Latest news with #Daedone
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
I don't want to live in a world that criminalises unconventional sex
I don't have a pension pot for my dotage, but long thought that if I fell on hard times I could start a sex cult. After all, I used to edit the Erotic Review magazine and am the proud owner of an antler-horn headdress. At least, that was the plan until the New York trial of OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone and her head of sales, Rachel Cherwitz, started this month. The glossy duo, who ran an alternative lifestyle company focused on women's erotic pleasure, are charged with conspiracy to commit forced labour after a number of adherents said that they were coerced into having sex with colleagues and potential investors. Details of the allegations were laid out in investigations by Bloomberg, then a BBC podcast and, most infamously, in Netflix's Orgasm Inc, which incorporated passages from diaries written by a former sales rep for the company, Ayries Blanck. For anyone who doesn't scour streaming services for lurid sex documentaries, a little explication may be required. I feel fairly qualified on the topic, as I flew to San Francisco in 2011 to interview Daedone about OneTaste and her book Slow Sex: the Art and Craft of the Female Orgasm. The author and CEO had garnered ideas from Tantra, Buddhism and yoga and crafted them into what she dubbed 'Orgasmic Meditation', or OMing for short. The practice was conceived as an antidote to the 'harder, faster!' school of male-centric sex and was focused on female anatomy and pleasure. So far, so laudable; but the practice was also highly unorthodox – or plain whackjob, depending on your outlook. In essence, it involved women removing their lower clothing and reclining on a nest of cushions, before their OMing partner (generally a man) stroked their intimate anatomy for 15 minutes in a prescribed manner. This tended to occur in a room filled with other nesting couples with the avowed intention to build enhanced capacity for pleasure. Daedone and one of her wing women explained all this to me in a coffee bar, while radiating the beatific glow of sexy cats who'd drunk all the cream. I felt a bit like I'd fallen down a time wormhole and ended up at Woodstock circa 1969. I found Daedone intelligent, persuasive and charismatic: characteristics that would lead to her downfall, as she stepped ever further into Sex-guru Land. She espoused her wish for OM classes to be taught 'like yoga' in gyms across the US and the UK, to which I replied that while the idea might fly in hippy-dippy California, I couldn't see Milton Keynes's WI discarding their knickers in a David Lloyd club. However, not long afterwards OneTaste opened a branch in London and a handful of erotically short-changed women I knew (mostly divorcees) signed up for classes. One was so enthused she flew out to California for more in-depth courses. They were far from being the only enthusiasts; in 2018 Daedone appeared on Gwynneth Paltrow's Goop podcast, making the zenith of OneTaste's social acceptability. Shortly after that, Bloomberg ran an exposé on the movement's business practices: some members had fallen into heavy debt after paying for courses and others had felt pressurised into sexual liaisons. It also transpired that OneTaste had paid Ayries Blanck (author of the Netflix diaries) $325,000 to settle a labour dispute. Then the FBI started their own investigation and it was widely reported that Daedone and Cherwitz were going to be charged with sex trafficking. I felt rather like I do when told a married couple who enthusiastically embraced swinging had suddenly filed for divorce: who would have thought it, apart from absolutely everyone? But I still found it hard to view the upfront, engaging Daedone as an evil sex slaver. Rarely has a person been more candid about their methodology and objectives; she was even transparent about her drive to monetise the practice. It was also hard to say practitioners had zero idea what they were getting into, since their first view of OneTaste involved half-naked women reaching orgasmic plateaus in a group setting. But Daedone may well have encouraged some obsessive and vulnerable devotees to sit at her feet, amidst the hardy. It's not hard to believe duty of care was woefully insufficient and that some members experienced severe regrets and trauma. Even so, I'm troubled by the court case. Especially now that (dramatic drum-roll) Ayries Blanck's diaries have been disallowed as evidence, after the defence team substantiated their claim they were faked. It transpired the hand-written journals were copied from a computer document years after the events described took place. Also that the computer file appears to have been edited by various interested parties, casting doubts on its authenticity. Furthermore, Blanck's sister Autymn was paid $25,000 by Netflix to present archival material on behalf of her sister. Another perturbing factor is the charge