My guess, people are tribal pack animals at root. Every group has people, every group has heirarchy. Celebrities are people, celebrities fit into a heircharchy within a group. People, like pack animals, like to fit into a group. Less they feel segregated and less their survival is not vunerable. Fame can alienate the celebrity from "normalcy" (sic) as a result of all of the unwarranted fanfare and security needs.

There are thousands and thousands of celebrities who are not in cults. The media informs us of who is wearing what red string and who has been expelled as a Scientologist. Your average "Joe" is not covered on ET or in US Magazine. Just think of the millions around the globe being programmed by these money making scams who are not getting the attention they need.

Corporations even exhibit cult like behaviour. There are specific organizational missions, recruiters, heirarchies, rules, uniforms, languages and after work activities. Only those that fit the mold survive.

Households much the same.

This list even contains a moderator, senior members and junior members.

What it comes down to is basic human nature. The strong form a group, the weak join and the more evolved can run alone.

many aspiring musicians and actors do their early training under teachers who are highly dictatorial and authoritarian. Diaghilev was one of the greatest impresarios/choreographers of all time. But he took over his student-dancer's lives wholesale, dictating lifestyle, diet, what to study what to read, plus keeping them to a gruelling training schedule. In return he promised to transform them into great dancers--and in many cases, he did!

Chuck Chester, a young actor has given descriptions of coercive psycho-drama exercises that he had to do in acting class. The exercises were encounter group set ups, 'hot seat' situations designed to force people to recall traumatic memories so that they could learn to cry 'on cue'.

It may be no accident that the tale of an archetypal cultic relationship between the sinister Svengali and the singer Trilby is that of a music teacher/promoter and an aspiring artist.

My hunch is that people in the arts and entertainment industries have a set of risk factors that make them highly recruitable to cults

1) Family instability is common--it often causes people to dislike the powerlessness of childhood, they survive by dreaming of a special destiny, develop their talents and leave home as soon as possible. But, unconsciously, they carry the hunger for a true family--a hunger that can be exploited by a cult offering instant intimacy.

2) Persons attracted to the entertainment industry are often narcissistically wounded. They are children in adults bodies and need constant affirmation to keep a fragile but fictional surface personality in place. An adroit cult recruiter can feed that hunger for affirmation and reel the person in.

3) The artist will be used to enduring capricious rude treatment, even outright abuse, from authoritarian personalities (tyrannical acting coaches, high powered agents who force you to wait for them, directors, producers. Its easy to put up with tons of bullshit from people who have control over your future and can make you rich if they choose to hire you. (Thats why Humprhey Bogart said that if you wanted a Hollywood career and also wanted to keep your integrity, you needed, at all times to have enough money to live on if you made enemies and could no longer work. He called it 'Fuck You money.')

4) Charisma, luck, the whims of powerful eccentric people can make or break your career. That may be why so many celebrities become fascinated, perhaps haunted by charisma and magic--and fall victim to those who claim they can confer charisma (personal development workshops/LGATs) or magical powers.

5) In the entertainment industry your work schedule is brutal, you cant trust people, and your social opportunities are limited. You see just a limited number of people. You're lonely as hell. Ordinary people with decent instincts are intimidated by your fame, so you dont get to meet them. You do get to meet lots of groupies and potential predators. So you're apt to hide amoung other celebrities and trust their referrals

And don't forget, many of these "celebrities" have almost no education or critical thinking skills. Their agents and managers run their Career, and many of these folks are sheltered, childlike people, who hide behind their powerful agents, and are spoiled brats.
For a skilled cult leader, manipulating them is like taking candy from a baby.
Frankly, from my experience, meeting a smart, grounded, intelligent "celebrity" is very rare.
For instance, the myth that Madonna is so "in control" is a total lie. Her managers, and the record execs have run her Career, and manipulated her into doing what they wanted her to do. She didn't create her music, Music Producers did. She didn't create her Look, designers did.
Look what happened why she made her recent movie when she WAS in control. TOTAL FAILURE.
If you listen to interviews of her, its very obvious she is not very bright.

