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New York Times
6 days ago
- Health
- New York Times
‘Orgasmic Meditation' Case Raises Question of What Constitutes Coercion
The women arrived with dreams of rebirth, community and climax. Instead, they said, their twenties were ruined by working at OneTaste, a buzzy San Francisco company that billed itself as a health and education start-up promoting female empowerment via 'orgasmic meditation.' They came to see OneTaste as a cult, but the prosecution of two of its leaders will decide whether they were coerced into working for the company or simply deluded by its teachings. The question is central to the federal case against Nicole Daedone, OneTaste's founder and former chief executive, and Rachel Cherwitz, its former head of sales, who have each been charged with one count of forced labor conspiracy. The charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors say Ms. Daedone and Ms. Cherwitz deployed 'psychological tactics' to groom OneTaste employees for masturbation rituals and to isolate them, leaving them reliant on the company and unable to access or even imagine a world outside. Such forced labor schemes usually employ a tangible threat, such as physical violence or the confiscation of travel documents. OneTaste employees have not described such blunt tactics. Rather, they say, they feared that defying Ms. Daedone and Ms. Cherwitz would ruin them not financially or physically, but spiritually. Lawyers for Ms. Daedone and Ms. Cherwitz have seized on that, noting that the witnesses were adults who had free will, and that some came from affluent backgrounds. They have pointed out that the witnesses did leave OneTaste, only to return when they yearned for spiritual community. 'Each time you left, you made a choice to come back,' Michael P. Robotti, a lawyer for Ms. Cherwitz, told one witness. To win convictions, prosecutors must convince jurors that Ms. Daedone and Ms. Cherwitz forced OneTaste employees to work against their will, using physical, emotional or psychological coercion, and that each woman benefited. They must show that OneTaste employees had to keep working, including by engaging in orgasmic meditation, in order to avoid 'serious harm.' Through the first half of what is expected to be a six-week trial, more than a half-dozen former OneTaste employees have testified to sexual acts rarely mentioned in a courtroom. They said they had no other options at the time, but have stopped short of saying they were threatened with violence, the loss of property or anything beyond losing their standing within OneTaste. Juda Engelmayer, a spokesman for the defendants, said the former OneTaste employees had chosen to explore an 'unconventional lifestyle,' and had then 'decided they were victims because it no longer aligns with how they see themselves.' 'This case is a dangerous attempt to criminalize regret,' Mr. Engelmayer said in a statement. Determining consent can be difficult when it comes to cults, which by nature wipe away a person's capacity to question order, said Rick Alan Ross, the founder of the Cult Education Institute. Mr. Ross, a deprogrammer who has testified as an expert in many such cases, said OneTaste appeared to bear the hallmarks of a coercive cult. Cults, Mr. Ross said, 'shut down your ability to critically think and reason,' leading people to do things they would never have considered before they joined the group. 'People have these unreasonable fears, that 'if I leave the group I'm a traitor. If I leave the group, I'm a counterrevolutionary,'' he said in an interview. NXIVM, the Albany-area sex cult led by Keith Raniere, also billed itself as a self-help organization and offered classes in its idiosyncratic rituals. But it blackmailed members with threats to release nude photographs and embarrassing secrets. So far, there has been no evidence of such acts against OneTaste employees. Witnesses said they did what Ms. Daedone and Ms. Cherwitz asked because their entire senses of self revolved around OneTaste. Moira Penza, a former federal prosecutor in Brooklyn who helped win a 120-year sentence against Mr. Raniere, said that unlike his victims, OneTaste participants knew that sex acts were the organization's calling card. That could prove to be an obstacle for the prosecution, she said, in its effort to persuade the jury that orgasmic meditation was forced labor. 