itself: 'conspiracy to commit forced labour', rather than 'forced labour'. The odd wording may be due to the fact complainants admit no force was exerted on them. They were free to stay or leave OneTaste, to live in a communal house or elsewhere, to take breaks and use their mobiles as they pleased. So, it seems to me that what's on trial might more properly be viewed as sway – the kind of charisma that makes people keen to do your bidding and seek approbation, or to feel outcast if that approval is withdrawn. Many people will have had a boss, partner, parent or even religious leader who had this power over them. It can feel deeply unethical and people who have been in thrall to such personalities often bitterly regret their choices. But they will also likely find that other followers still lionise and defend that mesmerising figure. Daedone walks to court flanked by women supporters. Whatever your view on OneTaste, their alleged misdemeanours pale beside those of other high-profile cases going on in NYC at the moment: Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial for sex trafficking and Harvey Weinstein's appeal against rape and assault convictions. Isn't it possible that Daedone and Cherwitz are careless kooks and egomaniacs, not sex offenders? And that if they are found guilty, we may enter a world where no one takes personal responsibility for questionable choices. One where the state feels free to criminalise unconventional sex. If so, that is not a world I want to live in. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How the founder of an ‘orgasmic meditation' startup ended up on trial
She was once hailed by Gwyneth Paltrow as a 'magnetic' sex guru who held the key to female pleasure. But after a damaging 2022 Netflix documentary and an FBI investigation, Nicole Daedone, a proponent of 'orgasmic meditation' and the founder of orgasm company OneTaste, is on trial with her former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz after being indicted on a charge of running a conspiracy involving forced labour. It's an extraordinary fall from grace. Just a few years ago, Paltrow was enthusiastically interviewing Daedone, 58, on her Goop podcast, while Khloé Kardashian chose Daedone's book Slow Sex: The Art and Craft of the Female Orgasm for her book club, saying: 'Orgasmic meditation is the key to ultimate satisfaction.' The practice involves female participants removing all clothing from the waist down and then having their clitoris manually stimulated by another person (often male) to induce sexual pleasure. But many of those involved with OneTaste are now viewing their experiences in a very different light, claiming that their vulnerability was exploited and that they were pressured into going too far. Is this simply regret reframed as accusation, or the emerging dark side of the powerful cult of wellness? OneTaste has a vivid if nebulous origin story. In her 2011 TEDx talk, Daedone shared how in 1998 she had met a man at a party who practised 'contemplative sexuality'. Daedone has since been hazy on said man's identity – she's described him variously as a monk, a Buddhist, or just a 'cute guy' – but she did explain in frank detail what they did together. Daedone lay down naked while the man shone a torch on her vagina and described the colours; her labia, apparently, were 'coral'. He proceeded to stroke her clitoris in a manner, she said, 'no firmer than you would stroke your eyelid,' and her response was life-changing. 'I just broke open, and the feeling was pure and clean.' Daedone then had her moment of revelation: 'Female orgasm is vital for every single woman on the planet.' And female orgasm has been a long-standing interest of Daedone's. She had previously been part of The Welcomed Consensus, a group specialising in female orgasm (along with friendship, sensuality and communal living). One member claimed she could sustain an orgasm for three hours, 'not including cigarette breaks'. In 2004, Daedone founded company OneTaste with coach and author Robert Kandell in order to share the practice, which she branded 'orgasmic meditation' (or OM, pronounced 'ohm'), with the masses. Their first base was a loft in San Francisco, and they quickly attracted 50 regulars, in their 20s and 30s, who took part in communal OM workshops. Those ritualistic sessions involved a woman lying on pillows (a 'nest' in Daedone's winsome lingo) with her legs bowed open (or 'butterflied'), naked from the waist down. Her fully clothed partner would don latex gloves, apply lubricant, and stroke her clitoris. The aim was to reach a satisfactory conclusion within 15 minutes: Daedone would set a clock timer. Over the next decade, OneTaste expanded its operations, setting up retreat centres in New York, Las Vegas and, in 2014, London, branded as TurnOn Britain. On the company's website, Daedone claims that at its peak it had 35,000 customers worldwide. Around 400 of those lived full time in the centres, renting rooms and working as dedicated staff who sold