Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste is an eye-catching tale of sex, lies and videotapes

The American-start-up-gone-wrong storytelling culture is caught in an endless loop. First, a publication breaks a solid investigative story. This exposé ruffles feathers within the industry. Film-makers notice the article and contact the writer. Then comes the documentary – featuring a narrative about a revolutionary Silicon Valley company and its alluring but ambiguous founder. The arc is identical: heady origins, honeymoon phase, happy testimonials, dark undertones, discrepancies, allegations, collapse. (Gwenyth Paltrow’s name will appear directly or indirectly, you can be sure of that. She is Hollywood’s Novak Djokovic). Then arrives the limited series, starring A-listers who deliver Emmy-nominated performances. This is when mainstream internet discourse really blows up.

Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste, directed by Sarah Gibson and Sloane Kevin, is the second stage of this IP cycle. It tells the cautionary tale of OneTaste, a sexual wellness company started by a Yoga instructor whose core teaching is “orgasmic meditation,” (OM) a practice devoted to the art of female orgasms. (I know what you’re thinking – it’s inevitable that the limited series will have a male showrunner). It hits all the regular notes: interviewing the reporter, former members and employees, celebrity endorsements in its heyday (yes, Paltrow too), and eventually, victims and their families. The behind-the-scenes footage – which includes, among other things, explicit OM sessions (with blurred faces) and live demos – comes from a former videographer of OneTaste.

Ironically, this documentary about the rise and fall of a cult-like company is, as we speak, involved in its own little ethical battle. Netflix has been accused of using the footage without the consent of the company’s current and former associates and participants (the blurred faces), who are now suing the streamer. It’s a sticky allegation, given that most of these members were once part of an organization that openly advertised their ‘desire-based wellness’ in videos for years – until, of course, it all came crashing down. The documentary is on Netflix either way, not least because OneTaste is still being investigated by the FBI. It’s a compelling but condensed watch. There’s evidently far more to it, so the story is almost begging for an eight-part true-crime show. How morbid would it be if Paltrow agreed to headline it?

Though my bet is on someone like Blake Lively. The central figure of the documentary is yet another magnetic blonde female founder, Nicole Daedone. Daedone is a personality combination of them all: WeWork’s Adam and Rebekah Neumann as well as Theranos’ Elizabeth Holmes, with a tinge of Anna Sorokin and even Ma Anand Sheela. The way everyone speaks of her – of course Netflix couldn’t interview her; where’s the fun if they did? – is interesting. You can almost sense that they realize how foolish she made them look through her charm and persuasive genius alone.

Daedone is seen running coaching programs and warehouse community arrangements with great flair. Terms like “clit-thrill cult” and “victim story” roll off her tongue with alarming ease. She is seen proudly flashing red flags (that remain unseen through rose-tinted glasses), making controversial statements (“if you’re always turned on, women, there’s nothing to rape”), reeling in male customers, and even participating personally in an OM demo session to win over potential investors. She opens an ‘orgasm church,’ with ambitions of turning OneTaste into a religion, complete with priests and followers. And, like any self-respecting sociopath, she is seen giving multiple versions of a past that nobody can vouch for: as a stripper, as a girl who was used as bait by a child-molesting father.

Like most other documentaries in this space, the former employees who speak of their past reflect the rhythm of the narrative. In the beginning, even they sound joyful and satisfied with Nicole, creating the portrait of a visionary leader/Goddess. Then they get increasingly pensive, revealing her gaslighting habits and workspace toxicity, as well as the company’s problematic policies. At one point, it is revealed that Daedone skillfully preyed on childhood insecurities; at another, she announces that it’s a woman’s job to sooth the inherently predatory instincts of men. It’s obvious from the get-go that OneTaste is a kooky blue-state glorification of sex and spirituality, but in this case, reaching this conclusion nearly feels futile. I always wonder what the film-makers ask their subjects in order to transport them from one timeline to another – “imagine you’re back in 2008; speak in present tense” followed by “now reveal your true rage and expose her”. It’s a different mining of trauma, for narrative effect. The interviews must be so carefully calibrated, leaving little space for real emotional release or catharsis.

What Orgasm Inc does so effectively is reveal the subtext of subscribing to the American Dream. It’s clear that Nicole Daedone weaponizes her gender and sexuality to get wealthy. It’s perhaps no coincidence that, like Holmes, she is projected as a more dangerous and morally obtuse offender than most male entrepreneurs. Both Holmes and Daedone belong to such a gender-biased boys-club culture that when they finally do get a chance to make a difference, they go for broke – and invariably end up crossing more lines, and by extension, causing more harm. Daedone’s ‘empire’ ended up physically affecting people, as did Holmes’ illegal actions. The same can’t be said for Adam Neumann or even Mark Zuckerberg. But it’s men like them that are complicit in the creation of their more ruthless – and castigated – female counterparts.

The documentary tells us very little about who Nicole Daedone was and where she came from. But if you look hard enough, it’s not difficult to imagine. She is a businesswoman who wanted to be at the top. Just as Neumann and Anna were immigrants who wanted to make it big. The world is no country for the marginalized, which is why fairytales are often built on rags-to-riches narratives rather than potent vision. People want to see those like Daedone and Holmes succeed – until they choose not to.

Rahul Desai is a film critic and programmer, who spends his spare time travelling to all the places from the movies he writes about.

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