An actor who befriended actress Allison Mack on the set of TV show Smallville told People that he and his wife were completely shocked to learn of Mack’s ties to an alleged sex cult.
Just last week, Mack was arrested for reportedly recruiting women to be sex slaves in NXIVM, an Albany-based “self-help” organization that allegedly subjected women to ritual humiliations and brandings. While Mack often went about the recruitment process publicly — notably, with Emma Watson — her friend and fellow actor, Elias Toufexis, says he and his wife had no knowledge of her alleged involvement.
“Allison and my wife Michelle Boback-Toufexis and I were good friends on and off set,” he told People. “We had no idea of her involvement in any of this and it has all taken us aback.”
While he said that Mack never attempted to recruit him or his wife into NXIVM or the affiliated “women’s group” JNess, Toufexis said she “was always the type of person who had self-help books and recommendations for us and the like.”
“The news was a complete surprise to both of us,” Toufexis told People. “It’s a shame.”
Mack, who was released on $5 million bond earlier this week, is currently staying at her parents’s house in California, which she is prohibited from leaving except for court-related reasons.
