01x03 - Paradise Lost

[bunniefuu]

[dramatic music]

- When did the indoctrination
process become complete?

♪ ♪

It became this God's army

and everybody else
needed to come and join.

♪ ♪

NATUREBOY: These women
and people that come to me,

they really think I'm God, bro,
and I am God.

- I love you.

- You're walking
into his world now.

- These are my
m*therf*cking worshippers.

They sit around and look
at me all day in awe.

♪ ♪

CHANTELLE: Natureboy
has complete control

over every aspect
of their life.

Their brains
were just scrambled.

- I'm your pimp.
I'm your god.

Get on your knees, b*tch.

- Things were starting
to heat up considerably.

PEOPLE: Black man,
I apologize to you.

NATUREBOY:
For being a b*tch.

JENAE:
He was going mad.

He was going crazy.

NATUREBOY: You tempt me
and you f*ck with me,

y'all gonna
make me lose my mind!

- It's just this
tyrannical situation.

- I'm gonna smack you.
[slap]

VELVET: I was like,
take me out of it!

I absolutely hated that.

- I'm your nightmare, [bleep].

♪ ♪

f*ck you.

♪ ♪

- I'm like, what in the world
is going on here?

SINGERS:
[vocalizing]

♪ ♪

[solemn music]

♪ ♪

COURTNEY: My name is Courtney,
you know, Courtney Townsend.

I'm from San Diego,
California,

born and raised, essentially.

Living in the hood, it's just,
like, a lot of g*ng activity.

Imagine sitting
where you're sitting now,

but the feeling is,
at any time,

b*ll*ts can come
through a wall.

It's like living in a w*r zone.

And I felt
super claustrophobic.

I just eventually realized,
like, I gotta get out of here.

One more hour, one more minute
in the States, and I was dead.

♪ ♪

I came across Eligio's videos
when I was at age 23.

[siren wailing]

NATUREBOY: You don't realize
you're in a prison.

[siren wailing]

You're in captivity.

But the only person that's
holding you there is you.

So you are enslaving
your own self.

- I was like, whoa.

He's saying a lot
of the stuff I agree with.

I felt like they
were talking to me.

[water splashing]

All I heard was, I'm that guy.

NATUREBOY:
Reflection!

NATUREBOY:
What is Carbon Nation?

FOLLOWERS:
The guardian angels.

NATUREBOY:
Who are you?

- They did this intro
where Eligio was standing

at the top of a staircase.

NATUREBOY:
Who am I?

FOLLOWERS:
The honorable master teacher,

Natureboy, commander in chief
of the Earth plane,

my higher self.

- And Velvet comes out,

and she's like the queen.

- Who am I?

FOLLOWERS:
Queen Eliana,

commander in chief
of the Earth plane,

my higher self.

COURTNEY:
It's like a king and a queen.

And all the guys
are lined up on the side.

They're all following suit.

They're like extras
to a movie.

♪ ♪

If it wasn't for them,
the scene wouldn't be

as powerful as it was.

♪ ♪

I'm thinking, I'm going there
for the rest of my life.

I'm about to go join
the army of God.

[zipper scratches,
plane engine roaring]

[percussive music]

♪ ♪

I came in really happy.

♪ ♪

It felt like I just
jumped into my TV.

When Natureboy
first introduced himself,

it was the commander in chief
of Carbon Nation.

♪ ♪

I was like,
this is like a military.

I'm looking at these people
like God's army, like angels.

♪ ♪

But in just such
a short amount of time,

it became so clear to me
this is just for show.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

VELVET:
I'm gonna be honest.

I never felt comfortable
being chieftess.

I never liked the power
that came with it.

NATUREBOY:
Are you not chieftess?

♪ ♪

Do you not embody
the energy of a goddess?

It has to be in you.

You're in the position
of power.

- It was Natureboy,
and then it was me,

and then whoever else
came after.

Natureboy would get mad at me

about how I need
to sit in my throne

and how I need
to put on my crown

and how I need to be
the bad b*tch that Natureboy

wanted me to be.

NATUREBOY: Two years, Eliana,
two years,

I've been invoking
the spirit to come out of you.

Now, if it doesn't come out,
it's not there.

♪ ♪

VELVET: He wanted me
to be mean to women.

You know, tear them down
and be rude to them

and make them feel like
they're less than me,

because that's what queens do.

Queens sh*t on people.

