One Tree Hill star Bethany Joy Lenz reveals she was in a cult for 10 years: 'There's a lot to tell'
Bethany Joy Lenz will one day put pen to paper and recount her days in a cult.
The One Tree Hill alum has revealed that she was previously involved with a cult for a decade of her life on the latest episode of her Drama Queens podcast with former costars Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton. Lenz said she's been revisiting the experience and writing about it privately, adding that she hopes to release a book about it one day.
"I was in a cult for 10 years," Lenz said. "That would be a really valuable experience to write about, and the recovery — 10 years of recovery after that. So there's a lot to tell."
Though she did not disclose any details about the alleged cult, Lenz said she's been feeling the "pressure" of getting the story "right and everything having to be exactly real." She added, "Also, I don't know how much I can say because there are still people and legal things in place that make it more complicated for the timing of that. But I do write. I write all the time."
Amy Sussman/Getty Images Bethany Joy Lenz
Lenz has never publicly spoken about any particular cult, though she did previously appear to allude to cult-like behavior at the Mosaic Church in Los Angeles, sharing that she attended the church on and off for two years and calling it out for alleged abuse on Instagram in 2021. "The level of control displayed, particularly by [leader Erwin] McManus," she wrote, "was disturbing to me and to many other people who have left Mosaic for that very reason."
"So many people are being misled in the name of a God I love and cherish, I feel I have a responsibility to speak up for anyone willing to hear it," Lenz added. "The hierarchy in this 'church,' the level of abuse that I've consistently heard goes on behind the scenes and how everything centers around the leader is textbook 101 of cults. And usually, unless you're in the inner circle, it's much harder to spot."
It appears Lenz also narrowly avoided the NXIVM cult led by convicted leader Keith Raniere: Allison Mack, who was recently released a year early from prison for racketeering and other charges related to efforts to recruit women to the cult, appeared to try and enlist the star back in 2016, as seen in the tweet below.
@BethanyJoyLenz you would love this woman's movement I'm a part of. Love to tell you about it, DM me if you want! <3 https://t.co/KUkvvdcWVS
— Allison Mack (@allisonmack) April 21, 2016
Reddit sleuths captured Lenz's now-deleted response, which reportedly read, "Sorry love, was already in a cult once. But LMK when you're on the other side and we'll talk."
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