A sexual wellness company accused of abusing and coercing women into sexual acts is suing Netflix over a documentary that claims an employee was “raped and beaten.”
In new filings obtained by , “orgasmic meditation cult” OneTaste claims that allegations made against it by several former members and employees featured in the streaming giant’s film are “completely false.” be.
Netflix first aired Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste in 2022, five months before founder Nicole Daedone, 56, and Rachel Cherwitz, 43, were charged with allegedly forcing women to perform sexual acts. Both women deny the allegations.
A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court focuses on the final 15 minutes of the documentary, which details former employee Ayries Blanck’s experience of “sexual violence” that was “condoned” by the company.
OneTaste is suing Netflix for defamation, nearly five months after founders Nicole Daedone (left) and Rachel Cherwitz (right) were sued over claims they coerced employees into sexual acts using cult-like tactics
A 2022 Netflix documentary repeated former employee Ayries Blanck’s accusations that OneTaste “condoned violence” against Ayries and “found strangers to rape her.”
In the Netflix documentary, Ayries’ sister Autymn explains she was there to “tell the story” of her sister and read passages from diaries detailing the alleged abuse months after the incident
OneTaste once operated centers in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Denver, Las Vegas, Boulder, Los Angeles, Austin and London.
In New York City, OneTaste rented apartments and held events in various locations, including Brooklyn and the Manhattan neighborhoods of Harlem, Hell’s Kitchen, Soho, and the West Village.
Blanck began working for the company in 2012 but left in 2014.
The wellness company also claims its denial was left out of the final cut of the film
She signed a nondisclosure agreement and settled out of court with OneTaste for $325,000 after claiming she was manipulated into sex.
She filed a lawsuit against the company in August 2015, alleging that it subjected her to “a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, failure to pay minimum wage, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.”
OneTaste is currently in a second bitter legal battle against Blanck over claims that she violated her NDA after settling with them by voicing her hatred for the company on multiple occasions.
Court documents accuse Blanck of trying to connect former OneTaste customers and employees with journalists and admitting that he was offered money to appear in the Netflix documentary.
While she herself did not appear in the documentary, Blanck’s sister Autymn repeated allegations that OneTaste “condoned violence against Ayries” and “found strangers to rape her.”
In new documents obtained by , OneTaste claims that allegations made against the company by several former members and employees featured in the streaming giant’s film are “completely false.”
The new lawsuit, obtained by , claims that the allegations made by Autymn in the documentary are defamatory and that OneTaste’s denial is not included in the final version.
In the Netflix documentary, Autymn explains that she was there to “tell the story” of her sister, reading passages from diaries detailing the alleged abuse months after the incident.
“I wanted to speak for someone who couldn’t speak for himself,” Autymn said.
“I wanted to tell the story of someone who was silenced and swept under the rug in all of this.”
According to Netflix, Ayries Blanck refused to take part in the filming. In the separate lawsuit, Blanck denies giving her sister permission to speak to the streaming giant on her behalf.
Blanck denies the allegations. Her lawyers told the court at a recent hearing that she had left the United States and was “too traumatized” to attend a deposition.
The lawsuit mentions Autymn Black as one of the people who participated in interviews in the film, although they were not involved in OneTaste
The files include a screenshot from the documentary in which Autymn reads emails as her sister’s “diaries.”
OneTaste says in its lawsuit against Blanck that the “cost of defending the case would exceed the amount” it could settle for – although the company has denied the allegations.
Blanck signed a settlement agreement confirming that she would not “disparage or encourage others to disparage OneTaste or its executives.”
Her lawsuit alleges that despite the settlement, Blanck continued his “vetch” against the company and “repeated the false allegations.”
It says Blanck laughed when asked if she had signed a nondisclosure agreement and said, “Anyway, I’ll do whatever I want.”
Court documents say OneTaste feels it is unable to “fight the defamatory statements” made by Netflix and director Sarah Gibson.
Lawyers for the sexual wellness company also allege that Netflix obtained footage from its archives from a former company videographer after the employee was terminated.
Blanck became involved with OneTaste in 2012 and was “positive” about her involvement through 2014, she claimed. She did not appear in the documentary, but her claims were repeated by her sister
Daedone pleaded not guilty to federal charges that accused her and Cherwitz of coercing volunteers, contractors and employees into sexual acts using cult-like tactics
There has already been a lawsuit against Netflix against those who attended courses, appeared in the “stolen” footage and did not give permission to be shown in the documentary.
More than a dozen former members claim the show “misused” recordings of their workouts, violated their privacy rights and wrongly linked them to “suggestive” and “implicit” criminal behavior.
Lawyers are demanding an unknown amount of damages in the case and have asked the court for a jury trial.
Current OneTaste CEO Anjuli Ayer, who was not at the helm when the allegations were made, told : “While there are many problems with the film that Netflix and Sarah Gibson made about OneTaste, including the Sourcing footage and abusing the privacy of individuals, we filed this lawsuit because at the heart of their film are false allegations about OneTaste that focus on Ayries Blanck, just as previous negative coverage of OneTaste has.
“Netflix received 297 pages of documents from us prior to broadcast showing that the story spread by Ms. Blanck and some disgruntled former employees was not only unreliable, but patently false,” Ayer added.
Netflix did not respond to a request for comment from .
The lawsuit comes after a federal indictment was filed against founders Daedone and Cherwitz, accusing them of coercing volunteers, contractors and employees into sexual acts using cult-like tactics.
Anjuli Ayer (center) – the current CEO – took over OneTaste in 2017 after being introduced to the orgasm meditation company by Daedone the year before
Prosecutors say the alleged victims were monitored and made dependent on Daedone and Cherwitz for housing and basic needs.
They were charged with conspiracy to violate federal laws prohibiting the use of forced labor.
What is Orgasm Meditation or “OM”?
Orgasmic meditation is a 15-minute partner exercise in which a woman removes her underwear and lies on a pillow nest or other comfortable position.
The stroker, often a man, sits next to her on his own cushions and lightly and deliberately strokes her clitoris.
The stroker focuses exclusively on the upper left quadrant of the clitoris, the so-called “one o’clock position.”
This lasts 15 minutes until a timer expires.
The goal is not necessarily to achieve orgasm, but simply to “feel” the sensation as intensely as possible.
It affects the same parts of the human brain as traditional meditation.
In 2018, the FBI opened an investigation when former customers came forward saying they were in debt after paying for expensive courses, and former employees said they were told to engage in sexual relationships with potential customers to close sales .
Prosecutors say that between 2004 and 2018, Daedone and Cherwitz used a series of abusive and manipulative tactics to obtain the labor and services of a group of OneTaste members, including volunteers, contractors and employees.
The indictment alleges that the duo used tactics designed to make OneTaste members dependent on the group for housing and basic needs and to limit members’ independence and control.
Members of OneTaste were allegedly held in “housing camps” where they were forced to perform sexual acts.
The alleged victims were “constantly monitored” and isolated from friends and family.
When members could no longer afford OneTaste classes, they were forced to take on debt, and at times Daedone and Cherwitz even helped them open new credit cards, the indictment says.
Daedone and Cherwitz have both pleaded not guilty and are free on $1 million and $300,000 bonds, respectively.
OneTaste’s current leadership team says it stands behind the defendants.
Cherwitz still works with the company, but Daedone has taken a step back since he was indicted in Brooklyn earlier this year.