THE chilling reality of the lives of people “manipulated” into joining a “cult for beautiful people” has been laid bare in a new documentary as disciples claim they were raped by a “monster” guru.
The group started with 15 people and quickly grew to 150 when Jaime Gomez, its leader, offered spiritual healing and a healthy lifestyle free from drugs and sex.
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But former members of the cult – known as the Buddhafield – have made disturbing claims about the ongoings of the group – with some alleging they were molested by Gomez, who has been likened to “Hitler”.
Holy Hell is a new documentary that will tell the story of Will Allen’s experiences in the cult.
Gomez has denied that he claimed that he was sexually abused by others for many years.
He toldVulture: “I was around him for so long. I knew him more than most people. I saw more and filmed more. He also had an abusive sexual relationship. This he called a consensual one.
“Those were all secrets and lies that he was very, very protective about.”
In a separate interview with CNN, he added: “I didn’t register it as abuse. I thought it was my problem. Why can’t I surrender?
“I just didn’t ever know what was happening to me. He was my guru and I had to love him. He was my guru and I had to respect and honour him. That’s when I began to hate him. I didn’t even know I was suffering from PTSD.
Radhia Gleis, another victim of Gomez, spent 25 years in the Buddhafield and then broke free.
She joined Gomez in 1980s to escape Catholicism. All members lived in a West Hollywood shared house.
Radhia, however, described the early days as “utopia” – before things took a turn.
She told the Central Recorder: “Everybody was gorgeous and they called us the cult of the beautiful people.
“Gomez was just a lovely guy – smart, funny, good looking and charismatic. He was a great guy.
“Here was this contemporary guy who was gay. I fled Catholicism and wasn’t interested in old traditions, I wanted something deep and intimate and he filled all of those things.”
But, she says, as more and more disciples joined, Gomez changed and turned into a “monster”.
‘CREATED A MONSTER’
“The likes of Hitler and Mussolini could never do what they did without the followers,” Radhia, who has penned a book called The Followers: Holy Hell and the Disciples of Narcissistic Leaders on her time in the cult, added.
“It is the followers that build and feed the narcissist.
“I had to analyze how we created a monster.”
Radhia states that as the group grew, Gomez’s paranoia increased and spiritual teachings began to originate from him, instead of God.
Radhia says that the cult turned into a living nightmare when she was desperate to flee. He then moved the group from Texas to Austin.
She told the Star: “In Texas everything became secretive. We were taught to lie and I wasn’t getting what I was originally getting.
“I wanted to leave in 1995 but I stayed until 2006. That’s how conflicted I was.
These were my family and my closest friends. My parents were gone, my brother had abandoned me, and nobody outside understood my clandestine lifestyle.
“You create a bond that makes it extremely painful to think that you would not be with them any more. You share intimate secrets with one another – which is very convenient for a narcissistic psychopath who we pay weekly to get our psyche.
“He knew all our fears, the skeletons in our closet, our deep dark things. He controlled us.”
Radhia claims if people tried to leave, he would “demonise” them and turn people against them, meaning they would “lose everything”.
Radhia escaped the cult after more and more accusations were made against Gomez.
He is now 80 and has relocated the last of his faithful disciples to Hawaii. He strongly denies the allegations in the Holy Hell documentary.
Michel Gomez (previously known as Michel) said that “it is heartbreaking” to see history rewritten. Holy Hell is not a documentary. It is a fiction work that creates drama, fear, and persecution. That is what sells.
“I find it saddening that this effort to hide the message of universal love, and spiritual awakening, is being made. It is heartbreaking to see friends who once loved the world so much become so angry.
“I wish them only the best, and hold each one close to my heart. If any of my actions were a catalyst for their disharmony, I am truly sorry. May all beings find peace, Michel.”
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