Kreuk released a statement following a report she'd been involved with a controversial organization
"Smallville" star Kristin Kreuk has denied reports she recruited sex slaves for an alleged cult.
The actress, who played Clark Kent's love interest in the TV series, acknowledged that she had taken a course with the organization, NXIVM (pronounced Nexium), but denied claims she recruited women to be "sex slaves."
“When I was about 23, I took an Executive Success Programs/NXIVM ‘intensive,’ what I understood to be a self help/personal growth course that helped me handle my previous shyness, which is why I continued with the program,” Kreuk wrote in the statement that she shared to Twitter on Thursday.
“I left about five years ago and had minimal contact with those who were still involved.”
The statement continued, "The accusations that I was in the 'inner circle' or recruited women as 'sex slaves' are blatantly false. During my time, I never experienced any illegal or nefarious activity."
She added that she hoped there would be justice for the "brave women who have come forward to share their stories."
A report had claimed that Kreuk and another "Smallville" star, Allison Mack, had signed up with self-help guru Keith Raniere, leader of the NXIVM group, based in upstate New York.
Raniere was arrested this week at a $10,000-a-week villa in Mexico and extradited to the U.S., where he was charged with sex trafficking and accused of branding women in their pelvic area while they were held down, according to a criminal complaint.
In a letter posted on a website related to NXIVM, Raniere wrote, "These allegations are most disturbing to me as non-violence is one of my most important values."
The group issued a statement Thursday saying they were cooperating with authorities and would clear Raniere's name.
He also allegedly forced his "slaves" to keep very low-calorie diets, and to document their food intake, the complaint says. As punishment for not following those rules, women were forced to attend classes where they wore fake udders over their breasts while people called them "derogatory names," according to the complaint.
Former NXIVM publicist Frank Parlato has worked for years to document the inner workings of the group, which purports to be a self-help organization.
"Her nickname among defectors is 'Pimp Mack,''' Parlato wrote on ARTVOICE.
Mack was with Raniere in Puerto Vallarta at the time of his arrest.
"She was completely enamored with Raniere and completely under his thrall," Parlato told Inside Edition.
In the show, Mack played a high school student with a secret crush on a young Superman, played by Tom Welling.
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