Frank Parlato’s Letter to Bloomberg’s Ellen Huet: A Push for Transparency in OneTaste Reporting

Bad for OneTaste

In that story, I wrote:

On June 18, 2018, Bloomberg Businessweek published “The Dark Side of the Orgasmic Meditation Company” by Ellen Huet…

Five months after Bloomberg published its story, Heut wrote a follow up story in Bloomberg, which reported the FBI was investigating OneTaste…

After a five-year FBI investigation, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of NY filed a one-count federal indictment against the co-founder of OneTaste, Nicole Daedone, and her head of sales, Rachel Cherwitz, in April 2023. The charge was forced labor conspiracy.

US District Court Judge Diane Gujarati has scheduled the trial for January 2025…

Daedone and Cherwitz face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of forced labor conspiracy…

Good for Huet

Ellen Huet appears in a Bloomberg video talking about her OneTaste investigation. While the story had disastrous consequences for Daedone and Cherwitz, the story was a boon to the reporter, Ellen Huet. I explained:

Bloomberg’s story inspired media coverage in Playboy, a nine-episode podcast on the BBC called “The Orgasm Cult,” a Netflix documentary “Orgasm Inc.: The Story of OneTaste,” and an episode of Vice’s “True Believers” called “OneTaste.”

Huet appeared in the Netflix and Vice documentaries….

Based on her Bloomberg story on OneTaste, Huet entered into a contract to write a book for MCD Books, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

What Is the Truth?

Since the story was unusually impactful, I asked:

Is Bloomberg’s story “The Dark Side of the Orgasmic Meditation Company” the work of a crusading journalist whose intrepid investigation stopped a sex cult?

Or was this a case where the FBI and government prosecutors, inspired by Bloomberg’s story, falsely charged two innocent women? Or is it something in between?

I emailed the reporter, Ellen Huet, to find out.

Hi Ellen;

I have been investigating the prosecution of Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz. I want to interview you on the record.

I have discovered some troubling issues concerning the FBI investigation, the government’s handling of the prosecution, and other factors. I am looking into all aspects of the case.

The FBI seems to have begun the investigation based on your story in June 2018.

Yet, it seems that the sources you used, especially Michal Neria, did not provide credible or honest stories.

If your story was based on unreliable sources and led to a flawed FBI investigation and wrongful prosecution, it’s important to examine the role of the media – in this case, your story – and set the record straight.

Understanding how media reports can influence government decisions more than true justice is crucial.

And if the story was faulty, then lies are built on lies.

Of course, I am not implying that you intentionally wrote an inaccurate story. It’s possible that Michal, Hamza, Ruwan, and others, introduced to you by Misha, were untruthful with you, and you simply relayed their statements.

On the other hand, maybe you have different information and can provide evidence to support the veracity of your sources and might wish to share them with me.

I want to write a fair article. I will gather all the information I can about the Bloomberg story that implicated two women.

It seems the story was based on the accounts of only four or five people. Whether these accounts are false or not, their narratives differ significantly from the accounts of others I have spoken with who made themselves available for interviews.

In addition to my interviews there are extraneous online records that completely contradict the narratives you told in your story.

An excellent example is Misha Safyan, who told Michal an entirely different version of his wedding on a podcast just weeks before your story appeared, than Michal told in her story you reported.

Please let me know if you are willing to be interviewed. We can set up ground rules and record the interview, along with me, to ensure accuracy.

If you prefer, I can send you questions by email.

I am hopeful that if your reporting was flawed in 2018, you will work to correct that, not only in your upcoming book, but also in your report on Bloomberg.

Two women are in danger of losing their liberty, and no worthy reporter who put them in that position would not want to correct the record, if their original reporting is wrong.

Of course, I might be wrong, and if you would like to share new evidence, I am eager to see it.

I am not on OneTaste’s side, or against the government or the sources in your story. I am interested strictly in the truth.

From everything I have seen, the charges are false, the indictment was initially based on your story, and your sources were not honest.

Do prove me wrong or seek the truth with me.

I will report the results of my efforts to seek the truth with Bloomberg reporter Ellen Huet.

Frank Parlato

Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist, media strategist, publisher, and legal consultant.

Frank Parlato

Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist, media strategist, publisher, and legal consultant.

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