Smallville Star Tom Welling Breaks Silence on Allison Mack's Prison Sentence

In the time since Smallville star Allison Mack was arrested and charged with a variety of crimes related to her time in a cult, her former co-stars have rarely addressed the issue during their public appearances. Series star Tom Welling broke with that tradition a little bit, making light of Mack's prison sentence during an appearance at Fan Expo Vancouver this weekend during a Smallville panel. The question came up when Welling was pressed on an animated follow-up to Smallville that he and co-star Michael Rosenbaum have been not-so-secretly developing for a while now.

Mack was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to three years in prison and three years probation in June of 2021. She has been characterized as the second in command of NXIVM, a "sex cult" run by self-styled guru Keith Raniere, who is currently serving a 120-year prison term for sex trafficking.

Asked about the animated project, Welling rattled off some actors he hopes to bring back. As for Mack, Welling's only remark was "It might be tough to get Allison."

You can see the panel below.

In 2019, Welling had said that he was shocked to hear of the charges against Mack, saying that he had never saw any behavior that would prepare him for the surprise.

In October of 2021, Welling was on a Zoom call with ComicBook when he said, "Kristin [Kreuk], you'll be getting a call from us, but we're working on the animated series with Al and Miles, where we're going to continue Smallville on and be the voice." 

Rosenbaum jumped in at that point to say, "Yes, we have a pitch, but we can't really talk about it. We can't talk about it, but we're working on it."

After pleading guilty to racketeering charges tied to NXIVM, Mack was sentenced to three years in prison. After her release, she will be on a supervised release for three years. In addition to losing her career and pleading guilty, Mack was divorced from her wife in 2020. Mack reported to prison in September, according to the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, CA. 

NXIVM was portrayed as a network of self-help programs, but ended up being not only a pyramid scheme but also a secret sex cult. The Smallville actress was one of the people recruiting women to be a part of that sex cult. Each of the women recruited who ended up being branded with group founder and leader Keith Raniere's initials.

Mack wrote a letter that was filed with the court last week (via The AP), where she said devoting herself to Raniere's organization "was the biggest mistake and greatest regret of my life." She also wrote "I am sorry to those of you that I brought into NXIVM. I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man."

Mack's lawyers submitted a statement in court papers, writing "The NXIVM saga and the story of Ms. Mack's descent have been a tragedy for all involved. But that need not, and should not, be the end of the story for Allison Mack. Ms. Mack now understands that this was the best thing that could have happened to her at that time."

Mack was arrested a few days after Raniere, who had fled to Mexico after authorities started to get close. The NXIVM Leader was arrested in March of 2018 and sent back to the United States for trial. Raniere was indicted on a number of charges including sex trafficking, conspiracy for sex trafficking, and conspiracy to commit forced labor. He was eventually sentenced to 120 years in prison on charges of sex trafficking.