♪ ♪

I had a very lonely feeling
in the inside of me

because my relationships
with the other wives

were minimal to none.

So it started to become
a situation where I would

denounce myself as queen

and try to pass on that title
to someone else.

♪ ♪

But then it got
worse and worse.

♪ ♪

NATUREBOY: So are you gonna
deal with the issue or what?

Or we gonna take
two f*cking days

to get back to your balance?

Two days, Eliana.

And people think that I'm mean,
but they don't know

the underlying sh*t
that's going on,

so we keep the camera rolling.

f*ck it. Let them see you.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

AARON: Natureboy continued
to hit Velvet a lot.

♪ ♪

It became commonplace,

like hearing
your neighbors argue

next door,
and it kind of, like,

just becomes
a part of your atmosphere.

VELVET:
No. All right!

All right!

There's no one in the house!

All right!

NATUREBOY:
Don't tell...

VELVET:
[screaming]

NATUREBOY:
sh*t to anyone.

CHANTELLE:
I'm trying to understand

what I'm seeing here.

VELVET: Let me go.
Leave me alone.

- They began
to have incidents on camera.

- Leave me the f*ck alone.

- It's weird,
the weird dichotomy.

- Don't say that about me.

Can you let me out?

CHANTELLE:
She's the queen sometimes,

but then other times,
I'm gonna beat her

like she
stole something from me.

- We took it as a form
of justified retaliation.

She was challenging
her husband,

and she was getting made
a public example

of what happens
when you do that.

NATUREBOY:
What's going on?

AARON:
In my mind,

I'm thinking
she deserved that.

NATUREBOY:
What--yo, stop.

- So the trust dynamic
was not within each other

but rather to and from
the cult leader only.

NATUREBOY:
What is you doing?

VELVET:
Get out. Move.

[baby cries]

VELVET:
[screaming]

♪ ♪

He wanted to break me
in front of everybody

so that he can win respect.

- Nothing was off-limits.

VELVET: Can't you
just leave me alone?

♪ ♪

- These moments were always

heavily watched
by a ton of people.

♪ ♪

- Y'all want her
to leave me, don't you?

Look at you, you weak b*stards.

CHANTELLE:
The audience at some point

grew contempt for him

and what he was doing.

- Yo.

PERSON 1:
Oh, my God.

You don't have to bring her
down like that.

PERSON 2:
A real man, a real leader,

can make his point without
putting his hands on a woman.

PERSON 3:
We're watching Nana.

And I think Nana wants
to feel safe and protected.

And I don't think
she's feeling that

in general right now.

♪ ♪

- So the audience started
contacting the authorities

once the abuse
started coming to light more.

Embassy got ton of calls.

They were investigated
by the police in Mexico.

[indistinct chatter]

And they ended up being
kicked out of the Airbnb.

♪ ♪

They ended up leaving.

♪ ♪

They turned up in a number
of different countries...

♪ ♪

In no particular order,
Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama.

And they were deported
from nearly

each and every one of them.

[indistinct
police radio chatter]

NATUREBOY: Donate
to the family right now.

We on the road
looking for a new home.

You know what I'm saying?
So donate to the movement.

- After that,
they moved to Atlanta.

♪ ♪

They were
in a downward spiral.

As a viewer, you're just
waiting and wondering,

what's gonna happen next?

[serene music]

♪ ♪

JENAE: My name is
Jenaé Alexandrea Newell.

♪ ♪

I was raised
in Atlanta, Georgia.

Before joining Carbon Nation,
I did have my own journey.

I went to Thailand, Malaysia,
Ecuador, just exploring.

♪ ♪

They would preach,
go out into nature and--

you know, to get in tune
with the planet,

meditating in the middle of nature.

♪ ♪

That was my place of peace.

Carbon Nation taught this.

I embodied it.

And that's what made me
more drawn to them.

I saw a video
of them online

that they were kicked out
of some country,

and it was really, really bad.

But I thought people
were just looking

at them, like, weird,
you know, because they

didn't know better.

♪ ♪

I was a cashier at this--

the raw vegan space.

It's, like, a beautiful
kale bar.

When I was working one day,
they just showed up at my job.

I'm just like, what?

You know, this is cool.

This is amazing.

That's the guy
that I've been following.

And literally,
it changed my life.

♪ ♪

- Jenaé, I love myself.

What's going on [indistinct]?

