OneTaste

File:Nicole Daedone in the 2024 video Feminism and Anger.png in 2024]]

OneTaste was cofounded in San Francisco by Robert Kandell and Nicole Daedone. Daedone stated that a man introduced her to orgasmic meditation before she started OneTaste.{{cite web|last=Weiss|first=Suzannah|date=2016-08-23|title=Can You Orgasm Your Way to Enlightenment?|url=http://www.complex.com/life/2016/08/orgasmic-meditation-nicole-daedone|access-date=2018-03-08|website=Complex}} The Daily Telegraph reported that Daedone changed her description of the man upon retelling the origin story, having portrayed him on different occasions as a Buddhist, a monk, and "a cute guy" who said "the best pickup line I'd ever heard".

OneTaste originally operated two communal-style "urban retreat" centers, one in San Francisco's Soma District and another in Lower Manhattan.{{cite web|url=http://www.onetaste.us|title=OneTaste|publisher=OneTaste Incorporated |access-date=2011-02-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202182236/http://www.onetaste.us/ |archive-date=2011-02-02 |url-status=dead}} OneTaste then expanded to Los Angeles and London.{{cite web |last1=Huet |first1=Ellen |author1-link=Ellen Huet |title=OneTaste Stops ‘Orgasmic Meditation’ Classes, U.S. Locations Set to Close |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-19/onetaste-stops-orgasmic-meditation-classes-all-locations-set-to-close |website=Bloomberg News |access-date=10 May 2025 |date=19 October 2018}} The company produced media, workshops, weekend retreats, and a coach training program. In 2014, OneTaste was listed as an Inc. 5000 fastest growing company.{{Cite web|title=OneTaste - San Francisco, CA|url=https://www.inc.com/profile/onetaste|access-date=2021-04-24|website=Inc.com|language=en}} Daedone sold her ownership of OneTaste to three participants for $12 million in 2017; the company stated that it received $12 million in revenue during the same year.

Bloomberg Businessweek published an exposé of the company in June 2018. According to the report, OneTaste offered orgasmic meditation courses for $499 to $16,000, as well as a $60,000 annual subscription that included access to all courses. In October 2018, OneTaste closed all of their U.S. locations and stopped hosting in-person classes. By 2022, OneTaste rebranded itself as The Institute of OM.{{cite web |last1=Hahn |first1=Jason |title=Lawsuit Seeks to Block Release of Netflix Doc About 'Orgasmic Meditation' Group OneTaste |url=https://people.com/human-interest/lawsuit-seeks-to-block-release-of-netflix-doc-onetaste/ |website=People |access-date=11 May 2025 |language=en |date=4 November 2022}}

In October 2022, MendoFever reported that the Mendocino County Jail discontinued its partnership with Unconditional Freedom, an organization associated with OneTaste. Unconditional Freedom had the same Employer Identification Number as the OneTaste Foundation, shared a mailing address with OneTaste, employed eight volunteers who have worked for OneTaste, and was promoted on OneTaste's website.{{Cite news |last=Reith |first=Sarah |date=October 6, 2022 |title='Prison Monastery' Linked to Multi-Million Dollar Orgasmic Meditation Cult Suspended from County Jail |work=MendoFever |url=https://mendofever.com/2022/10/06/prison-monastery-linked-to-multi-million-dollar-orgasmic-meditation-cult-suspended-from-county-jail/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |language=en-US}}

