Executives of Cultish Orgasmic Meditation Company Indicted on Forced Labor Charges
Nicole Daedon and Rachel Cherwitz of OneTaste, a notorious sexual wellness company, allegedly subjected workers to to economic, sexual, and psychological abuse.
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Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn indicted Nicole Daedone, founder and former CEO of the cultish sexual wellness company OneTaste, and former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz Tuesday afternoon on forced labor charges.
The Eastern District of New York’s full charge stated:
Daedone and Cherwitz are both charged with forced labor conspiracy in connection with a years-long scheme to obtain the labor and services of a group of OneTaste members—including volunteers, contractors, and employees of OneTaste—by subjecting them to economic, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse, surveillance, indoctrination, and intimidation.
Folks might be familiar with the now defunct company through the recent 2022 Netflix documentary, Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste, or the damning 2018 Bloomberg article titled, “The Dark Side of the Orgasmic Meditation Company.” Basically, OneTaste provided gussied up finger-banging lessons disguised as female sexual empowerment from about 2001 to 2018.
Classes would typically revolve around a woman lying pantsless in front of other attendees, having her clitoris stroked—usually by a man—until she reached orgasm. Occasionally, women employees of the OneTaste were forced to participate in these classes because not enough customers were signing up for the sessions. Daedone would also suggest employees who had conflict with one another have sex to resolve their issues. The Bloomberg article claimed that “managers frequently ordered staffers to have sex or OM [orgasmic meditation] with each other or with customers.”
In his announcement yesterday, Breon Peace, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said, “Under the guise of empowerment and wellness, the defendants are alleged to have sought complete control over their employees’ lives, including by driving them into debt and directing them to perform sexual acts while also withholding wages.”
If sentenced, Daedone and Cherwitz will face up to 20 years in prison. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to Jezebel’s requests for comment.