Was I In A Cult? - OneTaste: "Was I in a Sex Cult?"

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

Star Stone walked into a fluorescent-lit room on Market Street in San Francisco where a man who looked like Mark Zuckerberg stroked a woman's clitoris in business casual while thirty people watched. "This is it. This is what I need," she thought. It wasn't.See, Star didn't join a cult (newsflash, no one does). She joined a sex-positive, orgasm-as-spiritual-practice kind of movement founded by a woman, for women. It was called OneTaste. It promised female empowerment. But what it delivered was sexual trauma. Thanks, Nicole Daedone!Star Stone shares her story with the kind of honesty and dark humor that made us fall in love with her immediately. This isn't trauma porn - this is what happens when groups take your desire for connection, belonging, and sexual empowerment and weaponize it.Star was a joy to have on the show. Be sure to check out her solo comedy show, "Cl*t Cult," premiering this April at New York Fringe. And don't worry... she promised to come back and tell us everything that happened at "the Land" after her show premieres._____________________________________ GET TICKETS TO CL*T CULT April 2–10 at the Wild Project, East Village, NYC FOLLOW STAR For more from Star → Instagram @starstonespeaks | FOLLOW US For more culty content — follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacultSUPPORT THE SHOWJoin our Patreon! Get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes conversations. (And our forever gratitude)HAVE A CULTY STORY?Email us → [e-mail] Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The views, information, or opinions expressed by the guest appearing in this episode solely belong to the guest and do not represent or reflect the views or positions of the hosts, the show, podcast one, this network, or any of their respective affiliates. We all want belonging. We all want connections. So certain groups are attractive. But I think people miss the mark in these documentaries and in these movies and things when they focus on the harm or the crime. of the actual cult, but they don't focus on humanizing it. I think that it's important that cult survivors, and maybe survivors just in general, we have to be mindful with who gets our story, because people want to sensationalize it, they want to have the trauma porn.

And I just didn't feel comfortable with anyone using or talking about my story except for me. Welcome to Was I in a Cult. I'm wasted. I'm not wasted. I'm lightly buzzed. I've had a couple glasses of wine. It's 9 o'clock, PM, and Liz and I are recording.

She's like, let's record. And I was like, I just had pizza and wine. And I said, yeah, because our fans need this. Pizza and wine can't get in the way. I'm not a Mormon anymore. I can have wine. This isn't going to go out. I'm Tyler Mason.

I'm Liz Ayakus. And on this show, guys, we talk to people who are in cults or cultic environments, and we give them the space to reclaim their voice, reclaim their power, and tell their story in their own words. And today's wonderful gas, well, she found herself inside one of the most talked about, I'm going to use finger quotations. You can't see it, but I'm doing this thing, little rabbit ears up and down. in the most talked about wellness movements of the 2010s. Star was a performer, a yoga teacher, a romantic idealist living in Los Angeles, who eventually found herself, yes, inside. Pun intended, one taste. An organization created by a woman for women, supposedly.

You know, I use the quotation. I use the quotation marks. I think I'm going to do parenthesis at some point. You know, nobody ever ever written. Yeah, parentheses. I'm going to do this every once in a while. I had a wonderful teacher. He was my favorite teacher of all.

When I studied abroad, he was this brilliant historian genius. And he didn't ever use a textbook. And he'd be like, where did I leave off last week? Okay. And when he would tangent, he would go, okay. And then the French Revolution, open parentheses. And then he would tell this incredible story. And then he go, and close parentheses.

I miss that man. I love it. Uh, where were we? We're talking, okay. Orgasms. The orgasm focused, quote, wellness company that promised empowerment, connection, and spiritual growth through something called, here it comes again. Little Rabbit ears up and down. Orgasmic meditation.

That's a lot of air quotes for this quote unquote organization. I feel like my fingers are going to be tired. This quote, here it goes again. Company grew fast. Fastly attracted celebrities, Silicon Valley Tech Bros and dudes, and later faced federal charges for forced labor and coercion. Starstone is a poet, actress, writer, and comedian, and her one-woman show.

Click Colt. Thank you, Liz. I gave it to you, but I knew you and want to say it. It feels weird. It feels weird to say that. Is premiering at the Wild Project in New York City's East Village, April 2nd through the 10th at the New York Fringe Festival. But just as Star said in her opening, this story isn't just about headlines.

It's about belonging. It's about the many facets of sexuality. It's about the difference between empowerment and the performance of empowerment. It's about desire, love, community, influence, and what happens when all of that gets weaponized. And so with that, ellipsies. And I'm doing the little dot, dot, dot, dot. And I open the parentheses. We are here with Starstone.

Hello. I'm very excited to have you on the show. You came across my desk and I was like, oh, that one, the funny one. So tell us a little bit about, why are you here? Yeah, my name is Star, and I was in a cult. Called One Taste. Can we just go into like Baby Star? Since I was little, I'd always wanted to do performing theater.

And I was doing that. Growing up in Florida and then college in New York and performing in theater my whole life, musical theater, comedy, improv. And things really impacted me when I was in high school. It was like the sad, depressed, very artsy emo stuff. I don't know that I read the bell jar, but I just remember being like, I like this aesthetic. I'm into it.

I feel like that's how Gen Z reads books. Like, this aesthetic is so me. And you're like, did you read it? You're like, I don't have time. Just want to, like, hold it. And, you know. You went to NYU, right? Here's the thing about college.

I was not wanting to go to college when college was happening. Like, I wanted to do other things. So while I was at school, I became a club kid. I went to the Clurbs. I mean, it was very fun and also semi-traumatizing. There were some nightlife photographers that definitely were really into. Women were getting drunk and shooting top lists. They're completely nude with these photographers and me being one of those women.

