OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone says she plans to testify at her trial

Nicole Daedone, the founder of OneTaste, a wellness company centered on the practice of "orgasmic meditation," said she will "absolutely" testify at her trial next year.

The former CEO is scheduled to stand trial in New York in January on one count of forced labor conspiracy. Prosecutors allege that she and former OneTaste executive Rachel Cherwitz, who is facing the same charge, targeted victims of trauma to become members and manipulated them into performing sex acts and going into debt, among other things. Cherwitz has denied any wrongdoing.

"It's not true," Daedone said of the allegations against her in an exclusive interview with NBC News N OW's "Top Story." "It's definitely not true. And as much as any human being, as this woman, this person, would not want to go to court because it's grueling, just even going to small hearings, I want to go to court because I want all of this transparent. I want it to be exposed. I want everything that I didn't say to be said."

Daedone rose to fame by teaching the practice of orgasmic meditation, or OM, as a key to women's well-being. She founded OneTaste in 2005 and grew it into a $12 million business with thousands of followers, including celebrity fans like Gwyneth Paltrow and Khloe Kardashian.

But it all came crashing down after a 2018 Bloomberg and the 2022 Netflix documentary "Orgasm Inc." featured former employees who said they were subjected to a toxic environment that included emotional and physical abuse.

Daedone and Cherwitz were charged in a 2023 indictment that alleges they preyed on people who had been victims of previous trauma; forced One Taste members into debt by opening lines of credit to finance courses; subjected members to surveillance; had them sleep in communal homes and beds; and encouraged members to engage in sexual acts with investors and clients.

Daedone dismissed the indictment as "boilerplate."

"If you look at it, it is a cut and paste indictment," she said. "At OneTaste, we were rooted 100% in consent. If I talk to you about the practice, from the very moment I would say to you, 'You can say yes or no,' and no is a perfectly acceptable answer throughout the practice itself. It's all based in consent. We had an ethics committee. ... This is the antithesis of what this company was."

When asked about her former company being called a sex cult in the media and being compared to convicted NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere, Daedone said she's not surprised.

"The most honest thing I can say is, it makes sense to me on the one hand. And what I mean by that is, we do not have a culture that understands women's power, women's relationship to sexuality, women owning their desire," she said.

Daedone sold the company, now called The Institute of OM, in 2017. She said she is not involved with the day-to-day running of the business but still teaches classes and lectures about orgasmic meditation.

Daedone's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, who also represents high- profile clients like Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby and R. Kelly, said that her client was swept up in the MeToo movement.

"I do not think anyone would be interested in what Nicole's life practice was, what OneTaste was doing, without the MeToo movement," Bonjean said. She added that she believes interest in Daedone "was driven by media coverage that was not fair, that was not vetted, that was salacious, that was designed to rile people up."

She also blames the Netflix documentary for the charges being filed.

"Make no mistake about it, without the tabloid sensational coverage, there would be no indictment. I will stand on that," she said.

Netflix did not respond to a request for comment.

Although Bonjean would not reveal plans for the trial, she said they have a strong defense.

"Make no mistake about it, there are people who are saying, 'Huh, yeah, what I did was completely consensual, but now looking back, I think maybe I wasn't so happy, and maybe I really didn't want to do it,'" Bonjean said. "We have about 100 witnesses, frankly. And listen, the government has a select few people who have some type of sour grapes about things that went on, really in their own lives, frankly."

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, which brought the charges, declined to comment on the case.

Daedone faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

"I don't know that you can necessarily prepare" for jail time, she said. "I do know that I have the inner strength, resilience and, most importantly, what I have is a conviction of purpose."

"I would much rather face any kind of difficulty and know the truth inside about what I'm doing than, you know, appease the world and not have a strong sense of meaning in my life."

The jury will hear from Daedone in her own words when she takes the stand.

"For sure. Absolutely," she said when asked if she planned to testify.

"I don't think I could keep her off the stand if I wanted to," Bonjean added. "As defense attorneys we never like to commit to those things, and normally I would not, but this is a woman of conviction, strong beliefs."