and delivered courses for OneTaste. But despite Daedone's rhetoric, this was not a philanthropic effort. According to a 2018 report in Bloomberg Businessweek, an introductory workshop cost $199 (£151), a weekend course $499 (£378), a retreat $4,000 (£3,000), and an annual subscription giving you access to all the courses was a whopping $60,000 (£45,000). If you wanted full training to become a certified coach, that set you back $16,000 (£12,000). Daedone published her book Slow Sex in 2012, comparing her philosophy to the Slow Food movement. OneTaste also sold everything from branded lubricant and pillows to instructional DVDs. It certainly didn't hurt that the chic wellness movement was skyrocketing. The New York Times put Daedone, a glossy advocate, on the cover of its style section in 2009. She also used trendy therapy speak, inviting women to 'sit in their power', and presented her practice as spiritual enlightenment and connection rather than sex. In her TEDx talk, which racked up more than two million views, Daedone spoke about the western woman's crisis: 'I work too hard, I eat too much, I diet too much, I drink too much, I shop too much, I give too much – and still there's this sense of hunger that I can't touch.' It was a well-crafted narrative; by 2017, OneTaste had an annual revenue of $12 million (£9 million), bases in nine cities and 150 employees. Then Hollywood came calling. In 2018, Gwyneth Paltrow invited Daedone on to her Goop podcast, telling her followers that Daedone's practice was 'the yoga of sex' – the ideal sales pitch for the wellness age. According to Bloomberg, staffers looking for new clients were encouraged to target young, beautiful women and awkward but well-moneyed tech bros, and to grab their attention with openers such as: 'How's your orgasm?' Former OneTaste lead instructor Ken Blackman noted that Silicon Valley was the ideal original market, since it could frame OM as 'a new operating system for human connection'. Former staffers told Bloomberg they played ice-breaker games at the start of OneTaste workshops that prompted participants to share vulnerable stories about their anxiety, loneliness or sexual trauma; staff took notes so they could hone future sales pitches for similarly troubled clients. OneTaste has denied this characterisation. Daedone herself had a turbulent childhood. Growing up in California with a single mother, she got pregnant accidentally aged 16 and had an abortion. In 1994, aged 27, she made the horrifying discovery that her birth father was dying in prison after being convicted of molesting two girls. At that point, she said, 'Everything in my reality just collapsed.' It was then that she began her spiritual studies. For OneTaste sales director Rachel Cherwitz, she had been diagnosed as anorgasmic (unable to achieve orgasm), and was recommended the company by her yoga teacher. She said that OM 'spoke to me in a pretty deep way'. But whether or not Daedone and Cherwitz's motives were originally pure, OneTaste became a formidable business empire. Former staffers have said they were terrified of Cherwitz's daunting goals. Ahead of events where staff were expected to recruit new customers, she would allegedly motivate her team by showing them a YouTube video of lions hunting in a pack. Staffers reportedly used porn movie terminology, referring to themselves as 'fluffers' (someone employed on porn sets to keep the male performer erect). One told Bloomberg: 'You fluff someone to get them energetically and emotionally hard. You were the dangled bait, like, 'You can have more of this if you buy this $10,000 course.'' Clients were allegedly encouraged to take out multiple credit cards so they could pay for more and more courses. Former director of reach Joanna Van Vleck said in 2018, 'We took money from people that we shouldn't have,' and added that the company had revised its policies. But it wasn't just participants shelling out thousands. Ruwan Meepagala worked for OneTaste for two years and left with $30,000 in credit card debt. When he complained about not getting paid, he said he was accused of having a 'scarcity mindset'. Other staffers reported being forced to work for free after getting into debt with the company, comparing it with a pyramid scheme. Hamza Tayeb was drawn right into the centre of OneTaste, even marrying Cherwitz. He recalled taking part in an event called Magic School in 2015 involving ceremonial piercing and dancers holding snakes. Daedone bestowed the title of 'priests and priestesses of orgasm' upon a chosen few, including Tayeb. Another former staffer said: 'It was a religion. Orgasm was God, and Nicole was like Jesus.' In 2018, after Bloomberg's damning report, OneTaste shut down its offices and retreats, pivoting to online education instead. In 2022, it rebranded as The Institute of OM. But the company had another crisis that year thanks to the investigative Netflix documentary Orgasm Inc. Its director Sarah Gibson said she was contacted by Emmy-nominated writer and