There was definitely something about that was seducing for me. What did it make you feel? Seen and sexy and included or like, I just think that a lot of these things feel like appetizers to one taste for some reason. because it's like I was clearly, like, interested in that sense of the chosen family and community, which I felt like I had a little bit of in the nightlife scene. So what was your, like, biggest struggle then? My romantic relationships were confusing. I had this idea of romance and what it could be,

and there's this deep connection and friendship and artistry and creativity. You know, I wanted to, like, meet a guy with, eyeliner streaming down his face. Like, well, he cried out for me underneath my balcony that I definitely didn't have. Someone's going to write me a song or make me a playlist, you know? I wanted courtship. But I felt like everyone was really into physicality. Like, I want to touch you or be physical with you, but it didn't meet my needs.

I had such a high sex drive for as long as I can remember. But that's not the way that I want to approach love or lovers. When did you first have sex? It was after college because I felt everyone that I was connecting with was always through alcohol or they were gay. So take us to the total life change. So yeah, I went to yoga to the people in St. Mark's Place and it spoke something up in me that was clearly in me the whole time or something. I just like, this is just me. This is it for me.

My focus shifted to eating differently and living a different life. And that really pivoted me away from nightlife. I focused more on my acting and more in school. Yes, Star traded these sweaty dance floors for the sweaty yoga floors. And the boozy cocktails for something far less fun. Raw kale. I like kale. Raw kale.

No, raw kale, you can clean your pots and pans with that stuff, that Tuscan kale. You know, you asked me, you just massage the kale. Yeah. I got into that for like a day. I was like, I've massages scale for one whole hour. And then it's still stiff. You're using the wrong method, Liz. Gotta need it.

Tell that to my mistress boyfriend. What's that? What do you call a male mistress? A mystery, mystery. A mystery? Mr. I. Mr. I?

Lucky. More sexism coming your way. The patriarchy doesn't give the women. a name for their side piece. And I was really strict raw vegan. And so I got into this mentality that food is poison. I remember they didn't want to eat because the food wasn't going to be vegan or organic. I'm like, I don't know what it was cooked in.

Rice has arsenic. Beans are made with lard. And is it from a can? The can has whatever in the can and it's going to seep into the food. Like that's how deep it was. So this is not the cult that you're here today to talk about, correct? I say in my show, I list a bunch of things and I'm like all the cults I almost joined before this one.

Yoga wasn't just a passing phase for a star. It quickly became her life. She got certified to teach and became immersed in the yoga culture. And one day a friend of hers introduces her to the music of indie singer-songwriter, Devendra Banhart. You know, it says singer-slash-songwriter. So when you say singer slash lighter, you do your hand up and down. Slash.

Singer slash songwriter. You got to tell me to drink before we record. I just figure it's assumed. I mean, if it's after 3 o'clock. His music just was incredible, like so powerful, so healing. And Devendra was apparently starting an echo village close to Malibu in the heart of Topanga Canyon, obviously. So she did what, any free-spirited actress? with an unrealistic love for an indie artist does.

Well, she moves across the country to L.A. Falls head first into the very happening wellness scene. All the yoga, all the backbends, all the veganism, all the community housing, living with people she's never met. One could dream of. I was like, maybe I just go do film and TV in L.A. And track down this eco-Villness. Stop.

I swear these are my thoughts. I was living in Silver Lake. and my neighbors were just friends with him and so there was a party he was DJing and he's like I want to answer and the first person you fucked

was Devendra Bannhardt No it was Damn it! Oh wow Yeah I would have been really cool So I have to be real with you guys I had never heard of his music But I did check it out

And it is quite dreamy So I get it Star Why don't you play a little touch Rob Now if you're wondering about that eco-village led by that one intoxicating voice, well, alas, we are sad to report that it actually wasn't a thing. It wasn't a thing. Turns out it was basically just a Facebook group,

somebody made, saying, I want to live in an eco-village with Deventure Vanhart. And Star was like, yeah, so do I. So she moved across the country. Kudos to her. So if you're out there, Devendra, well, I know someone who wants to join your cult. I was like in and out of Topanga all of the time. I lived there for months at a time because I lived in a community.

It's not the cult she's here to talk about, guys. I know. We keep getting in the wrong. We haven't even gotten to the cold. A real one. This might have been a real one. When I was living there, that's how I found out about. Another cult.

Which may or may not, I don't know. Is it a cult, Alma? Oh, the hugging guru. L.A. is so fucked. It's just like one big spiritual bullshit cult, literally. Literally. But when I say literally, I don't mean literally, so I'm going to use the air quotes. Literally.

I'm using the open parentheses. Okay. And then, guys, the interview gets a little bizarre, okay? because Star and I realized that we had been orbiting the same spiritual solar system in Los Angeles around the same time. And apparently, one of the other colts that she dodged was mine. Wait, I'm so sorry, do you mind just sharing? Oh, I totally know who that is. I think I took her classes, but it was like when I first got to L.A.

Oh, that's so wild. So when did one taste enter? Like, how did this come into your orbit? Yeah. So I was living on Maui. Why'd you move here? What? I thought I was good at keeping the threat of your life. But like, it's really, I'm, I should be fired.

Yes, stars entire 20s. Well, they were a lot. They were enviable. Yeah, kind of. I mean, we kind of just breeze through it all, but she moves to Maui. She goes to Burning Man a bunch. A lot. A lot.

A lot. A bunch of yoga festivals. She gets into poetry. She even got into the Oakland Slam poetry team. Cool. Didn't know that was a thing. But eventually, she landed back in sunny Los Angeles and crashed with an Ashtanga yoga teacher she had met in Hawaii. And of course, with something like that happening naturally, it's just going to get weird.

