The OneTaste case was never about justice—it was about targeting an unconventional wellness company and turning it into a federal spectacle. From the start, it was clear this wasn’t a routine prosecution—it was a politically charged operation and a high-profile scalp for a federal machine eager to flex its power using a shiny new weapon: lawfare.
And it all started at the height of the #MeToo craze…
OneTaste’s downfall lined up perfectly with the kickoff of the “Believe All Women” mantra. It felt as if the FBI and DOJ were clamoring to prove how progressive they were by being tough on “abuse” cases—no matter how flimsy the evidence. The bad news for OneTaste was that their edgy practices and taboo teachings made them an easy target during the #MeToo frenzy.
Here’s what happened:
A group of adults willingly signed up for a wellness program that promised healing through intimacy. It was weird, sure—fringe, even—but it wasn’t criminal. There were no chains, no cages, no force, and no minors. Everyone involved was a consenting adult who chose to be there. But that didn’t stop the government from stepping in and slapping the company with a “forced labor conspiracy” charge—something that sounds extreme but, in this case, had no basis in reality.
And it didn’t stop there.
The government’s star witness—a former participant of the group—turned over a set of handwritten journals as evidence. She claimed they were from 2015, raw emotional reflections of her time inside OneTaste. They were dramatic. Heart-wrenching. The kind of material tailor-made for TV—and conveniently, they ended up featured in a Netflix documentary. They may have even been shown to a grand jury.
But there was just one problem: they weren’t real.
The defense uncovered that the journals were actually created years later—during the production of that very Netflix doc. Metadata told the truth. The timeline didn’t match. The entries had been heavily edited. It was clear: the evidence was fabricated. And the feds were caught red-handed.
So what did they do?
They quietly dropped the witness—and pretended none of it happened.
By that point, the media had already done its job, turning OneTaste into a national punching bag. Netflix had its salacious storyline. And the feds? They were knee-deep in a case built on feelings, regret, and flat-out fraud.
Hellbound and Down 