A Netflix documentary film about OneTaste and its controversies, Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste, was released on November 5, 2022. Prior to the release, fourteen former OneTaste members filed a lawsuit against Netflix, seeking a temporary restraining order and the removal of sexually explicit imagery that was allegedly "misappropriated" by a former OneTaste employee.{{cite news |last1=Stelloh |first1=Tim |title=Lawsuit asks Netflix to release documentary 'Orgasm Inc.' without 'misappropriated' sexually explicit material |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lawsuit-asks-netflix-release-film-orgasmic-meditation-misappropriated-rcna55379 |access-date=November 4, 2022 |work=NBC News |date=November 2, 2022}} Their request was denied by a Los Angeles judge.{{cite news |last1=Stelloh |first1=Tim |title=Judge denies request to block sexually explicit images in Netflix documentary about 'orgasmic meditation' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-denies-request-block-sexually-explicit-images-netflix-documentar-rcna55793 |access-date=November 6, 2022 |work=NBC News |date=November 4, 2022}} According to The Daily Beast, a former OneTaste employee stated that the lawsuit was "a last-ditch effort by OneTaste to protect its reputation" and "may be nothing more than an attempt to silence its victims, some of whom have accused the company of functioning like a cult".{{Cite web |date=2022-11-03 |title=Former OneTaste Staffer Says Netflix Lawsuit Is an Attempt to Silence Victims |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/former-onetaste-teacher-slams-lawsuit-attempting-to-stop-release-of-netflix-documentary-orgasm-inc/ |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=The Daily Beast |language=en}} The plaintiffs withdrew their lawsuit after the documentary was released with their faces obscured.{{cite web |last1=Manno |first1=Adam |title=Ex-OneTaste Members Drop Lawsuit Against Netflix Over ‘Orgasm Inc’ Documentary |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/ex-onetaste-members-drop-lawsuit-against-netflix-over-orgasm-inc-documentary/ |website=The Daily Beast |access-date=10 May 2025 |language=en |date=7 November 2022}}

In January 2025, CEO Anjuli Ayer stated that OneTaste had released a new app and website, and intended to adopt a franchise-based business model.{{cite web |last1=Ramey |first1=Corinne |title=She Made Orgasmic Meditation Her Life. Not Even Prison Will Stop Her. |url=https://www.wsj.com/style/nicole-daedone-one-taste-founder-prison-e1dc5eff |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |date=25 January 2025 |access-date=10 May 2025}}

OneTaste is centered around orgasmic meditation (OM), an activity in which a clothed and usually male "stroker" masturbates a female "strokee" by softly fingering the upper-left section of her clitoris for a timed 15 minutes. Prior to physical contact, the stroker describes the appearance of the strokee's vulva to her and puts on a lubricated glove.{{cite web |last1=Schwartz |first1=Alexandra |title=“Future Sex”: Adventures in an Erotic Wonderland |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/17/future-sex-adventures-in-an-erotic-wonderland |website=The New Yorker |access-date=10 May 2025 |date=10 October 2016}}

The company markets OM as a mindfulness practice in which both participants focus their attention on the sensation with the stated goal of developing "connective resonance" between themselves. Daedone described her own work as "one that places a near-exclusive emphasis on women's pleasure — in which love, romance and even flirtation are not required." After, both partners discuss their experiences verbally.{{cite news |first1=Patricia Leigh |last1=Brown |first2=Carol |last2=Pogash |title=The Pleasure Principle |work=The New York Times |date=March 15, 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/fashion/15commune.html |access-date=2009-05-05}} Orgasmic meditation borrows from yoga and meditation.{{cite magazine |last=Cometto |first=Maria Teresa |title=Vuoi fare OMing con me? |date=April 20, 2008 |magazine=Grazia |pages=93–94 |lang=it}}{{vs|date=May 2025}} According to Daedone's former associates, orgasmic meditation was derived from "deliberate orgasm" (DO), a similar masturbation activity created by the Welcomed Consensus, an alleged sex cult based in San Francisco that Daedone was previously a member of.{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Sydney |title=Is a San Francisco 'Sex Cult' Subjecting People to Abuse? |url=https://www.kqed.org/news/11958888/is-a-san-francisco-sex-cult-subjecting-people-to-sexual-abuse-onetaste-welcomed-consensus |website=KQED |access-date=10 May 2025 |language=en |date=28 August 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Mick |title=Inside the multi-million dollar orgasm cult endorsed by Hollywood |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/inside-multi-million-dollarorgasm-cult-endorsed-hollywood/ |website=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=10 May 2025 |date=24 April 2021}}