Yeah, that's when things take a turn. And I'm going to do that in italics. So when I say it, I'm going to lean. Just a little bit to the right. It gets weird. I'm going to do it underlined but low, lowercase. That's when things get weird. But now I'm going to do it all caps, but no underline.

That's when things get weird. Now I'm going to do it all caps and underline. And that's what things get weird. Make a line underneath it with your hand. I'm going to strike out. And that's when things get. so stupid. I needed a place to stay when I got back to L.A.

ended up staying with her. Other people lived there. It was like a yoga house where other people came and went and it's L.A., like most all houses I had ever lived in were like this. I didn't think anything weird of it. So real quick, I personally had never experienced this in Los Angeles, but in L.A.'s Wellness and Creative scenes. And in certain areas, M. Dash, like Silver Lake and Topanga, M. Dash.

communal houses were actually pretty common. Because rent was expensive and most people were gig jobs and it offered a sense of belonging in a very transient city. But what I didn't know is that she was also simultaneously hosting these One Taste events. She had asked me to leave with her daughter on Monday nights for a certain amount of time. I was close to her with her daughter so as babysitting. But I essentially found out that she was doing these events. But I didn't think it was anything she needed to hide.

I was like, why are she hiding these events? And she invited me to one. And it was just like a group of people sitting around doing communication games. It was just like questions around how you feel. The only weird thing was that like after this communication game thing, I was in the kitchen and this guy was there. And apparently he was her lover and had a very particular demeanor and energy towards me, which is a one-taste thing.

He was, like, looking inside of me where it was like, I can't wait to touch your pussy vibes. Like, I don't even know what it just was so specific. And it's very specific to, like, most all of the men that I met at One Taste. And plus, isn't that per man? Like, what's going on? So I moved out. But, yeah, that was my first introduction to them. That's the thing about One Taste is that they would have people, like, host things in their homes, like, turn-ons or.

group practices and stuff. But I didn't know that. I didn't know anything about One Taste still. But I didn't actually go to One Taste until I was physically in the Bay Area. I was doing a yoga teacher training. So I was living in this house, we mean to go into the house. But there's a lot going on at the house.

There's a lot of sex workers. One person was like, I'm a sexological body worker. Sexological body worker. Yeah, that was a thing. And there was a lot of different terms for arousal and massage and healing. And it was all kind of together. Like we just had so much going on at the house all the time with events and community stuff. But the point is the reason to go to One Taster, the reason that it felt like the right thing was because there were people who would come by who had been in One Taster who knew about it.

And I think someone that I was getting close to, like mentioned it or something. I feel like he had said something like, oh, yeah, I think I'm going to go to One Taste today and learn like the stroking technique or something. What was your knowledge of what it was at that time? The thing I knew that it was about was sex and healing. It seemed like it might give me something that I actually wanted, which is connection and deepening my own pleasure and having an orgasm. Had you had an orgasm? I don't think I had one now. Really?

Yeah. Yeah, I didn't really know what that was. I didn't understand it. I felt like it was this cryptic thing. Because I still, at this point, had never been in a real relationship. And had you experimented with vibrators? I, like, talk about my first vibrator and how I was just like, I don't even know what to do with this. And I just couldn't figure it out.

Because it was the rabbit and terrifying. It was literally the rabbit. And, like, why are there pearls inside of the thing? And why does it- Why do I get a yeast infection every time I use it? Yeah, there's no instructions. Like, there's no information. And, like, what's the motion?

Like, is this supposed to stay there? It was awful. I had this sense that there was more for me out there and that I could have more and experience more, and I just wasn't being met. Thank God there's sex cults to help you get there. Okay, so Marley Spoon became a sponsor recently. are grateful for them.

And we here at the show have loved it. I would say 90% of everything I've made from them is delicious, way above average. That's not the miracle, Tyler. Oh, here's the miracle on ice. I'm not the miracle is. Yeah, I do. So they become a sponsor. I happen to tell my parents about it.

My mom is like, oh, no, they become a sponsor. My mom is visiting when we're cooking. And she's like, wow, this is great. I love this. I'm going to do this at home with your father. Now, my parents have been married. 50 years. It's a long time.

I'm married to 1975. And my mom is a feminist, but she has cooked for my father every single time they cook at home. I mean, they go out a lot, but when she cooks, she is the cook. So, Marley Spoon comes around. My dad cooked. What? After 50 years, he cooked. My dad cooked for my mom.

She said, I got to sit on the couch and have a glass of wine and watch some people. somebody cook for me. It's the best feeling I've ever had in my life. I'm like, Marley Spoon, you may reinite my parents' marriage. Oh, man, it's a miracle. But seriously, did he, he really,

he really hasn't cooked? He's terrified of the kitchen, apparently. But not anymore, Marley Spoon, right? He's an old school Italian man. You let the mama do the cooking, yeah. Yeah. Right. Well.

And, yeah, so Marley Spoon, I got a thank you for getting my 81-year-old father off of his tookish. To cook. And into the kitchen. To cook a chicken piccata, for God's sakes. And it made him feel confident. He was like, I did that. Right? Makes it easy.

Don't be scared. Yeah. So all you 81-year-old men out there have never cooked a meal by God's time, Marley Spoon. If my 81-year-old. your old father can do it. Anyone can do it. Go to Marley Spoon.com slash offer slash culled. You get up to 25 free meals. That's right. Up to 25 free meals when you go to Marley Spoon.com slash offer slash cult.

They want me to remind you guys to put in the slash offer because it's unusual, right? Yeah, but it's there. slash com slash offer slash cult. What's your dad's name? 100 recipes to choose from Tony. Tony, Tony, we're all coming over for dinner. What are you making? There's 25 free meals.

