The Real NXIVM Whistleblower: HBO’s “The Vow” is a Lie
The real cult is white supremacy. I am the proof.
TW: cult abuse, human trafficking, gaslighting of survivors
My name is Caitie Gutierrez and I am a bisexual & biracial Biawaisa (Two-Spirit) Boricua (Puerto Rican) Taíno mental health consumer advocate, peer support worker, writer. and survivor from Lenapehoking (Long Island, New York) residing on Gadigal Country (Sydney, Australia). I have been cyberstalked and harassed by NXIVM cult and Heterodox Academy members since 2017 (likely earlier) because of my activism around bisexuality & queerness, mental health & disability, Black & Indigenous rights, and survivorship.
I first realised what was happening when one of my closest childhood friends (let’s call her “Alice”) rapidly shifted into someone who was no longer recognisable to me. Out of seemingly nowhere, Alice began to use abuse apologism written by Instagram influencers such as Clementine Morrigan, Tada Hozumi, Seerut K. Chawla, Nicole LePera, Sarah Schulman to silence my experience of abuse that happened in her home. This seemed out of character, considering she was one of the first people I knew personally to advocate openly against sexual abuse. She is also a survivor. I watched helplessly from afar as Alice turned from one of the fiercest advocates for justice, to an accomplice of my abusers in what felt like overnight. It wasn’t until I looked more deeply into the content that was influencing Alice’s behaviour that I realised some of the people responsible for the demise of our friendship were pretending to be supportive of me when I was seeking justice for the abuse, all while stoking the flames.
Shortly after NXIVM cult leader Nicki Clyne’s good friend Ian Miles Cheong harassed me on Twitter in 2017, I was befriended by Instagram influencer and writer of Awards For Good Boys, Shelby Lorman, and her best friend, Eleanor Lambert, whose father Christopher Lambert is listed in Jeffrey Epstein’s little black book. Shelby and Eleanor connected with me under the guidance of Arianna Huffington’s company Thrive Global, which claims to provide “behaviour change technology.”
Thrive Global was founded in 2016, which according to the NXIVM documentary “Seduced,” is the same year Keith Raniere told all of the members of the inner circle of NXIVM, called “DOS”, that they needed to bring in more members in hopes of influencing the 2020 election. It is also mentioned in this documentary that Allison Mack encouraged DOS members to send photos of potential recruits on social media. Eleanor accidentally sent me a photo of myself in May of 2020.
I was introduced to Shelby and Eleanor through an Instagram account called @douconsideryourselfafeminist, who I found cited in a research paper that came out of the same Concordia University (NXIVM “whistleblower” Sarah Edmonson’s alma mater) cohort as Instagram grifter Clementine Morrigan’s white supremacist partner Jay Manicom-Marquis LeSoleil. This is how I discovered that Heterodox Academy, funded by the Koch family and endorsed by Jordan B. Peterson, is actively training members of the alt-right on how to infiltrate, study, and influence marginalised communities and survivors of abuse without informed consent by using memetics, the study of memes.
Instagram allows these studies to be executed on their platform without informed consent. CEO Adam Mosseri attended the same university as one of my recruiters, Eleanor — NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualised Study. Heterodox Academy was founded at NYU by professor of “ethics,” Jonathan Haidt. Mosseri and Haidt mutually follow each other on Twitter.
Shelby and Eleanor gravitated towards me after Instagram Influencer @douconsideryourselfafeminist (“Sarah from Montreal”) boosted my content speaking out against the work of Jordan B. Peterson. They made me believe they were leftists, feminists, activists, advocates, and writers like myself and they often supported my advocacy. They both attempted to influence my behaviour, my beliefs, and my vote.
Since I first began speaking openly about my experience, I have spent over 2 years slowly removing people from my life who are involved with the cult. I’ve been harassed, mass-reported, doxxed, suicide-baited, had my reputation smeared, and been threatened with legal action almost daily by many other influencers connected to the cult such as Helene “Olivia Snow” Remiszewska Schlein, @MistressSnowPhd, of the Center for Critical Internet Inquiry at UCLA (formely AI Now Institute at NYU) and Azadeh “Azi” Ghafari, @the.wellness.therapist, who also works at UCLA (formerly NYU) and is featured in Amanda Montell’s book Cultish. Azadeh claims to have worked on the HBO documentary Q: Into The Storm, which experts have warned is likely a recruitment tool. Azadeh “Azi” Ghafari and her co-conspirator Donna Arkee, who has also participated in harassing me, sit on the Board of the Iranian Democrats of California. Both Azi and Donna self-identify as “Aryan.”
NXIVM “whistleblowers” Sarah Edmonson and Anthony “Nippy” Ames tried to contact me on TikTok after my videos speaking about my experience began to go viral. They followed my account and liked multiple videos in support. When I did not respond, their colleague and writer of the NXIVM book Don’t Call It A Cult, Sarah Berman, wrote a Twitter thread discrediting my story deploying the usual tactics used by cults and abusers to silence their victims: stating that I am either vengeful or simply delusional.
The truth is that I never responded to Sarah and Nippy because it was clear to me that they are supporters of the work of Jordan B. Peterson and Heterodox Academy and that it is likely that companies like Heterodox Academy and Thrive Global are extensions of NXIVM, as that is historically how the cult has managed to function under the radar. I also noticed another account on Twitter who participated in the smear campaign against me is followed by another NXIVM “whistleblower” Mark Vicente.
“The Vow” is a lie and HBO is responsible for spreading fascist propaganda and enabling human trafficking. It is no surprise to me that HBO is owned by Warner Bros. Actor Ezra Miller, who is still employed by Warner Bros despite grooming, abusing, and trafficking multiple queer Indigenous people, is also a suspected member of NXIVM.