Proponents state that orgasmic meditation encompasses more than just orgasm and that it encourages greater emotional awareness, connected relationships, and sense of fulfillment.{{cite news |first=Daphne |last=Gordon |title=More to sex than intercourse |date=6 May 2008 |url=https://www.thestar.com/article/421601 |newspaper=The Toronto Star |access-date=2009-09-21}} The organization's stated goal is "to create a clean, well-lit place where sexuality, relationship, and intimacy could be discussed openly and honestly." Daedone draws parallels between slow sex and the Slow Food movement associated with chef Alice Waters.{{cite web |first=Mary |last=Spicuzza |date=April 4, 2007 |title=Sex and Sensuality |url=https://www.sfweekly.com/archives/sex-and-sensuality/article_1039e4cf-422b-50ed-b6dd-2d26ad05a14a.html |access-date=10 May 2025 |website=San Francisco Weekly}} With sex as with food, she says, people can overindulge without getting nourishment, or go from one extreme of consuming mindlessly to the other extreme of self-denial.{{vs|date=May 2025}}

Several journalists have compared OneTaste to a cult and pyramid scheme.{{cite news |first=J. D. |last=Ramey |url=http://www.gtweekly.com/index.php/santa-cruz-blogs-commentary/88-culture-beat/5208-the-big-om.html | title=The Big OM |work=Good Times | date=November 14, 2013 | access-date=13 May 2015}}{{cite web |first=Lana |last=Vrzic |date=January 26, 2020 |title=7 Things To Know About Orgasmic Meditation |url=http://www.thefrisky.com/2013-10-17/7-things-to-know-about-orgasmic-meditation/ |work=The Frisky | access-date=13 May 2015}} "As with many a commune before it, the leader of OneTaste, Ms. Daedone, is a polarizing personality, whom admirers venerate as a sex diva, although some former members say she has cult like powers over her followers... Much of the community's tone revolves around Ms. Daedone, a woman of considerable charm, although detractors regard her as a master manipulator." In a New York Times interview, Daedone insists she does not aspire to guru status, while acknowledging that "there's a high potential for this to be a cult."

A New York Times article led to several critical blog and opinion columns. An article in GoodTimes Weekly, "The Big OM", refers to "cult allegations" by posters on Yelp.com, as did one on Vice,{{Cite news|author=Vice staff|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/apparently-orgasmic-meditation-will-awaken-your-vagina/|title=Orgasmic Meditation Is a Whole New Way to Stroke Pussy|date=2013-10-29|work=Vice|access-date=2017-10-10|language=en-us}} and on Salon.{{Cite magazine|last=Gummow |first=Jodie|magazine=Salon|url=https://www.salon.com/2014/03/26/orgasmic_meditation_the_latest_craze_for_a_holistic_sexual_awakening_partner/|title=The sexy new fad for mindful living: Orgasmic meditation|access-date=2017-10-10|language=en}} A 2016 episode of the podcast Love + Radio is dedicated to the experience of a woman who had increasingly fraught relations with OneTaste.{{Cite web|url=http://loveandradio.org/2016/10/upper-left/|title=Upper Left {{!}} Love + Radio {{!}} Listen with headphones on|website=loveandradio.org|language=en-US|access-date=2017-10-10}} An article in The Cut stated that "some cult experts have linked Daedone with Victor Baranco," the cult leader who ran Lafayette Morehouse, and also suggest that it may be a pyramid scheme.{{Cite news|last=Stoeffel|first=Kat|date=October 16, 2013|url=https://www.thecut.com/2013/10/techies-predictably-love-orgasmic-meditation.html|title=Techies Predictably Eat Up Orgasmic Meditation Lifestyle|work=The Cut|access-date=2017-10-10|language=en}} Similarly, an article in The Frisky described OneTaste as "Landmark Forum for the clitoris." A Refinery29 article cited the organization's "potentially aggressive sales tactics."{{Cite news|first=Laura |last=Barcella |date=March 1, 2014|url=http://www.refinery29.com/2014/03/63548/meditation-cult#page-5|title=The Strange Truth About Orgasmic Meditation|work=Refinery29|access-date=2017-10-10|language=en}} Playboy Magazine compared OneTaste to Scientology and Landmark Forum, saying it had a "pyramidal pricing structure". For example, a week-long training with Nicole Daedone was advertised at $36,000. The Playboy writer noted behaviors that were "cultish", for example, "the way the volunteers serve the leaders, jumping at their every demand to 'get me water' and 'move that stool'... the full-court sales pitch from the minute you walk in... I leave early and I'm furious." The author implies she was gaslighted when she disagreed with the leaders. She writes that she was re-traumatized "for weeks" as memories of her past sexual trauma were triggered by a business promising female empowerment but "people probably just want your money."{{Cite news |first=Bridget |last=Phetasy|url=http://www.playboy.com/articles/orgasmic-meditation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110192708/http://www.playboy.com/articles/orgasmic-meditation|archive-date=January 10, 2018|title=The Cost of Healing: What Everyone Ignores About Orgasmic Meditation|date=2017-03-24|work=Playboy|access-date=2018-01-15}}