'You want to hit the jury over the head with how terrible this is,' Ms. Penza said. The work, according to former OneTaste employees, consisted of participating in orgasmic meditation with anyone they could find, at any time. The job, which was understood to be a 24/7 endeavor, entailed a grueling daily schedule of 'OM' sessions, cooking and cleaning in the communal house and seeing to Ms. Daedone's and Ms. Cherwitz's personal needs. There were also tasks well outside orgasmic meditation. Some OneTaste employees testified that they were told to have sex with a top investor who was also Ms. Daedone's romantic partner, as well as to whip him and walk him around on a leash. People outside the community were called 'muggles,' mortals unworthy of the path of spiritual enlightenment on which OneTaste adherents had embarked. Erin Hatton, a professor of sociology at the University at Buffalo, said OneTaste employees had experienced 'status coercion.' Unlike more overt and physically violent coercion, status coercion emerges when a person cannot leave a job, or 'their only community,' because of how much their self-worth depends on it. That could be a tough sell for prosecutors in a criminal trial. 'It can be a tricky argument to make, because the powers of coercion can be subtle and even invisible to outsiders,' Professor Hatton said. 'Nobody is standing over you with a whip.' And the defendants have presented a placid, upbeat image in court. Ms. Daedone, who has said that she will testify in her own defense, typically wears a flowing tan shawl each day, gazing at the jury when a defense lawyer addresses a witness. Ms. Daedone founded OneTaste in 2004, offering its courses at prices than could run into five figures. The central ritual typically involved a man stroking the genitals of a woman, with her sitting in a butterfly position on pillows, for 15 minutes. OneTaste opened centers across the country, with locations in Austin, Texas, and New York. But as the word spread, so did allegations that OneTaste was a pseudoscience-peddling cult. Employees were paid little, if at all; in fact, they paid to take OneTaste coaching courses that could cost more than $10,000. Members of OneTaste's sales team were told they could not sleep until they met certain targets, and were routinely subjected to public humiliation and ostracism. Being a saleswoman for orgasm was a surprisingly hard job, one former employee testified. The government's witnesses have described an insular culture that did not tolerate dissent, with a work environment that was unforgiving. Ms. Daedone and Ms. Cherwitz even controlled their employees' romantic relationships, witnesses said. Participation came with an expected adherence to Ms. Daedone's views on sexuality and relationships, which looked down on monogamy. OneTaste workers were frequently directed to abandon monogamy because it threatened their path to enlightenment. At least once, OneTaste's leaders personally destroyed a romantic relationship by demanding that one person sleep with another person outside the relationship. When the former employees were asked in court why they participated in sexual activities that were uncomfortable, one of them, who is now a medical resident, said that comfort had felt less important than the path to enlightenment. Far from resisting the appearance of a cult, the company embraced the label, with its leaders even referring to it that way publicly, Christopher Hubbard, a former website manager for OneTaste, testified. Mr. Hubbard, who said he had joined the company to advocate female sexual empowerment, said he was initially hooked by what appeared to be a 'Buddhist, female empowerment organization.' Over time, he grew disillusioned with what he saw as OneTaste 'trying to force people to do stuff.' It wasn't the nonconformist group he signed up for. 'I thought we were going to make a difference in this country,' Mr. Hubbard said. 'And I wanted to be a part of that.'
