Writing can be a therapeutic experience. One can write about past experiences to gain a deeper understanding and closure on tough situations. Bethany Joy Lenz appears to be doing just that. On the July 10 episode of her podcast Drama Queens, which is cohosted by her fellow One Tree Hill alums Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton, Bethany revealed she was a member of a cult for 10 years.
Bethany is writing about her experiences and healing journey. She is not quite sure what will come of it because of ongoing legal proceedings. She wants to share her story to help others.
Bethany would love to share her writing with the world but it is not quite the correct time yet. “I would love to write about my experience,” she explained. “I was in a cult for 10 years. 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.”
Bethany is not allowed to get into the specifics of her experience. Her silence will help bring people the justice they deserve. That does not mean she is not writing behind the scenes.
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Writing about one’s personal life is not an easy feat. Bethany feels a deep responsibility to get it right. She feels obligated to “all the people that are involved” to tell the hard truths, even if it is difficult.
“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,” she explained. “But I do write. I mean, I write all the time.”
Bethany also teased about what might come of all of this. “There’s some things in the works. There’s some projects coming out,” she said, remaining vague. She is also a songwriter and singer so she has plenty of mediums to explore with this difficult subject.
While much is unknown about Bethany’s self-proclaimed cult membership, her 2021 Instagram post might be a clue. In this post she took down a Los Angeles church called Mosaic and one of its pastors, Erwin McManus. She did not mince her words.
“I went to Mosaic on and off for 2 years,” her post begins. “The level of control displayed, particularly by McManus was deeply characteristic to me of a high-demand group and was disturbing to me and to many other people who have left Mosaic for that very reason.” She goes on to say that because “so many people are being mislead in the name of a God I love and cherish, I feel I have a responsibility to speak up for anyone willing to hear it.” She calls the institution’s practices “textbook 101 of cults.”