JENAE: I had a trip
booked to Bali, Indonesia,

to become a yoga teacher,
and I had to either

choose that
or be with them.

♪ ♪

So let's go
with the Carbon Nation.

♪ ♪

When I got there, it was about,
like, 25 people in one house.

We weren't in nature,
of course,

so there was no tent living.

Eligio just selling
a dream, a pipe dream.

- Claiming to love nature
so much, but not really,

because you're living
in Airbnbs.

[grim music]

JENAE: That's where the false
sense of reality comes in.

Like, we thinking
it's a utopia and it's not.

I had a pounding ringing
or something

telling me--
like, screaming at me, no.

♪ ♪

But I ignored it.

♪ ♪

I think it was something like--
maybe, like,

two to three months
at the journey,

you start to see
his dark side.

♪ ♪

- The darkness
was always there.

Natureboy had just
bottled it up.

- I'm your pimp.

I'm your god.

Get on your knees, b*tch.

That's how I feel about you.

- Natureboy started
to think that,

why not just
show you guys the real me?

Why not display
who I really am to you?

- You know what I'm saying?

That's how I actually
feel about you.

- The main wives would
get him ready every day.

KENDRA: He needed
someone to comb his hair.

He needed someone to bathe him.

He needed someone
to brush his teeth.

We were rubbing his feet.
We were massaging his body.

I mean, he would
make us massage him

for hours, saying, like--

but that was all under
his control and his influence.

We never looked
at him as somebody

that had malice
or had ill intentions

towards any of us.

There was nothing
that he could say or do

to make me look
at him differently,

like he didn't have
our best interests in mind.

We looked at him like
he was the answer.

VELVET: He really
legitimately thinks

that he's God
because of the fact

that he, in his mind,

have created
a reality of people

who would get on their knees
and kiss his feet.

♪ ♪

- He made us get his name
tattooed on our butts.

He branded the women
he liked very much.

He was like, my toy.

Mine, not yours.

♪ ♪

[serene music]

Natureboy, he wanted
to be with all the women.

And the women of Carbon Nation
desired to be

their best version,
their best self.

I know, as a woman in
Carbon Nation, that was for me.

I just wanted
to just do my purpose.

There were moments
that it felt like a utopia

to me, absolutely.

But Natureboy, he's badgering
in your mind every day

that you're supposed
to be with him.

NATUREBOY:
I'll make you my goddess.

Sit in the chair.

JENAE: He told me,
you keep forgetting.

I'm like, what--
forgetting what?

And he said,
that you're in love with me.

NATUREBOY: Turn around
and see the a*s on that demon!

- You're prone to see him
as your master,

and then, you know, feelings
develop for your master.

Just like a mind
manipulation,

mind trick to make him--
make you fall

for him in some type of way.

NATUREBOY:
g*dd*mn!

And this is
supposed to be mine!

- It's scary thinking that I
was in a home with a madman.

Literally, he was
going mad, going crazy.

♪ ♪

- Started promoting
that the men start

looking for a transgender wife
because Eligio has to reproduce

with the female wives
and let Eligio

have all the actual women.

- I was like,
take me out of it.

I absolutely hated that.

[tense music]

He separated the women
and the men,

and he put us
in two different houses.

And...

[sniffles]

He was in the house
with the women.

- He did that so that he
could have sex with all of us

without the men knowing.

♪ ♪

- Everybody's competing
to have sex with him.

- And that's not how
it initially started.

That was not what was promoted.

♪ ♪

KENDRA:
I thought what I was part of

was something really true.

Like, I thought
it was the truth.

I had, in fact, been a victim
of brainwashing.

♪ ♪

- The majority of all
the guys don't know

what's going on to any degree.

He's played with the men's egos
and their masculinity

to where some of the guys--

I'm not gonna put
names out there--

they would do anything
for Eligio.

- Soular want to kiss me.
Give me a kiss.

- All the men were like,
I would be a eunuch.

Yeah, I'll do it.
I'll castrate myself.

It's a lot of confusion there.

♪ ♪

Another scenario was, would
you guys swallow Eligio's come?

Would you be that dedicated
to where you would do that?

And I'm sorry to tell y'all.

The truth is,
most all the men said yes.

♪ ♪

- Looking back, when did
the indoctrination process

become complete
to the point where

him telling you what to do
is God telling you what to do?

It stopped being
about the group,

and it started being
about this one person

and what he thought about you.