The book Sensation by Isabel Losada ends with a "Warning" about "'hard sell" techniques... 'One Taste' (like many businesses) offer a wide range of courses which are outside the price range of most bank accounts. I'll say it again. Please don't spend money that you don't have."{{Cite book|title=Sensation : adventures in sex, love and laughter|first=Isabel|last=Losada|year=2017|isbn=978-1786780935|location=London, UK|publisher=Watkins Media|pages=313|oclc=970027456}}

Around universities, students are drawn to free OneTaste events with ad boards such as "Tired of Swiping Left? Let's Talk Real Intimacy!" or "You Do Yoga. You Meditate. Now try #OrgasmicMeditation". A year-long, $60,000 premium membership is sold by the company since 2014. OneTaste teaches their members that money is just an emotional obstacle, which led some of them down to thousands of dollars in credit card debts. In June 2018, Bloomberg Businessweek published an article chronicling recent training changes and that was critical of how the company treated its employees and consultants, often pressuring them to take expensive courses, programs, and retreats that drove them into debt.

In November 2020, BBC Radio 4 released a 10-part investigative podcast entitled The Orgasm Cult that spoke to former workers of the company, detailing allegations of emotional, financial and sexual abuse, with some saying that OneTaste’s teachings and practices gaslit many women, leaving them with symptoms of PTSD. The podcast also spoke to experts about how the medical establishment’s dismissal of women’s health concerns pushes many women towards the growing and unregulated wellness industry and companies like OneTaste.{{cite web |title=The Orgasm Cult |website=BBC |date=2020-12-16 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08xzk5h/episodes/player |access-date=2021-09-11}}

OneTaste drew international media attention, controversy, and then an FBI investigation and indictment of Daedone and former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz on forced labor charges.{{Cite news|first=Ellen|last=Huet|date=November 13, 2018|title=FBI Is Probing OneTaste, a Sexuality Wellness Company|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-13/fbi-is-probing-onetaste-a-sexuality-wellness-company|access-date=2021-04-24}}{{cite news |title=US founder of 'orgasmic meditation' startup indicted on forced labor charges |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/06/onetaste-nicole-daedone-sex-abuse-cult-charged |access-date=June 6, 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=June 6, 2023}}

In 2015, OneTaste paid a former employee a six-figure settlement for enduring sexual assault, harassment, and labor law violations. The settlement was confidential until the 2018 Bloomberg report.

