13. Joaquin Phoenix
Much like the Arquettes, Joaquin Phoenix and his family, of which include the late actor River Phoenix, were brought up among a number of Californian hippies in the religious group, ‘Children of God’. Designed to spread a message of salvation, the Children of God movement devised an ideology based on the practice of ‘revolution and happiness’. Using sex to win converts, the founder of the movement gave himself the title of ‘King’, instructing all followers to refer to him as such.
Later commenting on the group, Phoenix claimed that his parents were initially brainwashed, believing that they had found something positive rather than the actual truth, proclaiming “I think the moment my parents realized there was something more to it, they got out,”.
But the Phoenix’s were not the only celebrities embroiled in the cult as Rose McGowan later revealed that her family had also been brainwashed by the commune, detailing shocking accounts of sexual abuse within the camp. She later recalled, “you had no contact with the outside world, things that are completely unacceptable became normal. I remember watching how the cult’s men were with the women, and at a very early age I decided I did not want to be like those women. They were basically there to serve the men sexually, you were allowed to have more than one wife”.
Discussion about this post