♪ ♪

- We wanted to trust him
in everything he did.

He was the chief.
He was the king. He was God.

- I am God.
They know I'm God.

I am God.

I am God!

- He's telling you
that it's hell.

Outside is hell.

And if you leave, you're going
against your mission,

you're going against
your purpose,

and you're going
straight into hell,

where all the demons are.

♪ ♪

CHANTELLE: Natureboy
has complete control

over every aspect
of their life.

♪ ♪

Their brains
were just scrambled.

You're just used to being told
what to do, told what to think.

And it just didn't
make any sense anymore.

- You don't f*ck with me,
I promise you I'll

make this heaven on Earth.

- He runs the whole thing.

He is--it's his world.

So you're walking
into his world now.

- But if you tempt me
and you f*ck with me,

y'all gonna
make me lose my mind!

- Things were starting
to heat up considerably.

- Disrespect God
and see what happens.

Tempt me, m*therf*cker!

[grim music]

♪ ♪

- He had taken all the women
from their relationships.

He just said,
you're my wife now.

♪ ♪

You being with Natureboy is
connecting to your higher self.

And because he is
your higher self,

you're expected
to want to be with him.

I mean, you're just
expected to give him sex.

Like, here.

♪ ♪

So it was very confusing
because I knew

I didn't want to be
with him,

but I started
to develop feelings for him.

And that was the worst.

[sniffles] Oh.

But yeah, sorry.

♪ ♪

And then COVID struck.

ANNOUNCER:
Live in Times Square,

this is
Good Morning America.

- We want to turn now
to the latest

on the coronavirus emergency.

In the past 24 hours,
there have been 18,000

new cases reported
in the United States

and more than 700 new deaths.

♪ ♪

JENAE: Everybody was indoors
and scared to go out.

If you're in Carbon Nation,
you have to raise above that.

So we decided
to move to Hawaii.

[bell chimes,
plane engine roaring]

[percussive music]

♪ ♪

Besides any drama that was
happening in the family,

being in Hawaii
was a breath of fresh air.

♪ ♪

It was just grand.

Like, it was so beautiful!

- Yeah.
- Yeah!

- Yeah!

- The green of the grass
was just amazing.

The skies are blue.

Everything was just beautiful.

♪ ♪

CHANTELLE:
This is not something

that Eligio could have
ever done

without begging people
for donations.

People are giving you
large amounts of money

so that you can
live that lifestyle.

♪ ♪

- But when you come
to Hawaii, you're supposed

to quarantine for 14 days.

We did not abide
by that rule whatsoever.

- Yeah!

- They were publicly
and proudly violating it.

- Natureboy wanted
to live by his rules.

I wanted to do what I wanted
to do when I wanted to do it,

you know.

JENAE: But the natives,
Hawaii were not happy.

- Let's get it.
Coming out now, Officer.

- So they arrested us
for breaking quarantine.

[baby crying]

PERSON: They got a lot
of trucks out there.

- He would always capitalize
off of these situations

by live streaming
the entire event.

NATUREBOY:
We live. I know they watching.

- From the audience
perspective, it was shocking.

- I'm being detained.

There's accusations about me
doing stuff that's not true.

This is what comes
with the light, man.

We have to go through this.

It's unfortunate
that it has to be this way.

- He would utilize
each arrest as a propaganda

talking point to join the cult
and to fight the establishment.

♪ ♪

- I'm going outside.

- He's being persecuted
because he is

the Jesus for the
African American people.

- I'ma need bail money from you
so y'all can bail me out.

PERSON: All right, here we go.
Coming in.

- I'm coming out.

OFFICER:
Come with your hands up.

- Peaceful, brother.

CHANTELLE: He would manipulate
these instances to beg

for donations to help him
bail out of jail

or get the group
to the next location.

NATUREBOY:
Yeah.

CHANTELLE:
To be honest with you,

it's definitely
an adrenaline rush

when you're seeing this
go down.

[tense music]

KEAHI:
A self-professed cult leader

who once planned
to settle down

in Hawaii with his followers

is heading back
to the mainland

along with 20 others
from his group.

It's Hawaii's largest single
case of quarantine violators.

Today their leader
agreed to a plea deal.

♪ ♪

CHANTELLE: He eventually
had to make a choice.

And the choice was to leave.

And that's how the charges
in that instance against all

the other members were dropped,
because he took the charge

and said that they would leave.

It's like, here we go again.