You can feed us all. Sit on your couch, mom. What's your mom's the name? Judy. Judy, sit on the couch. Have some wine. Tony's cooking. Open the box.

Make some chicken bagata. Slash raw for slash call. Oh, yeah. The way that One Taste was operating at this time around 2014, 2015, is that they were predominantly getting people to come through Meetup. They were just out there on Meetup to come to a turn on. It was free. Like, it was just like, okay, here's this organization. They're having a free event on Meetup. Cool. If you're bored or whatever, go. So it just was me deciding I'm going to go and finally check it out and see what

everyone's talking about. One Taste, at the time I went, was located on Market Street in San Francisco go across from Twitter. It was very much in the heart of tech. And they were positioning themselves and marketing themselves as a tech company. Tell us what happens at this turn-on. The turn-on is just like an intro, a general free event. The turn-on is essentially the way that they get you into the organization because, again, they're not leading with, hey, we have this 15-minute clitoris stroking practice that we think will help you to heal. No, they're really leading. with let's get to know each other. This is about connection. This is about belonging. We want you to feel seen here. Who's in the audience? A lot of people working in tech. There were a lot of men, older women,

wasn't like young, hip singles vibes. So you're in this group where someone's up on this hot seat, which is a taller chair than the other people. And there's people from one taste planted in the audience, like talking to the people. You don't even know that. And they're creating this experience for you where you're curious. You're like, why are we asking this person questions? And they're hot kind of questions. Some of them around like, one of the questions was like, if your sex was an animal, what would it be?

I think that's probably one of them. I just was like, okay, this is chill and doesn't do it for me. Like, I wanted to know about the practice. I wanted to get on the inside and be like, where's the sex happening? Where's the sex? Like, where's the good stuff? I feel like you're hiding. Stop hiding the stuff I'm here for.

And then after the turn on, there's a sale. table and they're trying to get you to buy stuff. They pitch you on other things that they offer. So the leader, she wasn't present at this thing. Yeah. I didn't even know that there was a leader. They really didn't make that connection until much later on because I obviously knew about Nicole Daydon through pop culture. Like I remember seeing her book when it came out. I remember seeing that she had a tag talk, but I didn't make the connection that this lady. was connected to one taste. I didn't know that.

Who was in charge? They had the heads of staff, and then they had the sales team, which are the people that are staff, but they're responsible for pitching you on courses that they think you're a good fit for. But I felt that I was being targeted by one staff member. She just seemed like she wanted to be my friend,

but I didn't realize that was all the strategy to be friendly to me, and then she could pitch me, on courses. And one of those things is the 15 minute practice. And I paid to go to that. So the way that One Taste let you know about things was like if you go to one thing, then you know about the next thing from that thing. So I didn't really know at the top that there were offerings beyond the intro to Ome is what they called it. Yeah, it's called orgasmic meditation. I honestly don't know why they called orgasm meditation.

My guess is in the way that they think it's like you're focusing on sensation while something's going on. They've said that the practice would heal your sexual trauma. And if you practice this, you become a turned-on woman. So maybe this is a good time to just sort of explain how this group works. Yeah. So one taste promotes a 15-minute practice where a man strokes the upper left-hand quadrant of a woman's clitoris. And the man is stroking your clitoris wearing a glove and has lube. And you're fully clothed, except the woman is not clothed from the waist down, but the man is fully clothed.

And it's supposed to result in orgasm and healing. but within that practice they promote is a sense of feeling your body, feeling sensation. They were trying to be, I think, a response to like sex negative patriarchy that wants women to be in their sexual pleasure, like being connected to your feelings. And when you get there, you actually find out that it is a goalless practice, that they're technically not claiming that you can have an orgasm. it's actually the opposite. Like, we just want you to have this practice and feel.

And when you're doing the practice, you say things like left or lighter pressure, heavier pressure, things like that. And it's like between $100 and $150 for you to learn this thing. Then, once you learn it, there was an opportunity to go to group practice sessions. So your first intro to put us in the room with you. So everything's happening at the center on Market Street in San Francisco. So it's upstairs, it's fluorescent lights, it's a huge space. But we were in the fish bowl, just like more a closed-off room. They brought out a table with a woman on it.

And a guy, again, these are upper-level people in one taste. They show us what it is we're going to be doing if we choose. And yeah, you watch. You sit there with everybody and you watch it. There's no spirituality attached to it. It's just a man is going to rub her clit for 15 minutes. How many people are observing? I don't know.

Like maybe 30, 20. I don't know. Does she speak about how this has changed her life and why it's so empowering for her? I don't think she said very much. Like, is she moaning the whole time? It's like, does she do a grand finale of the 15-minute orgasm? How do you know she's had her orgasm? Same thoughts I had. I was like, okay, as far as I know, you're supposed to be making these, like, big sounds and, like, your body's going to move and your face is going to move.

None of that happened. It was just, she just had her eyes closed and just was, like, still and just, like, tiny, like, cat, like, little meow type. I don't know how to describe it, but it was just, it was very, like, internal and quiet. And it, I didn't notice that she had a experience. The men don't orgasm, correct? Right. But then they did have a parent. some sort of male form of this practice, but then like it was never taught. These were things I heard about, but I didn't have access to. Is the man attractive? What's this guy like? He looked like the founder of Facebook. Zuckerberg?

Yeah, he looked like him. He was just a nerdy Silicon Valley guy who he's like, I have to do this to get laid because I don't know how to talk to women. Yeah, but I also feel like the low social skills for the men. That is definitely why they were there. Because a lot of people talk about that. They're like, when I first got to One Taste, I was this nerdy God, but now I've come into my beast or whatever they say.