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Woman's extraordinarily intimate on-stage act with two men revealed after she bizarre 'orgasm cult'
A woman was filmed kissing two men on stage before ending up flushed during a bizarre orgasm meditation ceremony. The footage was produced by prosecutors in the ongoing trial against OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone, 57, and former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz, 44, who are accused of forcing members of the group to have sex with each other. In the clip, an unidentified woman wearing a robe is escorted by three men up on stage as part of OneTaste's lessons on 'orgasmic meditation'. A table lined with pillows and towels is visible behind as she and one of the men take center stage. She stands opposite him and they lightly embrace while staring into each other's eyes as ethereal music plays in the background. He begins to undo her robe and the footage cuts out before seemingly returning after she has completed an 'orgasmic meditation' session, which leaves her flushed and wiping her eyes and grinning at the audience. She then moves back from a table with towels on it and kisses a different man who has been watching in the audience, as they exchange 'I love you's. In another clip, Cherwitz refers to herself in the third person and tells an audience about her 'volatile' personality and struggle with 'consent'. OneTaste branded itself as a sexuality-focused wellness program that taught members how to rediscover their peace and heal trauma through 'orgasmic meditation' exercises. But prosecutors accuse Daedone and Cherwitz of running a forced labor scheme, by coercing members into working without pay and performing sexual acts on OneTaste investors. The clips were issued by prosecutors as the trial against Daedone and Cherwitz got underway in New York City this week. Jurors heard that executives at the allegedly cult-like startup forced their staff to have sex with each other in an attempt to relieve the sexual tension between them. One former worker, referred to only as 'Max' to protect their identity, told the court that Cherwitz sent two staff members off to have sex during a sales meeting, Courthouse News reports. Cherwitz attributed a profit dip at the firm's NYC branch to an alleged sexual tension between the two employees, Max testified. 'I felt so sick inside. I think that was the moment when I just woke up,' Max told the court, adding that the partner of one of the workers sent off for sex had a break down while she waited for the pair to return to the room. When the OneTaste leaders were arrested in 2023, current OneTaste CEO Anjuli Ayer slammed the charges as 'unfounded' in a statement to They slammed the indictment as the result of a 'misogynistic, media-driven campaign to tear down a feminine empowerment project and the women who devoted their lives to it.' Questions have been raised as to how the women recruited members into the group, with prosecutors alleging that they targeted 'individuals who had suffered prior trauma and advertised that OneTaste's courses and teachings could heal past sexual trauma and dysfunction.' In another clip released by prosecutors, Cherwitz was seen giving a seminar to members about how 'orgasmic meditation' works. She ranted about re-incarnation and admitted she is 'working on having consent' when carrying out her sessions. 'I think I wasn't a very nice person in a past life,' she said at one of the bizarre seminars. 'So when I incarnated in this life, they were like oh you know what? Let's just smack together every set of challenges you can possibly have. 'So, I tend to explode things and ignite things, and send people in a direction their soul is calling for that their vigilant center might not necessarily be in alignment with. 'That's why Rachel is working with having consent so that people don't get upset with her when things explode.' Daedone has also been accused of working with OneTaste's former chief technology officer Christopher Hubbard to 'seduce' an early investor, he told the court. The ex-CEO was also accused of encouraging a female employee to 'sexually service' her former boyfriend, the court heard. In the testimony from 'Max', the court heard that staff were required to be on call 24/7 and were expected to immediately respond to work text messages during their 'waking hours'. They alleged that taking sick or vacation days was prohibited. The witness said that employees in the NYC branch were responsible for cleaning up Daedone's hotel room before and after her stay. Max testified that this including the handling of used condoms in her hotel room. The witness also added that workers had to 'complain to higher-ups' in order to get paid or be put on the company payroll. Many employees lived together and shared beds, the court heard, and were allegedly expected to participate in daily morning 'orgasmic meditation circles'. The meditation activity was partnered and involved 'methodically stroking a woman's genitals for 15 minutes', testimony revealed. Another alleged victim known as Dana, who took the stand on Tuesday, told the court that she was instructed to engage in BDSM activities with early OneTaste investor Reese Jones. The court heard how Dana would allegedly walk Jones around on a leash or whip him with cattails, Courthouse News reports. She also allegedly lived with Jones for roughly three months and would frequently have sex with him, which she claims to have understood as being 'part of the job'. Dana, during cross-examination, testified that she 'liked Jones as a person' but added: 'I wouldn't say I was attracted to him.' The witness added that she had been instructed by higher-ups, including Cherwitz, to engage in sexual acts with the firm's high-paying clients. Although Dana not officially on Onetaste's payroll, she directly worked for Daedone and other leaders, the court heard. She allegedly paid $30,000 for the group's courses, which she claims was funded partly from sex work that a fellow OneTaste community member helped her arrange. OneTaste was featured in the 2022 Netflix 'true crime' documentary Orgasm Inc: the Story of OneTaste, which featured former worker Ayries Blanck and her journals, which painted a dark picture of the workplace. Five months after it aired, Daedone and Cherwitz were indicted. Both are charged with one count of forced labor conspiracy, and have pleaded not guilty.
