267. "I Joined a Sex Cult": Star Stone on Onetaste, Toxic Empowerment & Cult Culture

Honeydew Me

Cassandra Anderson

Self-improvement, Education, Sexuality, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 533 Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2026

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

NYC-based comedian, actor, and storyteller Star Stone (@starstonespeaks) joins us to talk about the years she spent inside Onetaste, a Bay Area "sexual wellness" group that built a multi-million dollar operation around a 15-minute clitoris stroking practice and is now better known for being investigated by the FBI. Star takes us through the sex education gap that primed her for it, the relationship that kept her there, the empowerment language that quietly turned coercive, and the long road back to her own desires. In this episode: Why Star (and basically every millennial woman) ended up Googling her own anatomy in her 20s, and how that vacuum is exactly what predatory communities count on How "edge work" gets weaponized: when "lean into your edge" becomes a way to talk you past your own no, and what to listen for before you sign anything The exact red flags Star wishes she'd clocked sooner (absolute promises, paywalls disguised as inner circles, "you're blocked, that's why you need the course," and the universal cult truth: there's always land) What actually happened inside Onetaste: the practice, the paid intros, the group rooms, the moment the FBI investigation quietly ended in-person practices and nobody told the members Toxic empowerment versus the real thing: how organizations dress up dependency as liberation, and how to spot the difference before they have your money and your nervous system Getting out: the eviction, calling her dad, going viral and getting hated online days after leaving, and the five years of celibacy and self-isolation that followed Rebuilding a sexual identity from scratch when you can't tell anymore which desires were yours and which were normalized inside the group For anyone who's ever wondered how smart, curious women end up in places like this, and for anyone trying to tell the difference between a teacher and a trap. Star's show CL*T CULT runs June 3rd at 7 p.m. at The Pit NYC, tickets at starstonespeaks.com or @starstonespeaks on Instagram. ⁠Learn more about 1:1 coaching HERE!⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Get Honeydew Me Merch HERE!⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:24.5	Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup.
0:30.3	One in a million, you're a jam shine when the light girl's dim.
0:34.4	See, one, two, three, four, three, two, one. Because no one can do it, like we do it, like we do it. Say one, two, three, four, three, two, one.
0:38.3	Because no one can do it like we do it, like we do it, like we do it, like we do it, like we do it. Because no one can do it like we do it, like we do it, like we do it, like we do it. Hello and welcome to Honeydemy podcast. I'm Emma. And I'm Cass. and this is where we like to talk about sex, relationships, mental health, all of the things that are just a little bit trickier than we anticipated them being.
1:01.1	We're a little bit worse at them, honestly, all of those categories.
1:05.3	But that's okay, because we're all kind of bad at them because they're all learned skills.
1:09.6	And we just want to have a space to learn them together. So welcome. So welcome. Today we're getting into a crazy situation with an amazing guest. And my question for you will definitely frame what this topic is, but I need to ask it first.
1:28.0	Do you think you're someone that would be susceptible to being pulled into a cult?
1:32.5	Thank you so much for asking this.
1:33.7	I was talking about this yesterday with my friend when I was getting my hair cut.
1:36.4	Yes, I do.
1:37.8	Yes, I do.
1:39.4	Because I think I want community.
1:42.0	I think I want people who are kind of like die hard for me and I love that energy.
1:46.8	Like I think that would be really fun.
1:48.2	I will die.
1:48.8	I will die for you.
	...

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