And men are getting the throat clitorises. So it's like the men are upgrading and the women are just getting traumatized is the way that I like to look at it. It's like, you know, you before One Taste, it's like, oh, I was a low social skill, lonely guy. Now I get all this pussy. And then women are like, well, before I was just living a great life. And now I have all this trauma.

Thanks, One Taste. Thanks. And what were you thinking? What was going on for you? I've seen eyes wide shut. I thought eyes wide shut was really cool. But I was like, this is like not hot. Like it's not sexy.

Well, because it wasn't like a sex club. It was like a corporate sex demo. In business casual attire. Right. I'm not attracted to this in any way, shape, or form. I felt uncomfortable. Okay. So you watched this and then afterwards, does everybody clap?

go have cookies and coffee and talk about it? I don't remember there being any, like, testimonials. My memory is, okay, I went to the intro to home, but then, like, I didn't really meet cool people until I went to the group. Okay, so what the hell is group? Group is when you're in a room, and everyone is in their nest.

So there's two pillows that go underneath, one under each thigh, and then, yeah, you're in a butterfly position, so your knees go out. Oh, wow, very exposed, very exposed. It's a very vulnerable position. Yeah. So it didn't ask just like the pair, right, the strokey and the stroker. And then the stroker brings over gloves and lube. And you know this guy? You get assigned your stroker? No. No. You can like ask people, but I feel like my memory is that I didn't know to ask people. So I feel like I practiced with like a staff member at one point. You're, everyone's practicing together at the same time. So like it's a time. It's a time. practice obviously and so like you'll start together and then you'll you'll end and everyone talks after and hangs out and that's kind of that's kind of it your experience with the first time being the stroke at one point the guy who was stroking me like the sweat was trickling down from his glove and onto me

it was like the glove was fogging and it just felt good soggy sandwich you know it's been in a bag because a glove was all condensated. Oh. So I didn't enjoy that. Does it make you feel more comfortable to be in a group? Or does it make you feel more uncomfortable? I felt comfortable because I was with the really cozy pillows. That's what did it for me.

Okay, that's not what I was expecting to say. That I appreciate you. So comfortable. Okay, so you were physically comfortable. Emotionally were you comfortable? Again, like those pillows, they just make you feel. so comfortable. Yeah.

I'm so good. Did you have orgasms? Oh yeah, I did, but not because we followed the rules. The person who I practiced with went what's called outside of the container. So we're doing the practice, but they did other things. And it was through both of those things that, yeah, I did. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Ah, yes, the fiscally responsible, the financial geniuses, the absolute monetary magicians.

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They have gummies for stress relief, THC sodas for social uplift, pre-rolls for just a good time. So you can be your own. dancing bear. Hans. Bringing it back. Yeah.

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and thank you to Indecloud for making good decisions feel chewable. They had this huge center in San Francisco, but I only knew about the like $100 course. I found out almost a year later about their coaching program. The coaching program was thousands and thousands of dollars. I didn't actually know what they were coaching on.

Maybe it's sex and relationships. I wasn't totally sure. the person who was assigned to me, the staff member, I remember showing interest in it, and she was like, just take out a credit card because it was very expensive and I didn't have the money for that. And I did it.

I took out a new credit card. I had never done something like that in my life ever. And I had a physical reaction to it. I was like, I should not have done this. I also just didn't understand the coaching program even when I was in it. I was like, I don't know, what are you learning today? What is this?

Like, I didn't get it. And they always played the, same height music. Like I felt like it was always a Tony Robbins convention, like how he has like that warm up. And I'm like, wait, why the warm up music? Are they selling me something? Like my body is responding to this as if I'm at a convention. Finally, we got there. You are a cult. Thank you. You didn't let me down one taste. All of this shit is to get people into the coaching program, obviously. Once you're in the coaching program, that's when Nicole showed up. And Nicole's coming, and announcing that you could work with her.

And that was way more money than the coaching program. We were already in the thousands for the coaching program. This was triple or quadruple that to work with her. To work with her, meaning? I don't know. I didn't know what it meant because she was talking about like different groups and different things. There were retreats or there were like, I didn't really know.

I was like, wow. I mean, why would someone want to spend that kind of money to work? I didn't understand it. And again, because I didn't think I made the connection with her legacy and people had been following her teachings. I hadn't known her in that way. Nicole Daydon. She is the woman who founded one taste in San Francisco back in 2004. She argued that the female orgasm, which apparently is real, I just found out, wasn't just about pleasure.

He put that one in air quotes. She argued that the female orgasm wasn't just about pleasure. it was about spirituality. It was a social transformation. Of course. Yeah, of course. And for a lot of people who felt numb or unseen or disconnected, well, that message resonated. I believe that at some point you will hear yoga, meditation, and orgasm. And you won't hear it yoga, meditation at all. So in 2004, I founded One Taste Urban Retreat Centers with this in mind. One taste comes from the Buddhist expression, just as the ocean has one taste, the taste of salt,

so does the taste of liberation, the taste of truth. And I felt like I had tasted a truth that was so undeniable I had to bring it to the world. And by the way, she's not wrong. A female orgasm is spiritual, but not in the way that she's claiming. Nicole has also spoken openly about her own experiences of sexual trauma and feelings of shut down. She framed one taste as emerging from her personal search for healing and awakening.

They got away with it for 14 years. Right, because in 2018, Bloomberg published a major investigation into the organization, and in 2023, Dadeon was indicted on federal charges, including conspiracy to make make weird men touched vaginas for 15 minutes. Unfortunately, that is not what she was ended on. It was commit-forced laborer. What I knew about Nicole was that she had written a book called Slow Sex, and then she had a TED talk,

and that at some point, I think she was endorsed by Gwyneth Paltrow and maybe Chloe Kardashian, potentially. The only thing that they ever really said was that Nicole, I think she said this herself when she came to the center one day. She was talking about she wanted to be a nun or she was like at a monastery or something. She basically met some guy and the guy

told her about this practice and it's like Tibetan Buddhist and it's like gonna heal you. And when I heard all of this it made me go, oh so this is a Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice. Wait, did a Buddhist monk stroke your clitorist? Like how did this happen?