After the 2018 Bloomberg article, the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened a probe into OneTaste for prostitution, sex trafficking, and violations of labor law. In June 2023, Daedone and former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz were indicted on charges of forced labor.{{cite news |title=US founder of 'orgasmic meditation' startup indicted on forced labor charges |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/06/onetaste-nicole-daedone-sex-abuse-cult-charged |access-date=June 6, 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=June 6, 2023}}{{Cite web |last=Peltz |first=Jennifer |date=2023-06-13 |title=Founder, ex-executive of edgy sexual wellness company OneTaste charged with forced labor conspiracy |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/founder-executive-edgy-sexual-wellness-company-onetaste-charged-99882895 |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=ABC News |language=en}} {{As of|2024|02}}, a federal judge in Brooklyn set a tentative trial date for January 2025.{{cite web |last=Scharf |first=Rachel |title=OneTaste Forced-Labor Trial Unlikely To Start Before 2025 |website=Law360 |date=2024-02-01 |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1792919/onetaste-forced-labor-trial-unlikely-to-start-before-2025 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-03-16}} The defense claimed that FBI Special Agent Elliot McGinnis, who reportedly led the investigation for five years, undermined the case's integrity by advising witnesses to destroy evidence, mishandling privileged materials, and presenting misleading information in sworn affidavits.{{Cite web |title=FBI Told OneTaste Witness To Delete Evidence, Ex-Execs Say - Law360 |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1847031/fbi-told-onetaste-witness-to-delete-evidence-ex-execs-say |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=www.law360.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Engelmayer |first=Juda |date=2024-12-03 |title=Defense in OneTaste Related Case Alleges Evidence Tampering and Prosecutorial Misconduct |url=https://www.einpresswire.com/article/765814564/defense-in-onetaste-related-case-alleges-evidence-tampering-and-prosecutorial-misconduct |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=EIN Presswire |language=en-US}} However, Judge Diane Gujarati denied a motion to dismiss, ruling that the defense had not sufficiently demonstrated bad faith or that these issues prejudiced the prosecution's case, but did push back the trial, initially scheduled for January 13, to May 5.{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |last3= |first3= |title=OneTaste Execs Say Former Member's Journals Fabricated - Law360 Pulse |url=https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/2268316 |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=www.law360.com |language=en}}

On March 17, 2025, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York announced that they will not use a key witness's journals in the case. The witness had falsely presented them as written about the time she was a OneTaste member, but instead had "physically copied the relevant portion of the Handwritten Journals after typing the Typewritten Journals".{{cite magazine |last=Jones |first=CT |title=DOJ Won't Use Journal Evidence in 'Orgasm Cult' Case |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=2025-03-17 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/orgasm-cult-onetaste-lawsuit-trafficking-allegations-1235298246/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2025-03-21}} The defense argued that the fraudulent evidence had been used as the foundation of the case, saying “The government would have presented perjured testimony from its star witness at trial, potentially leading to a wrongful conviction of the defendants.”{{Cite news |last=Barrett |first=Devlin |date=2025-04-04 |title=Key Evidence Thrown Out in Jolt to ‘Orgasmic Meditation’ Conspiracy Case |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/nyregion/one-taste-orgasmic-meditation-evidence.html |access-date=2025-04-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Elizabeth Nolan |date=2025-03-19 |title=FBI failed to spot faked evidence in case against alleged orgasm cult |url=https://reason.com/2025/03/19/fbi-failed-to-spot-faked-evidence-in-case-against-alleged-orgasm-cult/ |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=Reason.com |language=en-US}}

The trial started on May 5, 2025. During the trial, former CTO Christopher Hubbard described OneTaste as a "sex cult", and stated that he and Daedone arranged BDSM activities for a male OneTaste investor, in which most of them involved the investor "either giving or receiving some form of sexual activity" with OneTaste members. A member testified that she was told to have sex with the investor as part of her role in the organization.{{cite web |last1=Pullano |first1=Nina |title=Bay Area ‘sex cult’ workers forced to service wealthy clients sexually: Witnesses |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/bay-area-sex-cult-workers-forced-to-service-wealthy-clients-sexually-witnesses/ |website=Courthouse News Service |access-date=14 May 2025 |date=13 May 2025}}

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• {{annotated link|Neotantra}}
• {{annotated link|One taste}}
• {{annotated link|Sex cult}}
• {{annotated link|Sex-positive movement}}

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• {{Official website}}

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