally led that session. Edmondson was irritated she wasn't allowed to attend, especially as an actor herself.

Quick refresher: what NXIVM really was

NXIVM marketed itself as a leadership and personal-growth program founded by Keith Raniere. It attracted actors, entrepreneurs, and creatives with promises of leveling up their lives. In reality, it was both a sex cult and a straight-up MLM pyramid scheme hiding behind seminars and acronyms.

Raniere and 'Smallville' actress Allison Mack ran a secret inner circle called DOS, sold as a women's sisterhood. To get in, recruits had to hand over damaging collateral, were branded with Raniere's initials, and many were pressured into sexual relationships under the guise of mentorship and empowerment.

The facade started cracking in 2017 when members began speaking out about manipulation, blackmail, and abuse. Raniere was eventually convicted on charges that included sex trafficking and racketeering. Mack also received prison time for her role.

Edmondson's path in and out

Edmondson joined through her friend Lauren Salzman (Nancy's daughter). She later got pulled into DOS, where she says she was branded with the initials of Keith Raniere and Allison Mack during an initiation at Mack's home in Albany. By 2017, she had left and publicly denounced the group, confirming what critics had said for years: it was a cult.

• Recruited by friend and NXIVM member Lauren Salzman.
• Invited into DOS; branded with the initials of Keith Raniere and Allison Mack during an initiation at Allison Mack's Albany home.
• Left in 2017 and went public; at Catherine Oxenberg's urging, contacted ex-NXIVM publicist Frank Parlato and detailed the branding, which he published on the Frank Report.
• Spoke to the New York Times for its NXIVM exposé, further confirming the cult structure.
• Alleged Dr. Danielle Roberts performed the branding; filed a complaint with the New York State Department. The allegations led the Wisconsin Hospital System to suspend Dr. Roberts from practice.
• Became the focus of the 2018 podcast 'Uncover: Escaping NXIVM.'
• Wrote the memoir 'Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult That Bound My Life.'
• Appeared in HBO's 2020 docuseries 'The Vow.'

So why does the Gerard Butler angle matter?

Because celebrity proximity is a recruitment tool. NXIVM looked legitimate when it was rubbing shoulders with famous people and holding trainings in their living rooms. Even if those folks weren't in the inner circle or involved in wrongdoing, the optics helped NXIVM look respectable long enough to pull more people in. It's not illegal to take a seminar. It is a problem when that seminar is quietly attached to a cult with a branding ceremony at the end of the funnel.

Edmondson's latest comments are a reminder of how the group tried to sidle into Hollywood while keeping the truly ugly stuff tucked away in Albany. Glamour up front, a nightmare behind the curtain.