You know, there was a lot of, it didn't, make total sense. That's the other thing. It was very confusing. They would tell me one thing here, another thing here, and it didn't follow the same script. They were pulling things out of 12-step programs and like adopting that in like the one-taste culture. Like one of the philosophies was like you write out fear inventory in the morning and I'm like, it's not step work? How is it related to stroking a clip? This is a terrible cult. I got pointers for you guys. You guys got to get your shit together. Your recruiting is subpar. Your love bombing is really fucking janky.

Sorry. It's just like, it's just so weird. You just show up and you just watch somebody, rub somebody off for 15 minutes. And you're like, cool, where do I go for that? Again, my goal was, I don't care about other people doing this. I want to learn this for myself. But what did you want to learn? I felt if I somehow had some kind of special orgasm that I would then I don't know, be like I would be changed. I would be, you know, suddenly no longer a person that didn't get it or that was behind in my sex or that was, I'll be more empowered around it and, you know, this did not meet those expectations.

I'm like, well, this is not the cult I was signing up for. Like, no, literally I was just like, where are the hot people? In your mind, you're like, there's going to be young, single, hot people that I definitely I'll rub my clip for 15 minutes in an open forum. Exactly. I was like, okay, well, this will fix me. I'll be more empowered around it. And I was just still wanting something, which is why I moved in with them.

What does it mean to live in their house? Like, they had their own house. So, Wente's had two houses, both in San Francisco, that I lived at both of them, living in these home houses. You had no privacy, no walls, no doors. You're just in one big open space. you're sharing your bed. People are just having sex right in front of you.

And there were like scheduled makeouts where people can have a makeout. And you're supposed to just live together and practice. And you had to have a bedmate. You had to sleep with somebody. Yes. A man, a woman. I'm not totally clear if they cared about gender, but you had to have someone sleep in your bed. They just said, because it's a part of what we practice here,

There was a teaching in one taste around aversion and like leaning into what you're basically not attracted to or what your body is telling you as a no. Basically training you not to trust your intuition and not to enable consent. Right. And they did this because if all the women in one taste were like, I don't want this guy touching me because he's just not my type, then those men wouldn't keep paying and coming back and they would lose their people. Of course. So they need women to, like, be willing to practice with whoever. So, like, there were a lot of times where I was practicing with men and I was like, I don't want these men touching me. So what would you do for those 15 minutes?

I told myself, I think that it was just sort of like, oh, like, make it about me, make it about what I want and feeling good. And in my mind, I think I coupled it with going to the gym or something because that's how they were packaging it. It is a daily thing that you do. Was no an option? I mean, when people ask you to own, you can definitely say no. But I think that there's, like, why would you say no kind of energy?

Like, you're not going to have sex with this person. You're just going to practice. Like, I definitely said no to people, though. The main places that I said no were to makeouts, which is a whole other thing. Kind of similar to, like, the 15-minute practice where you can ask someone. And it's supposed to be like a timed sexual. session. To have sex? Yeah, I didn't know. How much was this taking over your life? Oh my God, it was so all of it. You know, I'm sure you've heard this a thousand times, but you really do lose your friends and like

your family and like everything is just becomes about this. It's interesting. What I wanted was the community. I wanted to learn this practice. I wanted to have a certain kind of experience. And the more that I hung out and was around, I'm like, well, this isn't the thing that I thought that I was was coming for. Like, I literally thought that there were going to be, like, orgies and, like, I don't know if it was going to be, like, a fun, like, a fun, like, a fun, like, group of people that want to have, I don't know, I thought it was going to be this, like, cool place. But, you know, now it just seemed, I didn't understand the point of it. And it didn't feel good to me. And the more that I spent time there, I'm like, okay, it seems that if I stay with this organization, the path is actually

female empowerment, female leadership. Like it felt more like suddenly that's where their focus was. It was an organization really that I think just wanted to be seen as a feminist organization when in fact it was sexually exploiting and trafficking its women and definitely not a safe place. And a place that promoted domestic violence and rape culture, like totally. enabled that. Looking back, do you feel you were coerced? I feel that the people who were doing the abuse were protected. People also could see the abuse that was happening. They could see it visibly. And I think that they enabled it, or they stayed silent about it. It's almost like

the person that's being abused, they're constantly having to decide. if their reality is real because no one's sharing their reality. Everyone's seeing what's going on, but I'm the only one that's naming it. And if I'm the only one that's naming it, is it real? I do believe there's a term for that, and I am going to use it. I'm going to do it in all caps. It's gaslighting. When you're talking about the abuse here, you're talking about, like, the rape.

Well, yeah, but also partner violence, for sure, because there was different forms of it because, I mean, there's the sexual assault, which is someone basically going outside the container with you of the 15-minute practice, but you didn't say, yeah, we can go ahead and do that. And then anything else that happens outside of that. But again, it's like kind of a crazy thought because it's like, you're already doing this crazy. Like, you're already like in a sex cult. I mean, you know, but it still. No, like 100%. But that brings up a bigger sort of question, right? because the whole thing was a form of coercion and rape because it was promising something that isn't that what you got?

The whole thing about going outside the container, it didn't happen for me that often. And when I tried to speak to a staff member about it, she was just like, oh, that's just something that happens. Like there was just no protocol, no system. They're literally selling sex and they've taken no responsibility with it. So it actually, what that made me feel was, oh, I feel a little embarrassed that I shared that and also a little ashamed. Yeah. Ironically, I think what you're saying and what your cult promised was safety.