director Lena Dunham and encouraged to look into 'the wellness industrial complex and unregulated alternative healing modalities'. Gibson's interviews with former OneTaste employees painted a grim picture. One said the organisation 'went from utopia to a hell hole'. Former staffer Ayries Blanck declined to be interviewed, according to the documentary, 'out of fear of reprisals,' but her story was told: in 2015, OneTaste paid her a $325,000 (£246,000) settlement after she claimed she was ordered to sleep with managers and clients, which she considered to be sexual assault. The FBI began an investigation into the company in 2018 for possible sex trafficking, prostitution and labour law infractions, and in June 2023, Daedone and Cherwitz were indicted on a count of conspiracy for forced labour. The indictment claimed that the pair had instructed members to 'engage in sexual acts they found uncomfortable or repulsive' in order to reach enlightenment, that resistance 'was not tolerated', and that the company withheld promised wages and commissions. It also accused OneTaste of subjecting participants to surveillance and indoctrination. Daedone and Cherwitz both pleaded not guilty. They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Last week, their criminal trial began in New York. US attorney Sean Fern told the jury: 'They recruited vulnerable women to perform sexual labour for their benefit' in return for 'power, prestige and money'. Fern also claimed: 'The victims came to OneTaste seeking personal growth. They left as shells of their former selves.' Cherwitz's lawyer, Mike Robotti, criticised the prosecution's 'frightening tales', and compared OM with 'yoga or CrossFit'. Robotti claimed that OneTaste employees 'were having fun, and they were having sex. The exit door was always open.' Daedone's lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, has defended Harvey Weinstein, R Kelly and Bill Cosby. She said in her opening statement that the complainants are now married with kids and don't want people to know 'what they were doing in their 20s'. She continued: 'Grown people made grown decisions they don't want to stand by.' She has already scored one victory by getting a key piece of evidence thrown out: Blanck's handwritten journals, which featured in the Netflix documentary. It was later discovered that some portions had been copied from journals that were originally typewritten. Other former employees are now giving testimony, including one known as Becky. She told the jury that she was expected to perform OM 'with anybody off the street' when she was 23, adding: 'I was the perfect mark.' With little neutral evidence in play, it's a classic courtroom battle of competing narratives: Daedone's idea of sexual enlightenment and freedom versus former practitioners' alleged accounts of abuse and exploitation. It remains to be seen whether the jury decides that this temple of bliss was actually a world of pain. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
New York Post
08-05-2025
- New York Post
OneTaste guru once claimed her alleged sex cult's philosophy could stop rape by turning 'p—y on high'
'Orgasmic meditation' guru Nicole Daedone once told her followers that they could stop a rape using their aggressive sexuality — and claimed she even did it herself against a knife-wielding man by 'turning my p—y on high,' a Manhattan court heard Thursday. Daedone — the founder of the allegedly sick sex cult OneTaste– is on trial in Brooklyn federal court alongside her former head of sales, Rachel Cherwitz, where a jury was shown video clips of Daedone spouting her allegedly twisted doctrine about sex crimes. 5 A Brooklyn federal jury was shown footage of OneTaste guru Nicole Daedone telling the followers of her alleged sex cult how to 'deflect rape' by turning their sexuality fully on. In a recording of a 2013 coaching seminar, Daedone told a crowded room of members of her wellness start-up that she sometimes heard women say they didn't want to be sexual for fear of being raped. 'If you want to know, the real way to deflect rape is to turn on 100% because then there is nothing to rape,' Daedone said in the video from August of that year. 'A woman turned on 100% has every single man around her bowing.' Later in the hour-and-a-half-long video, Daedone described a 'dark' man once putting a knife to her neck, while she was working in her prior career as a stripper. 5 Daedone made the statements in a 2013 video of one of her coaching classes. 'I shouldn't be alive,' she said. 'He had [the knife] up against me and I just turned and I said, 'How did you know I like that?'' Daedone told her followers. 'And I turned on my p—y as high as I could turn it on. And we were just in that place together and all of a sudden it just absorbed everything that was in there.' She later went on to tell the group that her dad died in prison after serving time for being a serial child molester and how she believed he was too evolved to be constrained by laws. 5 Daedone and Cherwitz are on trial on the charge of conspiracy to commit forced labor. Gregory P. Mango 'I never took on the idea that he was a bad person,' Daedone said in the video. 