NXIVM continues to Thrive Globally while Keith Raniere is in prison, with cult members grifting thousands, if not millions, off of the real pain of those of us who have survived their gaslighting and abuse. Our survivorship is a threat to the powers that be, so they have taken it upon themselves to pose as activists, journalists, influencers, and survivors themselves in an attempt to take control of our narratives. I guess when you’re a failed actor, your next best bet is to grift on social media and silence survivors of abuse.
A personal note to those involved: Fuck your books, fuck your podcasts, fuck your Substack newsletters, fuck your think tanks, fuck your academic research, fuck your memes, fuck your Discord channels, fuck your “peer-led” organisations, fuck your panels, fuck your conferences, fuck your documentaries, fuck your awards, fuck your VICE-Bitch Media-Wear Your Voice-Prism Reports-Joy Sauce-Huffington Post-Rolling Stone-Variety-New York Post-New York Times articles, and fuck your capitalist boot-licking. There is no amount of fame or money you could entice me with that will shut me up. I am forever dedicated to Land Back and Reparations despite your best efforts. And for the record, nothing makes me want to live more than knowing you would like me to disappear and die. I thrive off of spite, so if I ever die by “suicide” or other suspicious circumstances, my loved ones and community know exactly who to blame. Fuck you.
I told you this would end with me.
Follow Caitie on TikTok & Instagram.
***Update August 22, 2023: Ongoing Harassment and Urgent Insights***
Amplifying the Harassment: An Unsettling Reality
Since writing this article, I have endured extreme online harassment from Clementine’s cult following. Clementine’s partner Jay and an account falsely portraying themselves as a healthcare worker, @the.wellness.therapist, have both armchair diagnosed me as schizophrenic and paranoid, despite receiving ongoing mental healthcare from qualified professionals for PTSD stemming from the ongoing cyberstalking and harassment. Both Jay and “Azadeh” have also accused me of faking my Indigeneity. The cult has a distinct pattern of targeting reconnecting Indigenous people.
Clementine’s Eery Admission of Tactics
Clementine has written in one of her Substack articles titled “You Don’t Have to Like Them but You Have to Love Them,” about the ease of employing calculated actions to harm others. She contemplates using burner accounts to spread slander and rumors, alluding to the ability to exact revenge on individuals. Astonishingly, this exact strategy has been carried out against me since naming her connection to the NXIVM cult. Here are the documented instances and a map of some of the cult members who have employed these harassment tactics against me (viewable on desktop only).
The Grim Trail of Evidence
The harassment campaigns I have endured are documented with alarming evidence. This ranges from the utilisation of multiple burner accounts adorned with blackface, to the creation of entire profiles dedicated to doxxing my Indigenous family and coercing me into suicidal thoughts. In this disturbing context, a crucial question surfaces: If Clementine stands by her principles, why does she not intervene as her cult following systematically harasses me? Moreover, the uncanny colour similarity between the profile picture of @the.wellness.therapist and the original Concordia University account @douconsideryourselfafeminist (along with similar behaviour and writing style) raises suspicions, considering the connection between Jay and @douconsideryourselfafeminist is what inspired me to dig deeper in the first place. Dr. Christine Marie also happens to use the same colour for her logos on Facebook and her website.
Unraveling Disturbing Connections: A Distinct Pattern
As further pieces fall into place, a disconcerting connection emerges: Jay Marquis-Manicom and the Instagram account @douconsideryourselfafeminist (“Sarah” from Montreal) are linked to the same Concordia University cohort. This revelation aligns eerily with the roots of “whistleblower” and Concordia alumni Sarah Edmonson, known for recruiting young women into the NXIVM cult, Concordia-based project Queering the Map which documents the experiences and locations of LGBTQIA+ people across the globe, and Marc-Andre Argentino who coined the term/tactic Pastel QAnon at Concordia. Additionally, my investigation reveals Clementine’s reliance on a dissertation authored by NXIVM’s marketing expert, Dr. Christine Marie, to substantiate her arguments against cancel culture. Clemetine regularly offers “Anti-Oppression & Pro-Solidarity training” at Concordia. The intricate connections continue to multiply.
A Complex Web of Manipulation: Azadeh Ghafari @the.wellness.therapist
@the.wellness.therapist claims to be Iranian psychotherapist, social worker, & researcher Azadeh Ghafari. She claims to work for UCLA Health and is featured in multiple books, articles, and podcasts about NXIVM, cults, conspiricies, and the alt-right. However, I was notified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that Azadeh Ghafari is not a public entity providing health and social services as she claims. I was also informed by UCLA that she is not employed there as she claims.
Unveiling Disturbing Agendas: Shielding Abusers
Beyond the realm of harassment and manipulation, a stark reality emerges: Clementine Morrigan’s actions serve as a diversion, shielding celebrities and powerful individuals who seek to evade accountability for their racism, ableism, and sexual abuse. This sinister tactic aims to silence marginalised voices, preventing them from voicing complaints against these wrongdoings.
Challenging the Manipulative Strategy
By delving into the intricate layers of manipulation, it becomes clear that these actions are not isolated incidents. They form part of a broader strategy aimed at protecting the interests of those who perpetuate racism, ableism, and abuse. The urgency to continue questioning, probing, and advocating for accountability remains undiminished.
As this unsettling journey unfolds, it’s imperative to remain vigilant against attempts to manipulate narratives and divert attention from crucial issues. By exposing the truth behind these calculated tactics, we stand a chance to disrupt the cycle of abuse and exploitation that threatens to persist unchecked.