You wanted to feel safe enough to explore your high sex drive. Oh, yeah. I mean, they were selling belonging connection, which then you think, great, this is like a safety container. It's the illusion of safety, which turned out to be. Completely unsafe. Yeah. Okay, so if you've listened to our show... And if you haven't, you should, but you are, so.

You will most likely have heard a guest discuss how important therapy was for their deconversion from cults, but you don't have to have left a cold to get therapy. I mean, therapy is just good. Good for your mental health. However, the stress of finding therapy or the right therapist shouldn't be the reason you have to go to therapy. Right. finding someone who actually takes your insurance, that is a whole different quest. Which is why Rula is so great.

So Rula is a health care company. It connects you with licensed therapists and psychiatrists who are all in network with over 100 insurance plans. And the average copay, people pay, guess what it is? $15 a session. Come on. Solid. Solid. And depending on your benefits, it could be as low as a zero.

Yeah. Yeah. This is real therapy by real professionals. Yeah, it doesn't just throw you at the first available provider. They consider what you're after, your preferences, your background. They give you a curated list of licensed in-network therapists who actually align with what you need. And they've built a network of over 15,000 licensed providers nationwide. Yeah, and appointments can be available as soon as tomorrow, which is great.

Because when you decide you finally need help, well, you don't really want to wait for three months. No, and because he might chicken out, get cold feet. We don't want that. We don't want that. No. Mental health care that works with you, not against your budget. Imagine that. Thousands of people are already using Rula to get affordable, high-quality therapy that's actually

covered by insurance. You can visit Rula.com. That's R-U-L-A-com slash in a cult to get started. And after you sign up, they're going to ask you how you heard about them. So please don't forget us. Please don't forget us. Support our show. We don't need. Support our show. Tell them we sent you. We appreciate it.

That's rula.com slash an occult. Rula.com slash an occult because you deserve mental health care that works with you. Not against your budget. June 2025, a federal jury convicted Nicole Dadeon and her former head of sales, Rachel Churwitz, on charges of forced labor conspiracy. Following the verdict, they were remanded to federal custody and are currently being. held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while awaiting their final judgment. And that judgment is down the pike. Ladies and gentlemen, after multiple postponements, sentencing is now scheduled for this month. March 30th, 2026, federal prosecutors are seeking the statutory maximum of 20 years for Nicole and 14 years for Rachel. We will keep you updated. But wasn't I trafficked? I mean, like, when you,

go out and you're recruiting people and you're wanting to bring in hot, youthful women to these men who are paying the bills, is that not the same as a madam or a pimp? To me, if you're recruiting people in that way, is that not a form of trafficking? I was being brought in under almost, like, I thought it was educational and that I was going to like learn something and come away with a thing, you know? But what actually happened was I didn't technically learn this skill or I didn't feel like I gained anything. I feel like I lost from going to one taste. It wasn't a gain. It was now I am sexually traumatized. I really hardcore pivoted from my main, you know, career and my light and my gifts and my skills. Like, yes, I was still teaching yoga and I was writing a show and I was

doing poetry, sure. But my nervous system was messed up. What's interesting is I had so many people kind of drop hints about narcissistic abuse. And I did have people like come into my life out of nowhere and start talking about that. And I had never heard that term before. I tried so hard to speak out about it to the community. There was like one guy who illuminated for me at the time. He was kind of not really in one taste, but not really out of it. And I remember he was just like, I think you just need to call the police. And I was like, wait, what?

I didn't even know that it was that bad. So people didn't see the harm or the severity or the violence in what I was experiencing. Or maybe what's even worse is, or they did. And they just chose not to say anything. What got you out, finally out? I think it was going to the land. The land.

They had this place called the land, which appeared out of nowhere. They bought land. I always joke that it's like, when a high control group gets land, that is the last step before Netflix makes a documentary about it. So that was some next level. I am, this is, I'm definitely needing to go now.

Where was it? I don't even know where it was. It was in a remote location. We were off grid. And I didn't have a car. I didn't even drive there. But from San Francisco, you drove from Yeah. And so you arrive and what does it look like? Like a farm with cabins. And there were like farm animals and like a dining hall. I am telling you. it was the vibe. It was the energy. I'm so sensitive to energy. And I was just like, what?

Because, you know, I love camping. I love a cabin. But that's not what was going on here. I don't know what was going on there. But it felt twisted. It was really strange. Was the land just like the practice on crack? Was everybody just practicing?

No, no. It was, they did other things. I don't want to give away too much about it because this is in my show and I want to like save it. I don't want to give away like the one thing. I guess we'll have to watch your show to find out the details. Is that what you're telling us? And I have no idea how I got out, but I did. To this day, do not remember how I orchestrated that.

It was so funny. My director was like, and you left? Like, yeah, I left. You didn't have a car. How'd you go? I was like, yeah. I'm sure I was in like some complete. disassociated state.

When do you find out that you were in a cult? It was truly like a wild. I was performing another show about sexual abuse. It was about my experience in like the spiritual wellness industry and someone came up to me after a show

and they said, what are you doing now to heal from this? And I was like, huh? What do you mean? They're like, you were abused and I was like, wait, wait, what? It did not occur to me.