So the idea that these celebrities are powerful and in-control is mainly a myth.
Frankly, most of them just show up where they are told to, and do what they are told.

If i was a cult leader, i would go after celebrities as well.
The celebrities are easy, its their Agents and Managers who will eat you for breakfast!
Coz

Hi there. This is an interesting thread. Do you guys think that Cat Stevens fits into this category? Of course, he may not be a cult member, but somehow the 'Morning Has Broken' guy is now an Islamic Fundamentalist. Eeeks.

Caught a re-run of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Madonna was his guess. BAARRFFF!! She spewed forth every run-of-the-mill new-age catch phrase about intention and responsibility and our purpose, blah, blah, blah, and the audience loved it. She also marketed her new book, which she is doing as a spiritual what? lesson, homework assignment? Her guru suggested she do it. Being that children's books have no point to them, and bad artwork, she chose to do these books. But, the parents get a spiritual message, too, when they read Madonna's books to their children. Gag. Funniest part was to see how judgemental she was of other guests (the guy who is the fastest bra unfastener undid the bras of 20+ women in 17 seconds :eek: ) How unenlightened can you get?

I think Galakiah said it quite powerfully. And these celebrities join these shows and try to get others converted to make them feel some worth and to make them feel that "hey, for once maybe i'm on the right path".

I have seen someone become cold after joining the kabbalah center in New York. Madonna's cult. They teach you, among other things, that everyone is "evil" except them.
If anyone else has had a similar experience please email me.

The luring of celebrities into cults is easy because of one of the reasons already mentioned...they are easily manipulated.

Once in, and they become *dedicated*, these high-profile individuals lend credibilty to their cause. More folks would be inclined to at least look into Scientology with someone like Cruise or Travolta onboard. New Agers are enthralled by Shirley MacLaine's speeches about reincarnation.

Credibility = more members = more money = continued web of lies and abuse.

Hello everyone. This newbe has noticed Rage against the Machine, plus "actors" Ed Asner, Alex Baldwin, The Mayor of Paris :? , West Coast International Longshoremans Union local #10 along with the radical group MOVE :twisted: from Phila, show strong support for an affirmed convicted murderer Mumia Abu Jamal. The point I'm trying to make is I've tried to dialogue with the groups mentioned, via E mail and their message boards...fruitless. E mails unanswered and posts deleted/access denied. Is this SOP for groups who refuse to respond, with logic, anyone that questions? Please post any resopnse.

All of the above applies to other types of celebritites also. In my own life, I've been close to this use of various types of celebrities in two cults.

I know of various corporate celebrities, inventors, scientists, etc who have been hailed within their various cults, as validation for members' belonging.

Some of these celebrities I have known personally. IMHO, they are kind, intelligent, caring, spiritual and financially successful human beings. Some are heirs to the wealth of their parents. But, IMHO, what these devotee-celebrities have in common is a degree of emotional insecurity. That emotional insecurity is their achilles heel, providing the vulnerability for cultic manipulations.

The adulation of the cult, provides for a more 'real' esteem (so they believed) than that from their professional sucesses. The cult also provides an outlet for meaningul service, using their professional success to benefit a deemed higher cause.

My guess is that it may be harder to exit-counsel such celebrities in cults, as they probably experience less of the outward abuse that other members experience. It is important for the cult to cultivate the retention of respected, influential, wealthy, high-profile cult members. Thus these celebrity members may never see, nor experience the more obvious abuses. The celebrity members receive "only" the psychological manipulations to keep their donations and endorsements/ referals coming. They also receive extensive praise, 'warm fuzzies' of various sorts, for their commitment and service to the group.

One old friend of mine, incredible self made wealth, left a group after 30 years. He is mired in lawsuits now by the group that he financially supported and dedicated most of his life to.