The Sun
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Boss ordered employees to ‘have sex with each other to relieve work tension' in bizarre ritual
BOSSES at an "orgasmic meditation" startup ordered staff to have sex with each other to relieve tension between them, a trial has heard. Witnesses have taken the stand at a New York City court to detail their experiences working at the "cult-like" OneTaste. 3 3 3 Nicole Daedone, 57, the company's founder, and Rachel Cherwitz, 44, former head of sales, are accused of a forced labor scheme alleged to have involved participants in OneTaste courses and employees between 2006 and 2018. They offered sexually focused wellness education that promoted "orgasmic meditation" and advocated female empowerment through orgasm. The defendants deny the charges. Prosecutors claim they coerced people to work without pay and perform sexual acts with OneTaste investors. A former sales employee, referred to only as Max, told the court that Cherwitz attributed a profit drop at the New York City branch to sexual tension between employees. Cherwitz told staff members to have sex during a sales meeting, Max testified. "I want you guys to go have sex right now," she told them, Max testified. Max told the court: "I felt so sick inside. I think that was the moment when I just woke up." The court also heard that employees, many of whom lived together and shared beds, would allegedly be expected to join daily "orgasmic meditation circles". This partnered ritual would involve "methodically stroking a woman's genitals for 15 minutes", according to testimony. Max further testified that employees would be expected to be on call 24 hours a day and were not allowed sick or vacation days. Taking the stand on Tuesday, Dana told the court she was instructed to engage in BDSM with an early OneTaste investor. The witness further testified that her superiors, including Cherwitz, had instructed her to engage in sexual acts with clients of the company. Defense lawyer Julia Gatto said outside court: "The idea that this woman, at this company, engaged in forced labor is as far from the truth and reality as one could comprehend. She further called Daedone "a ceiling-shattering feminist entrepreneur". But prosecutors say Daedone and Cherwitz schemed to draw in people suffering from sexual trauma and make them into unquestioning followers, AP has reported. Company members might be told "to engage in sexual acts they found uncomfortable or repulsive as a requirement to obtain 'freedom' and 'enlightenment' and demonstrate their commitment to OneTaste and Daedone," the indictment claims. OneTaste reportedly started in San Francisco around 2005. Its alleged practices came under scrutiny in a 2018 Bloomberg Businessweek investigation and later in Netflix's Orgasm Inc. The trial is expected to last until mid-June, according to Courthouse News Service.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Boss at bizarre start-up ordered two workers to have sex to relieve tension between them, court hears
Executives at an 'orgasmic meditation' start-up forced their staff to have sex with each other in an attempt to relieve the tension between them, a federal trial heard. OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone, 57, and former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz, 44, have each been charged with one count of forced labor conspiracy. Witnesses who took the stand at court in New York City this week have detailed their disturbing experiences working for the 'cult-like' San Francisco based company. One former worker, referred to only as 'Max' to protect their identity, told the court that Cherwitz sent two staff members off to have sex during a sales meeting, Courthouse News reports. Cherwitz attributed a profit dip at the firm's NYC branch to an alleged sexual tension between the two employees, Max testified. 'I felt so sick inside. I think that was the moment when I just woke up,' Max told the court, adding that the partner of one of the workers sent off for sex had a breakdown while she waited for the pair to return to the room. Daedone has also been accused of working with OneTaste's former chief technology officer Christopher Hubbard to 'seduce' an early investor, he told the court. The ex-CEO was also accused of encouraging a female employee to 'sexually service' her former boyfriend, the court heard. Both Daedone and Cherwitz face trial this week in New York, accused of a forced labor scheme that allegedly involved participants in OneTaste courses and employees between 2006 and 2018. The pair provided sexually focused wellness education and events that promoted 'orgasmic meditation' and 'slow sex' - advocating female empowerment through orgasm. But prosecutors claim they also exploited some people, by coercing them to work without pay and to perform sexual acts with OneTaste investors using cult-like tactics. Max told the court last week how Cherwitz allegedly ordered two employees to have sex because of their apparent 'tumescence'. 