Harrowing true story behind Netflix's shocking new 'orgasm' documentary

The harrowing true story behind one of the most successful health and wellness companies is about to come to light in a new Netflix documentary.

OneTaste started out as a successful start-up that taught clients how to achieve 'orgasmic meditation', but some dodgy dealings behind the scenes landed the company in the middle a full-scale FBI investigation.

Now, Netflix's latest documentary Orgasm Inc: The Story Of OneTaste promises to do a deep dive into the shocking claims that surrounded the 'orgasm cult'.

Here's just a taste of what's the come:

A Netflix description of the documentary reads: "Sprung from San Francisco’s tech bubble and hailed by top health & wellness outlets as a path to fulfilment, OneTaste was a sexual wellness company that gained global notoriety through the teaching of a practice called 'orgasmic meditation.'

"This investigative documentary employs access to 15 years of never-before-seen footage and interviews with former members to pull back the curtain on the organisation and its controversial, enigmatic leader."

So what's the real story behind this mindfulness brand? And where did they go wrong?

OneTaste was created in 2001 by founder Nicole Daedone, who claimed that women could achieve enlightenment through 'orgasmic meditation', promising 15-minute orgasms, greater emotional awareness, and a strong sense of fulfilment.

Netflix

The company started off by inviting clients to their urban retreat centres in San Francisco and New York City, before it eventually expanded to Los Angeles and London, offering retreats, workshops, and training programmes.

Despite its success, some sceptics had described OneTaste as a sort of cult or pyramid scheme.

In one instance, a week-long training programme with Nicole Daedone was available to clients for the extortionate price of $36,000 (£31,400), while a year-long premium membership was available for $60,000 (£52,397).

Things came to a head in 2018, when Bloomberg published an article about how OneTaste was treating its employees.

It described employees being pressured into up-levellng by enrolling in expensive courses and retreats that left them in debt.

Former staff members even went as far as describing the whole operation as 'a kind of prostitution ring' that exploited trauma victims.

Ex-employees claimed that they were often ordered by managers to have sex with, or perform 'orgasmic meditation' with each other, or with clients.

Netflix

That same year, the company put operations on hold when the FBI launched a probe into OneTaste over allegations of prostitution, sex trafficking and violations of labour law.

Founder Nicole had sold her stake in the company a year earlier.

In 2020, BBC launched an investigative 10-part podcast into OneTaste called The Orgasm Cult.

Nicole and OneTaste, which has since been rebranded as The Unconditional Freedom Project, have attempted to sue the BBC for libel over the podcast series.

Orgasm Inc: The Story Of OneTaste arrives to Netflix on Saturday, 5 November.