'I took on the idea that he was so fourth dimensional that he couldn't confine himself to the arbitrary laws of the third dimension,' she said, referencing group-lingo about the worldly dimension versus the spiritual dimension. 'That was his only crime in my mind,' she said. 5 The controversial company pushed 'orgasmic meditation.' Michael Nagle Daedone, 58, and Cherwitz, 45, are on trial for conspiracy to commit forced labor for allegedly luring people with past trauma to take their expensive courses and to work for them, all with the promise of healing them through 'orgasmic meditation' — or OM. The women have pleaded not guilty and maintained members took part in sex acts consensually. They face up to 20 years behind bars if convicted at the six-week trial. 5 Daedone also said in the video that her dad, a serial child molester who died in prison, wasn't a bad person but he was too elevated for 'arbitrary' laws. Jurors have heard from one witness so far, Becky, who claims she was 'brainwashed' and got herself into crippling debt buying Daedone's pricy courses after joining the group in 2011. Becky — whose full name is being withheld — claims she was forced to start working in sales at OneTaste the following year to help pay for the coaching, which in total ran her between $15,000 to $20,000. And Becky testified that she was expected to OM with 'anybody off the street' during sessions where someone would stroke her genitals or where she was expected to stimulate someone else's genitals.
Toronto Sun
08-05-2025
- Toronto Sun
Former OneTaste worker testifies she was sexually exploited
'I had to be turned on at all times,' ex-employee said of alleged orgasm cult Nicole Daedone, founder of wellness firm OneTaste. Photo by Nicole Daedone / Instagram A former employee of a wellness company said she was expected to pleasure herself on command with anybody who walked in the door. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'I had to be turned on at all times,' testified Becky, whose full name is being withheld, at the trial of OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone and former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz, reports the New York Post . The alleged victim, who was 23 at the time, claimed that it 'was really frowned upon to say you weren't in the mood.' Daedone and Cherwitz are on trial in New York City after pleading not guilty to a charge of forced labour conspiracy. Nicole Daedone has pleaded not guilty to a charge of forced labour conspiracy. Photo by Nicole Daedone. / Instagram The alleged sex cult OneTaste was launched by Daedone in San Francisco in 2004 as a business that taught orgasmic meditation (OM). The company grew and hosted coaching and events in New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, London, and other cities. However, prosecutors allege that OneTaste's leaders recruited victims of past trauma and forced them into sex work while earning a paltry $2,000 a month. While employed by the company, Becky told the court that she was required to orgasm with other members of OneTaste and with potential clients. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The expectation was I would be open to OMing with anybody off the street,' Becky, now in her late 30s, testified. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Becky said she joined OneTaste in 2011 and, to help pay for the group's expensive lessons which put her between $15,000 and $20,000 in debt, took a job in sales for the company the following year. 'I was the perfect mark,' she said. 'That word 'mark' was used quite a bit for people who are easy to sell to. It comes from con artist language.' Becky also testified that she was 'young' and 'idealistic' when she joined, adding she was 'open to sexuality being talked about openly.' 'I was really, really lonely and I really wanted community. I was sexually confused enough that this fit all the pieces for me.' She told the jury about her OM training, which involved a one-on-one session with a 'stroker' and a 'strokee.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More The 'hands-on' classes involved one person rubbing the genitals of another person for 15 minutes, Becky said. They would then share their experiences with each other. There also was anal play, S&M and bondage, she added. Becky also alleged Cherwitz suggested an OM session with an 'older man, who I definitely wouldn't ordinarily engage in sexual activity with.' Three years later and broke, Becky said she left OneTaste. 'I came in with very little in savings and I left with absolutely nothing,' she testified. 'It's really hard to be in this room right now,' she added. World Soccer Toronto Maple Leafs Canada Celebrity
New York Times
06-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Leaders of Wellness Company That Sold Orgasmic Experiences Go on Trial