'I want you guys to go have sex right now,' she told the pair, Max testified. Their account echoed that of a woman referred to as 'Becky', who was one of the two employees allegedly sent out of the sales meeting to have sex. Becky told the court that she did not remember specifics about the encounter, but said it was 'awkward' because the man involved was in a relationship with her friend, who had also been present at the meeting. Max also testified that staff were required to be on call 24/7 and were expected to immediately respond to work text messages during their 'waking hours'. They alleged that taking sick or vacation days was prohibited. The witness said that employees in the NYC branch were responsible for cleaning up Daedone's hotel room before and after her stay. Max testified that this included the handling of used condoms in her hotel room. The witness also added that workers had to 'complain to higher-ups' in order to get paid or be put on the company payroll. Many employees lived together and shared beds, the court heard, and were allegedly expected to participate in daily morning 'orgasmic meditation circles'. The meditation activity was partnered and involved 'methodically stroking a woman's genitals for 15 minutes', testimony revealed. Dana, who took the stand on Tuesday, told the court that she was instructed to engage in BDSM activities with early OneTaste investor Reese Jones. The court heard how Dana would allegedly walk Jones around on a leash or whip him with cattails, Courthouse News reports. She also allegedly lived with Jones for roughly three months and would frequently have sex with him, which she claims to have understood as being 'part of the job'. Dana, during cross-examination, testified that she 'liked Jones as a person' but added: 'I wouldn't say I was attracted to him.' The witness added that she had been instructed by higher-ups, including Cherwitz, to engage in sexual acts with the firm's high-paying clients. Although Dana not officially on OneTaste's payroll, she directly worked for Daedone and other leaders, the court heard. She allegedly paid $30,000 for the group's courses, which she claims was funded partly from sex work that a fellow OneTaste community member helped her arrange. OneTaste was featured in the 2022 Netflix 'true crime ' documentary Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste, which featured former worker Ayries Blanck and her journals, which painted a dark picture of the workplace. Five months after it aired, Daedone and Cherwitz were indicted. Both deny the single count of forced labor conspiracy.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Boss of bizarre orgasm start-up ordered two workers to have sex to relieve tension between them, court hears
Executives at an 'orgasmic meditation' startup forced their staff to have sex with each other in an attempt to relieve the tension between them, a federal trial heard. OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone, 57, and former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz, 44, have each been charged with one count of forced labor conspiracy. Witnesses who took the stand at court in New York City this week have detailed their disturbing experiences working for the 'cult-like' San Francisco based company. One former worker, referred to only as 'Max' to protect their identity, told the court that Cherwitz sent two staff members off to have sex during a sales meeting, Courthouse News reports. Cherwitz attributed a profit dip at the firm's NYC branch to an alleged sexual tension between the two employees, Max testified. 'I felt so sick inside. I think that was the moment when I just woke up,' Max told the court, adding that the partner of one of the workers sent off for sex had a break down while she waited for the pair to return to the room. Daedone has also been accused of working with OneTaste's former chief technology officer Christopher Hubbard to 'seduce' an early investor, he told the court. The ex-CEO was also accused of encouraging a female employee to 'sexually service' her former boyfriend, the court heard. Former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz, 44, (pictured leaving Brooklyn Federal Court on May 6) allegedly sent two staff members off to have sex during a sales meeting in an effort to relieve the 'sexual tension' between them, the court heard Both Daedone and Cherwitz face trial this week in New York, accused of a forced labor scheme that allegedly involved participants in OneTaste courses and employees between 2006 and 2018. The pair provided sexually focused wellness education and events that promoted 'orgasmic meditation' and 'slow sex' – advocating female empowerment through orgasm. But prosecutors claim they also exploited some people, by coercing them to work without pay and to perform sexual acts with OneTaste investors using cult-like tactics. Max told the court last week how Cherwitz allegedly ordered two employees to have sex because of their apparent 'tumescence'. 'I want you guys to go have sex right now,' she told the pair, Max testified. Their account echoed that of a woman referred to as 'Becky', who was one of the two employees allegedly sent out of the sales meeting to have sex. Becky told the court that she did not remember specifics about the encounter, but said it was 'awkward' because the man involved was in a relationship with her friend, who had also been present at the meeting. Max also testified that staff were required to be on call 24/7 and were expected to immediately respond to work text messages during their 'waking hours'. They alleged that taking sick or vacation days was prohibited. The witness said that employees in the NYC branch were responsible for cleaning up Daedone's hotel room before and after her stay. Max testified that this including the handling of used condoms in her hotel room. The witness also added that workers had to 'complain to higher-ups' in order to get paid or be put on the company payroll. Many employees lived together and shared beds, the court heard, and were allegedly expected to participate in daily morning 'orgasmic meditation circles'. The meditation activity was partnered and involved 'methodically stroking a woman's genitals for 15 minutes', testimony revealed. Dana, who took the stand on Tuesday, told the court that she was instructed to engage in BDSM activities with early OneTaste investor Reese Jones. The court heard how Dana would allegedly walk Jones around on a leash or whip him with cattails, Courthouse News reports. She also allegedly lived with Jones for roughly three months and would frequently have sex with him, which she claims to have understood as being 'part of the job'. Dana, during cross-examination, testified that she 'liked Jones as a person' but added: 'I wouldn't say I was attracted to him.' The witness added that she had been instructed by higher-ups, including Cherwitz, to engage in sexual acts with the firm's high-paying clients. Although Dana not officially on Onetaste's payroll, she directly worked for Daedone and other leaders, the court heard. She allegedly paid $30,000 for the group's courses, which she claims was funded partly from sex work that a fellow OneTaste community member helped her arrange. OneTaste was featured in the 2022 Netflix 'true crime ' documentary Orgasm Inc: the Story of OneTaste, which featured former work Ayries Blanck and her journals, which painted a dark picture of the workplace. Five months after it aired, Daedone and Cherwitz were indicted. Both deny the single count of forced labor conspiracy. An FBI special agent leading the investigation into two former leaders was accused of fabricating evidence by a Member of Congress, exclusively revealed last week. The representative wrote to new FBI director Kash Patel, alleging the agent 'transformed the Netflix-created content into federal evidence' to go after Cherwitz and Daedone. The letter to FBI director Patel from a Member of Congress – who is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee – was 'seeking answers' about the special agent in the case. The representative, whose name is redacted, alleges a special agent of the New York City division has 'a long and extremely troubling list of alleged investigative abuses which demand accountability'. has decided not to name the agent in the letter, whose 'actions appear to represent a fundamental corruption of the investigative process and a failure of agent accountability,' writes the Congress member. The letter accuses the special agent of 'participating in Netflix productions while investigating targets' plus making up evidence 'through entertainment media', filing misleading affidavits, directing witnesses to destroy evidence, and using personal email to avoid official scrutiny. 'Most disturbing is the systematic effort to transform Netflix-created content into federal evidence,' they add. 'This isn't just overreach – it's deliberate fabrication of a criminal case through entertainment media.' The Congress member says they are committed to ending the 'weaponization' of the FBI to ensure Americans are not hit by 'improperly motivated or abusive law enforcement tactics'.
