Episode 33: One Tree Hill star Bethany Joy Lenz on joining a Hollywood cult

Bethany Joy Lenz rose to fame as one of the main stars of the hit TV series "One Tree Hill," a show that became an iconic part of television history. In addition to her role as Haley James Scott on "One Tree Hill," Joy has also been featured in a bunch of other popular shows. This includes "Dexter," "CSI," and "Grey’s Anatomy," in addition to "Agents of SHIELD”, which is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Shockingly, what many fans did not know is that during her entire tenure on "One Tree Hill," Joy was secretly involved in a cult. A few months ago, she went public with this experience in what is now a New York Times bestselling memoir, "Dinner for Vampires." So in this episode, we dive deep into that experience. We explore the early days of her involvement with the cult, how it gradually took control of every aspect of her life, and why there were so many challenges in breaking free. We learn about the cult slowly alienated from her family, coerced her into marrying the cult leader’s son, and eventually stole $2 million dollars from her. Prepare to be shocked, surprised, outraged, saddened and everything else in-between. Chapters 0:00 - Intro 1:03 - Defining a cult 7:28 - Getting $2 million stolen 13:22 - Living into NYC 24:43 - Moving to Hollywood 28:29 - Getting coerced into a cult 40:38 - The desire to belong 50:50 - The weaponization of spirituality 54:23 - Manipulation tactics 1:06:41 - Gender dynamics & rules in the cult 1:15:27 - Becoming famous on One Tree Hill 1:27:55 - When everything fell apart 1:40:58 - Salvaging her spirituality & escaping cult Buy Dinner for Vampires: https://shorturl.at/9Ztrd Follow Joy on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msbethanyjoylenz/?hl=en TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msbethanyjoylenz Mighty Pursuit Links: Website: https://www.mightypursuit.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mightypursuit/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mightypursuit/ X: https://x.com/MightyPursuit For business inquiries: hello@mightypursuit.com