Nicki Clyne, known for her role in "Battlestar Galactica," is continuing to back Keith Raniere, the man accused of running a sex cult that masqueraded as a self help group called NXIVM. In fact, she says she's "not a victim" and maintains that the group was about empowerment, not sex.
Still, despite her support, for the last year Nicki has had "no communication" with the co-founder of NXIVM, which has since been dismantled. Similarly, Nicki has had no communication with her ex-wife, "Smallville" actress Allison Mack, who is also behind bars for her participation in the organization.
"I stopped being able to communicate with Allison when she decided to cooperate with the government, which is over three years ago now," Nicki told Page Six.
Allison, who married Canadian Nicki in February 2017 so she wouldn't get deported, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and racketeering charges related to claims she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for Keith. She's serving a three-year sentence, having said following Keith was the "biggest mistake and greatest regret of my life."
Both Allison and Nicki were a part of an invite-only group within NXIVM called DOS. Authorities and former DOS members insist it was nothing more than a sex cult in which women were starved and branded with Keith and Allison's initials. India Oxenberg, the daughter of former "Dynasty" star Catherine Oxenberg, was also in DOS, as was voice actress Sarah Edmondson.
"There was a lot of crossover in the people who were involved [in DOS] and in some of the philosophy and practices," Nicki said. "But people are conflating an organization with thousands of people with Keith's private sex life. From my point of view, every woman who had a relationship with him did so because she wanted to."
The former sci-fi actress added, "I really think the whole narrative is sexist and infantilizing. I've gotten a lot of criticism from people thinking I don't care about women or I'm against women. And it's exactly the opposite. I want women to feel empowered, to feel like causing agents in their own lives."
Nicki — who is featured in HBO's "The Vow," which chronicles NXIVM's rise and fall — said she was often in touch with the incarcerated group leader, but she was forced to stop direct communication after the prison "made up some bogus reason why I wasn't allowed to speak to him."
In 2020, Keith was sentenced to 120 years in prison following his 2019 conviction on charges of federal sex trafficking, racketeering and possession of child pornography. He was also fined $1.75 million. Although many of his followers moved on, several continue to support him. "The Vow" showed many of the them gathering outside a jail complex, hoping to get a glimpse of him or a message through the building's windows.
Keith is now serving his time in a prison outside Tuscon, Arizona.
"I very much fear for Keith's safety. I think that we've seen throughout history, where unpopular inmates have been attacked or killed," Nicki said. "And with the charges that Keith has, that certainly puts him at risk on its face… I would just want to ask him how he is and how he feels."
Despite the conviction and news coverage of NXIVM and DOS, Nicki said "The Vow" perpetuates a "very specific narrative" that she "completely [disagrees]" with.
"They've taken things that I've said completely out of context, without giving any background of who I am, why I've made the choices I have, what I saw and all the evidence I offered to them to show why I have the point of view that I do," she said.
NXIVM's and DOS were also extensively covered on Starz's "Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult."