Two leaders of a women’s wellness start-up that promoted sexual empowerment through “orgasmic meditation” were convicted Monday of using psychological abuse, surveillance, indoctrination, and intimidation to coerce employees into forced labor.
Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz, the former CEO and former head of sales at the once-buzzy San Francisco venture OneTaste, were found guilty by a jury after a five-week trial in federal court in Brooklyn.
During the trial, prosecutors said the victims in the case worked long hours, performing highly degrading sex acts and manual labor for little or no compensation, because they believed that if they did not, they would “lose their entire source of support, community, spirituality, and identity.” Three witnesses testified that they were coerced into becoming a “handler” for OneTaste investor Reese Jones, who was also Daedone’s boyfriend. The victims told jurors they were required to live with the investor, perform demeaning sex acts at his direction, and provide domestic labor such as cooking for him.
The defense countered that no physical force or restraint was ever used and that OneTaste’s spiritual teachings were protected by the First Amendment. They said any suggestion that Daedone and Cherwitz “brainwashed” their employees was a violation of their right to religious freedom.
“We are deeply disappointed in today’s verdict. We maintain our clients’ innocence and look forward to continuing this fight on appeal. This case raised numerous novel and complex legal issues that will require review by the Second Circuit. We find inspiration in our clients, Nicole and Rachel, who have shown incredible strength throughout this entire process,” defense lawyers Jennifer Bonjean, Ceila Cohen, and Michael Robotti said in a statement sent to Rolling Stone.
Daedone and Cherwitz each face up to 20 years in prison for the convictions. They’re due to be sentenced in late September.
“The jury’s verdict has unmasked Daedone and Cherwitz for who they truly are: grifters who preyed on vulnerable victims by making empty promises of sexual empowerment and wellness only to manipulate them into performing labor and services for the defendants’ benefit,” Joseph Nocella, Jr., the interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “I commend the witnesses who testified at trial notwithstanding the trauma that they experienced at the defendants’ direction. It is my hope that the just conclusion of this process will bring them closure, and that future charlatans think twice about exploiting human beings in this manner.”
Christopher G. Raia, assistant director of the FBI’s New York field office, said in a statement that he hopes the verdict sends a “clear message” that “controlling your labor force by relying on lies, manipulation, and abuse is a crime.”
Daedone, who founded OneTaste in 2004, has stated she drew inspiration from the traditional teachings of yoga and Buddhism when she started her company. On Monday, she brought up her “spiritual” objectives when she addressed her supporters outside the courthouse. “There is nothing but the spiritual aim that I set out for, and that’s the liberation of all people, and the liberation of women. I’ll do that wherever I am,” she said, according to The New York Times.
OneTaste, which enjoyed some mainstream popularity in the mid-2010s, spread its teachings at various locations in New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Austin, and London, prosecutors said. The company offered hands-on classes on “orgasmic mediation,” also known as OM, which centered on the practice of reaching new levels of intimacy and enlightenment through the stroking a woman’s genitals for extended periods of time. The company generated revenue by providing courses, coaching, OM events, and less-publicized courses in other sexual practices in exchange for a fee, prosecutors said.
Daedone became somewhat of a celebrity in the wellness field during her heyday. She delivered a TED Talk that went viral and attracted attention and promotion from celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and Khloé Kardashian. But OneTaste later became the subject of several exposés and documentaries alleging the group exploited its employees and participants.
According to a Bloomberg Businessweek investigation published in 2018, OneTaste morphed from a glamorous, Silicon Valley-backed start-up into a sinister enterprise described by some as a for-profit sex cult. “In some members’ experiences, the company used flirtation and sex to lure emotionally vulnerable targets. It taught employees to work for free or cheap to show devotion. And managers frequently ordered staffers to have sex or OM (orgasmic meditation) with each other or with customers,” the piece reported.
During the trial, multiple other witnesses testified that they were coerced by Daedone and Cherwitz into performing various sex acts with OneTaste’s potential clients and investors. The coercion involved threats of termination, demotion, ostracism, and financial and spiritual ruin, they testified.
In 2017, Ms. Daedone sold OneTaste for $12 million, prosecutors said. The former OneTaste.us website now directs visitors to The Eros Platform, a community that still promotes it affiliation with Daedone, Cherwitz and and their Orgasmic Meditation practice. The Eros Coaching Collective still advertises a three-session OM training package for $525.