And then somebody, like a person, another person doing solo comedy, had gone through a treatment program. And she gave me the information to that treatment program. And it was the literal best thing ever. Best thing. But by the end of my time with this treatment program, I had like basic understanding that I had experienced domestic violence close to some of my last sessions where she literally gave me a sheet of paper that showed the cycle

of abuse. And it was literally my experience. And I was like, oh, and I didn't really feel that I had been a victim of assault at that time. And then, you know, I go into this cult recovery therapy. And it was like, oh, this is so big. Which is why people need to talk about and learn about and know about domestic violence and abuse and have resources and truly learn about the tactics. It's weird because where I'm at in my life now, if I'm scapegoated, if I'm not believed,

if I'm isolated, if I'm punished, retaliated against, if I'm being talked about by a group, if I'm being pushed out, I'm like, oh, okay, got it. Because like, I already know, like, what that's like. I didn't realize that a lot of why I was going through what I was going through at one taste was that I felt like I couldn't regulate and that I was looking outward for people to like regulate me. Where I'm at now is more like feel my feelings. I'm not looking outward for people to rescue, regulate, you know, fill any.

thing. I don't need that type of energy from people. How are you today with your body and your own empowerment? Where I'm at with my body is it is a completely different place. I think something that I value is feeling my feelings. I've pivoted away from just doing the yoga and, you know, I did a half marathon. Like, I've been boxing and like weightlifting. And you're eating. And you're Meat meat. I do. Sorry, vegan, raw people. I realized that I was not healthy in terms of how I was dealing with veganism. Anyway, eventually I got out of that, then I no longer have an issue with food. I really appreciate everything that you've brought to me today. I know it's hard talking about this shit and now you made a whole show about it and I hope it's an experience that feels good for

your heart and your soul. Thanks. That's really cool. kinds. Yeah, I mean, I appreciate you taking the time. No one's ever asked these types of questions. Like, usually it's just very surface level of stuff. Again, stars one woman's show about her time in one taste is called Click Cult. Thank you, Liz. It's premiering at the New York Fringe Festival, April 2nd for five whole nights at Wild Project in the East Village. Info can be found at her website at starstone speaks.com. And you can follow her on Instagram at, and I'm going to make the little symbol with my fingers, the little A with the tail, at Starstone Speaks.

In my show, we're writing original songs. I've never done that before. Is it like, my clit is the best. My clit is amazing. You know what? It's actually not, you're not so far off. There's one song, I don't want to give away, but this goes, vagina, vagina, the ageeine. Somebody lick my vagina, not you. Wait, you want to come to the recording session? Actually, yes. She built it up. Took us to the climax and then.

Yeah, she got us. The left quadrant was working for 15 minutes. It was 14 and a half minutes and then she stopped. What the fuck happened at the land? Exclamation point. She's not going to finish us off. She will not finish us off. But she will, guys.

But she will. That's the fun news that I get to share with you. because Star has promised us to come back after a fringe and tell us everything. Everything? Everything that happened at the land. The land. So you will get your finale because that story is coming. But in the meantime, I'm just going to use this pivot imagination of mind and dream about what happens on the land.

I don't think it's that kind of dream. It's not as good as I think it is. Well, that story, you guys, and a whole lot more incredible stories are coming your way. And that's our show. If you are listening and you want to support us, there's a way to do it.

You'll get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and it's through our Patreon membership. And guys, our Patreon people keep the show going. So we deeply, deeply appreciate you. The links in the show notes. You can pay to help us continue to make the show. Or, by God, you can pay us not to.

I'm okay with that too. Right. Give us enough money to retire. And that would be awesome, too. A balance for two. We do love our listeners. We really do. And of late, we've been getting some wonderful messages from,

our listeners, and they're great. Honestly, we get wonderful messages that we really love reading. Jacqueline Fisher sent us a nice message. Stephanie Kermer, who apparently is some kind of distant cousin of mine. I mean, Mormons, they're all cousins in one way or another. I had an odd occurrence. I was at a Target. I was just there buying toilet paper and granola.

Oh, right. Yeah, and some woman comes up, and she goes, are you time? her. I said, yeah. And she goes, I heard your voice from the other end of the aisle. I listened to your podcast. It was very strange, but wonderful.

I forget her name. I believe it was Cassie. Oh, Jesus. Don't like this. Yeah, she was like, don't. Don't. She's like, I love your show. It's so great.

So, so whoever that is, I believe it was Cassie. We appreciate you. You do have a very distinct voice. Uh, it's not my real voice, by the way. I kind of put on a podcast voice for everyone. What's your real voice?

It's very Utah. Uh, utarn. Utah. It's very unrecognizable. And what's your real voice, Iacusi? Editor's note. Sorry, Liz did a voice that was really offensive and I can't in good conscience leave it in the episode. And whatever accent you're thinking,

thinking it was, it was actually worse than that. We're not going to get bad mail for that. No. Oh, Star, I just want to tell you, you're the best. We love you. Bring your show to Los Angeles because we will see it and we will make other people see it. And I want to know what happens in the land. So I want to land that plane, Liz. Wasana Coulth is written, hosted, produced by me, Liz. Soggy Sandwich. I can't believe we just brushed over a soggy sandwich. I didn't say anything.

There's so many of them. Sweaty glove. Oh. And me, Tyler, corporate sex demo. Just me some. Don't forget about Rob. Our wonderful sound mix designer edited the Rob condensated para. I look at Rob, it's just pure.

That's it, folks. That's really gross. There we did. We made it look easy. You know, the problem with making things look easy is that people think it's easy. And by God, this is not. You know, it so isn't. I wish it worked.

Back to the wine! Exclamation point. You know what they say about starting. Don't. You got to learn how to finish. Stay in your left quadrant, Liz. Stay in your quadrant. Listen up, campers.

It's time to buckle up, pitch a tent, and take a hike. This is Camp Counselor's Podcasts. With Zachariah Porter and Jonathan Carson. Consider this podcast your new favorite variety show. Where the badges mean nothing. And the drama means everything. Is this podcast even about camping? No, but it is camp.

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