On and on to the next episode.

- It became, you do
what he tell you to do,

you're going to heaven.

If you don't,
you're going to hell.

That's what it came down to.

♪ ♪

I'm your salvation.

I'm the one who's gonna
lead you to heaven.

♪ ♪

It's cult leader 101.

[plane engine humming]

[grim music]

♪ ♪

CHANTELLE:
Once they left Hawaii,

they ended up moving
from place to place

to escape scrutiny.

♪ ♪

And it was hard
to keep up with.

♪ ♪

Came back to the West Coast
for a while.

♪ ♪

[waves crashing]

And the cult members
speak up,

one of the most a*usive
episodes that they encountered

involving Velvet and Eligio.

[distant siren wailing]

♪ ♪

VELVET: He told me that we
were gonna make it work

and we were gonna be monogamous

for the sake of our child,
but he continued

to flirt with the women
in front of my face

without my consent
from our initial agreement.

I closed off
and got cold with him.

He did not like that.

♪ ♪

So that particular night,
July 4th of 2020...

♪ ♪

He ordered some of the women
to take Eliana out of my arms.

He made Carbon Nation
form a circle around me

so that he could proceed
to physically abuse me.

I was punched in the face,
in the stomach, in the back,

in the arms, in the legs.

♪ ♪

- And he's repeatedly
hitting her.

We're just standing there,
watching.

- You know what I was thinking?

Why is she being disobedient?

COURTNEY: I'm thinking, like,
she must have did

something real disrespectful.

If he wasn't such a good guy,
he would k*ll her right now.

♪ ♪

- I don't think she tried
to fight back because, one,

this dude is 6'2",


and she's circled by a number
of people who she knows

doesn't have
her best interests in mind

but rather are looking out
for themselves and could

potentially even be afraid
that they could receive--

they could find themselves
in this circle.

♪ ♪

VELVET:
After some time had passed,

it was so bad
to the point where I had

balled up in a fetal position.

He proceeded
to order the women

to draw a bath for me

so that I could recover.

I had severe headache.

I had bruises at the back
of my head, front of my head,

on my temples.

My lip was bust.

The women all
didn't say anything.

The men didn't say anything.

KENDRA: Natureboy would
even say, like, you know,

women who carry themselves like
queens don't get disrespected.

♪ ♪

CHANTELLE: Being queen
rearranged her organs

from the inside out.

Being queen meant
being abused more

than any of the other women.

♪ ♪

- He had made himself
this god over and over

and bigger and badder
in his mind.

He started to feel like
nobody can do anything to him,

and so that just
made him more open.

- I'm a dominant male.

And that's what I'm
gonna do to you.

I'm gonna choke you.

I'm gonna spit on you.

I'm gonna smack you.

Even if you my wife,
that's what I'll do.

KENDRA: At first, it was
just him in his relationship

with Velvet being violent.

Stuff like that didn't happen
to me because I was obedient

and I was submissive.

Next thing you know, it was us
being violent with each other.

[tense music]

- The way that Natureboy
presented the physical abuse

was that as a man,
you don't let nobody

disrespect you
under no circumstance.

Women needed to be put
back into their place

in that environment,
in that atmosphere.

Beating women was OK.

It was approved.

It was actually encouraged.

NATUREBOY: See the attitude
on her face?

[slap]

- Natureboy would often
tell the men

that, you know,
these women,

they've been so programmed
to submit to white men

more so than Black men.

We have to reinforce
our authority.

So as Black men,
we need to show them

that we are their leader.

We are their husband,
their father, everything.

- I really felt
like this person

was some type
of spiritual guide.

In order to believe
he was the messiah,

I had to believe
in what he was saying.

So at the height
of my indoctrination,

I was in full support
of all the teachings.

♪ ♪

- My partner, Aaron, was
physically violent towards me

a few times.

♪ ♪

- Even though I may have agreed
with that doctrine at the time,

I don't anymore.

♪ ♪

CHANTELLE:
The audience was literally

disgusted, disturbed,
and upset

by what they were seeing.

- It's unfortunate
because a lot of the women

who are over there
are very beautiful girls

but very weak-minded.

- Eligio, you're
going down very soon.

More and more people
are catching on to your sh*t.

So you need
to correct this sh*t,

or you're going the f*ck down.

PERSON: So the vibe
I'm getting, though,

is that you just don't like
to be questioned.

