'One Tree Hill' Star Lenz Says She Was Cult Member

"One Tree Hill" star Bethany Joy Lenz said she spent a decade "in a cult."

The 42-year-old actor briefly opened up about her experience during an appearance on Monday's episode of the "Drama Queens" podcast with her former costars from the 2000s teen drama series.

"I was in a cult for 10 years," she told Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton Morgan, according to People. "That would be a really valuable experience to write about, and the recovery — 10 years of recovery after that. So there's a lot to tell."

Lenz did not further elaborate on the cult but said she writes about the experience privately. She added that she would like to be an author "for sure." However, Lenz admitted to feeling "the pressure of getting it right and everything having to be exactly real and all the people that are involved."

"Also, I don't know how much I can say because there are still people and legal things in place that make it more complicated for the timing of that. But I do write. I write all the time."

Lenz has never publicly named the cult, but she has spoken out against organizations that she believes have problematic practices. 

In 2021, she called out the Mosaic Church on Instagram for alleged negative behaviors.

"The hierarchy in this 'church', the level of abuse that I've consistently heard goes on behind the scenes and how everything centers around the Leader is textbook 101 of cults," Lenz wrote in an Instagram post. "And usually, unless you're in the inner circle, it's much harder to spot."

Mosaic Church is a multi-campus non-denominational church located in Hollywood with seven campuses from Seattle to Mexico City. The church was founded by Erwin McManus and has been named one of America's "most influential churches," according to its website. 

The church did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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