8 Hollywood celebrities who have been in cults – from Joaquin Phoenix and One Tree Hill’s Bethany Joy Lenz, to Glenn Close and Michelle Pfeiffer – but which actress was jailed for her role in one?
Joaquin and River Phoenix were both in the Children of God cult, which encouraged child abuse, while David and Patricia Arquette’s parents started a controversial ‘spiritual movement’
Many academics and writers have sought to understand why America has become a “nation of cults” over the years.
“Some pundits are quick to blame the 1960s counterculture for spawning interest in outlandish religious doctrines”, Princeton historian Sean Wilentz wrote in the Los Angeles Times in 1997. “Others blame television and the internet.”
Whatever the reason, it seems no one is immune – not even celebrities. Thanks to their fame, however, we get to hear the stories of how they escaped. Read on to find out which celebrities have been involved in cults at some point in their lives …
1 and 2. Joaquin and River Phoenix
Disturbingly, Joaquin’s older brother River, who died of an overdose aged 23, told Details magazine in 1991 that he was raped at the age of four while in the cult.
3. Glenn Close