The wellness start-up appeared to be a manifestation of San Francisco's social culture and billed itself as having a subversive dedication to female sexual liberation. The company, OneTaste, offered a communal lifestyle, teaching classes in so-called orgasmic meditation to help achieve female empowerment. But federal prosecutors said it was masking something darker. Its leaders recruited vulnerable people, survivors of sexual trauma, to work or participate in the company's activities, according to prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York. In controlling the lives of their employees, OneTaste's leaders pushed them into debt, withheld pay and sexually coerced them, they said. Nicole Daedone, OneTaste's co-founder and former chief executive officer, and Rachel Cherwitz, its former head of sales, were each charged with one count of forced labor conspiracy in June 2023. They have pleaded not guilty and face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors and defense attorneys began choosing a jury Monday, and opening statements could take place as early as Tuesday. The trial is expected to take as long as six weeks. In court filings, lawyers for Ms. Daedone and Ms. Cherwitz have said the women have, in effect, been framed. In an interview with The New York Times, Ms. Daedone said the accusations against her were 'a narrative shaped by the media and adopted by the government.' Ms. Daedone's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, who is also defending Harvey Weinstein in his retrial on sex-crime charges, is known for taking an aggressive approach with witnesses during trials involving sexual misconduct. During recent court proceedings, Ms. Daedone could be seen grasping beads while appearing to silently chant. On Monday, several of Ms. Daedone's supporters in the courtroom gallery looked on, twirling their own beads. Ms. Daedone, who founded OneTaste in 2004, has said she did so to address the gap in sexual satisfaction between men and women. The name OneTaste, according to Ms. Daedone, derives from a Buddhist expression, which she said is translated as 'just as the ocean has one taste of salt, so does the taste of liberation.' The 'orgasmic meditation' ritual involved a woman, naked from the waist down, lying on pillows as a man stroked her genitals. In a 2011 TEDx speech, Ms. Daedone said people arrived at OneTaste's classes with a 'gnawing sense of hunger.' 'There is a pleasure deficit disorder in this country,' Ms. Daedone said during the speech. 'I do think, though, that there is a cure, and that cure is orgasm.' The company took off as a brand, launching a pop-up store in San Francisco and expanding its operations to cities that included New York, Austin and Denver. It hosted events in the West Village and Hell's Kitchen and the practice of orgasmic meditation won the approval of such celebrities as Khloe Kardashian and Gwyneth Paltrow. Yet as OneTaste's popularity grew, so did allegations of abuse by former members, who said it bore the hallmarks of a cult. In a 2018 Bloomberg Businessweek investigation, former members said they were encouraged to take out credit cards to pay for courses, and that employees were told to work for free to show their devotion to OneTaste. Later that year, the company closed its U.S. locations and stopped offering in-person classes. Ms. Daedone is no longer involved with the company, which now has a free app. In a January interview with The Wall Street Journal, Anjuli Ayer, OneTaste's chief executive, said the company aims to pursue a franchise model. The indictment echoed many of the accusations in the Businessweek investigation, which were also featured in a 2022 Netflix documentary, 'Orgasm, Inc.' Prosecutors say Ms. Daedone and her teachings ruled OneTaste members' lives, instructing them to engage in sexual acts they were uncomfortable with, surveilling them in OneTaste's communal homes and pressuring them to exalt Ms. Daedone's doctrine of sexual liberation. The government's case was dealt a major setback in March, when prosecutors wrote that key evidence they planned to use during the trial, handwritten diaries from a former member, Ayries Blanck, could no longer be considered authentic. Portions, prosecutors wrote, had been copied from journals that had originally been typewritten. Lawyers for Ms. Daedone and Ms. Cherwitz had argued for months that Ms. Blanck had provided false testimony, and said the government admitted the diaries were fabricated. Ms. Blanck's accounts were featured in both the Netflix documentary as well as the Bloomberg Businessweek investigation. Her sister was paid $25,000 to participate in the Netflix documentary, according to court papers. 'The defense has continuously raised issues about the integrity of this investigation,' wrote Celia Cohen and Michael Robotti, lawyers for Ms. Cherwitz, in a March 13 letter to Judge Diane M. Gujarati. Prosecutors still plan to bring other former employees and members of OneTaste as witnesses.
