15 Celebs Who Were Involved With A Cult Or Even A Cult Leader

Who would have thought? Celebs can be just as vulnerable to cults as any ordinary person can.

Liezel

• Published in Film & TV
• May 7, 2022

Cults don't usually have a good rep around the world. When people hear the word cult, a lot of them are reminded of bizarre rituals, outlandish beliefs, and even the murder of the innocent (who can forget the Manson Family and what they did, right?).

That's why it's hard to fathom why anyone would ever fall prey to a group of creepy people trying to take all your money or recruit you into sexual slavery. Obviously, there are few benefits to anyone joining, right?

Understandably though, there are a few cults who know how to keep their agendas well hidden. They'll draw people in and start taking control of their lives little by little until the unsuspecting start to realize that they're already under the cult's thumb.

Also, not everyone thinks the same way. In fact, people at the heights of society like celebrities aren't even immune.

Believe it or not, tons of big celebs out there have become members of a cult before they shot into fame or while they were at the heights of fame. Some even became leaders of a cult.

From Mel Gibson to Elvis Presley, here's a list of celebs who got involved with cults at least once in their life.

R. Kelly

In 2021, it was found that R. Kelly was guilty of eight counts of sex trafficking and one count of racketeering which is defined as an organized scheme to profit from crime. In his case, it was through accruing a harem of young women through abuse and coercion.

The methods by which he ran his alleged "sex cult" include recruitment, isolation, surveillance, and threats.

Michelle Pfeiffer

When she was young and had just moved out to Hollywood in the 80s, Pfeiffer got mixed up with a cult of "breatharians." They believed that the most spiritually advanced people can live without food or water.

At first, Pfeiffer thought they were just harmless personal trainers but soon, they began to control all her time and take all her money. It wasn't until she was researching cults for her then husband's role in a film that she realized that she might be in a cult and it's time to get out of it.

Dennis Wilson

After some of the more attractive members of the family got themselves picked up by Wilson while hitchhiking, Wilson became tight with Charles Manson. He encouraged Manson's music career and at one point, he even let the family live in his home before they got their ranch.

Wilson claims he cut ties with Manson when he witnessed him murder a man which he suspiciously didn't report and almost certainly didn't happen.

Neil Young

Through Wilson, Neil Young also met Manson and Young became a frequent guest at the ranch. He even apparently dated one of the family members.

Young compared Manson to Bob Dylan and tried his best to get him a record deal but then Manson turned to murder.

Elvis Presley

Former members of the Self-Realization Fellowship describe it as a yoga cult that requires its most devoted followers to give up everything to become gods through stretching. Surprisingly, in the 60s, they almost convinced Elvis to join their ranks.

According to Elvis' ex-wife, he wanted to start a commune for the group. In the end, Elvis wasn't willing to make the commitment because he just loved bacon too much.

Shirley MacLaine

Kilmer is a Christian Scientist who doesn't really believe in medicine and who prefers to pray away the sickness often with not-so-encouraging results.

When Kilmer got diagnosed with throat cancer, he planned to do just that, pray it away. He believed it was just an outward manifestation of a spiritual cold.

When his family did convince him to get treatment, it was too late and he required a tracheotomy and a feeding tube. He's pretty pissed about it, not the cancer which he believes he prayed away, because he insists it's what's causing suffering to him.

Val Kilmer

Kilmer is a Christian Scientist who doesn't really believe in medicine and who prefers to pray away the sickness often with not-so-encouraging results.

When Kilmer got diagnosed with throat cancer, he planned to do just that, pray it away. He believed it was just an outward manifestation of a spiritual cold.

When his family did convince him to get treatment, it was too late and he required a tracheotomy and a feeding tube. He's pretty pissed about it, not the cancer which he believes he prayed away, because he insists it's what's causing suffering to him.

Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson believes in his faith too much to the point that even the Catholics weren't Catholic enough for him and he started his own church that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles refuses to recognize.

The church is really private and somewhat secretive and what's known about them is that they really love sticking to the oldest of the old school way. Some members apparently don't even believe in the Pope.

Orgonites

In 2014, a couple of celebs like Willow Smith, Kylie Jenner, and Jaden Smith posted photos of themselves making orgonites which are manmade healing crystals. They were also seen reading books by a cult leader whose theories about "orgones." a vague type of energy derived from orgasms, led to the concept of the crystals.

It's not clear how much they actually knew about the sex cult they were unsuspectingly aligning themselves with but, hopefully, it's fine.

The Source Family

The Source was a famous LA vegan restaurant that was featured in Annie Hall. It was also run by a cult headed by a guy with 13 child brides.

Despite that, it was still popular with celebrities. One of their most frequent patrons was John Lennon who was said to get into deep conversations with the waitresses/ cult members and whose son even made a music video inspired by the guru.

Jane Fonda

Fonda has had her share of controversies before but nothing as surprising as when she was found to be buddies with Jim Jones leading up to the Jonestown massacre. At that point, she went from controversial to "Wow, really?"

She ghosted him in time, of course, but only because of her husband's political aspirations.

Fonda apparently wrote Jones a letter of support swearing that he couldn't have been responsible for what was accused of him and she said that she “recommit myself to your congregation as an active full participant -- not only for myself, but because I want my two children to have the experience.”

Fortunately, her children didn't.

Russel Brand

Brand got into the Krishna movement in 2007 saying that it helped him deal with his mental health issues and overcome his various addictions. That's great and all if you happen to overlook all the racketeering, abuse, and murder, of course.

Hillsong Church

The Hillsong megachurch family is composed of a group of churches and it's pretty popular with celebs like Chris Pratt, Justin Bieber, and some of the Kardashians. However, ex-members have described it as a toxic environment full of abuse, coercion, and isolation.

Jared Leto

Okay, as far as anyone knows, Jared Leto and his band, Thirty Seconds to Mars, don't have their own cult but they do hold an annual retreat in Croatia for fans to wear identical white robes, do yoga, and watch their master's movies.

Andrew Keegan

Andrew Keegan, on the other hand, really has his own cult. It even has its own California temple and everything. Their beliefs are vague and they really heavily on crystals and illegal kombucha but what everyone can agree on is that Keegan has a knack for attracting followers.

It's really surprising to see the names of a few famous celebs cozying up to these kinds of groups but well, that's the world for you. You never really know what they're getting into behind the spotlight after all.

This is a lesson to learn for everyone though. Before getting yourself involved with some sketchy organization, how about making sure they're not a cult first.

Liezel