♪ ♪

[solemn music]

CHANTELLE:
He knew Carbon Nation

was a really bad place.

There was just so much dark
energy surrounding the cult.

♪ ♪

He needed to take
the pressure off

to say that things weren't
as they appeared to be.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- We randomly just got up
one day, and he was like,

let's go find a chapel,
and all of this.

I'm gonna get married
to Velvet.

You're gonna get
married to her.

Anybody that was a couple.
You know what I'm saying?

He was like, we just
gonna get married.

♪ ♪

We had to sign papers
and all this and all that.

They married each couple,
one couple at a time.

- He made the cult members

marry each other
to protect himself.

♪ ♪

You know, hey, if something
happens, you're my wife.

You can't testify against me.

- Me and Kendra married.

♪ ♪

We've been married, as far as
the documentation is concerned,

August the 11th, 2020.

♪ ♪

The cult leader,
whatever he said became law.

♪ ♪

- After that,
they all took off to Mexico.

♪ ♪

- At this time,
Natureboy's following grew.

He reached about 100,000
to 200,000 people.

He started to feel untouchable.

♪ ♪

COURTNEY: It looks like
we're really rich and wealthy

when we're not.

It's just, everything
goes towards him.

And most of the stuff
is fake jewelry, fake props.

You know, our living situation
is way worse

than what people
ever think it is.

CHANTELLE:
He still had a large group

that he had to feed.

♪ ♪

The control
and manipulation changed.

Anything that he could do to
maybe get a few more donations,

he was willing to do that.

- Bigo Live is an app
that people go live on.

They live stream.

And the people who watch them
send them gifts...

[chiming]

Every month, and those gifts
actually translate

into real money that you can
withdraw real-time.

Man, during my time,
pretty sure it was more

than 200,000, easy.

♪ ♪

Those were the financial
methods that were used

to keep the cult
financially afloat.

♪ ♪

CHANTELLE: We don't have
to work for money

because we're
begging people online

to donate money to us.

It was just a circular scam.

[chiming]

KENDRA:
It became a show for people.

He would be on Bigo
or on Instagram or whatever,

and he'd be like,
let me show y'all something,

talking to the audience.

Like, let me show y'all
how I got these people

worshiping me.

- These are my
m*therf*cking worshippers.

That's what the f*ck they do.

They sit around and look
at me all day in awe.

- So eventually
it gets to the point

to where he went
a little extra crazier.

♪ ♪

[rain pattering,
thunder rumbling]

- Eligio wasn't afraid to take
that little bit of power

and reverence that these
young people have for him

and take it
to the very extreme.

- He started these things
called real [bleep] moments.

I feel like it was just about
publicly exploiting us,

you know,
and humiliating us.

NATUREBOY:
It's about me.

Rub my m*therf*cking legs
and suck on my toes.

b*tch, f*ck you.

Take my shoes off.

- I'm like, what in the world
is going on here?

This is not heaven, bro.
Come on, man.

NATUREBOY:
Rub my feet.

- Everybody had to do things
they didn't want to do,

because if you didn't do
what he said to do,

any one of these people
would start beating you up,

no problem.

NATUREBOY:
Oh.

- There is no trust
amongst cult members.

It got to a point where you
no longer trust yourself.

♪ ♪

[grim music]

NATUREBOY:
Pledge your allegiance to me.

- This is a prideful thing
for them as well,

because they've come this far.

And now they find themselves
kneeling at this man's feet.

NATUREBOY:
Who's your god?

PERSON:
You're my god.

- If him being their god
is what makes this make sense,

then they're willing
to go down that path,

even though their eyes
tell a different story.

♪ ♪

- At this point,
every day, I'm debating,

like, when should I leave?

But it's like, how could I
go back and face everybody?

How do I tell everybody
I was wrong?

How do I go back
to being me ever again?

♪ ♪

- But what I had to accept
is that there is no going back

to who I was because
I would have to actually

Control-Alt-Delete
this experience altogether,

which is impossible.

[mysterious music]

♪ ♪

The way it was promoted
in the beginning

was, this is a tribe.

This is a family.
This is a group.

- You know, I thought,
like, he was somebody

that genuinely wanted
the best for themselves

and other people.

- We're here to inspire you
to do better.

- You know, like,
he just seemed,

like, so peaceful and calm.

And to see who he became,
it's like night and day.

It's two different people.

- We are living
out here for you.

You can't destroy me.
They know that.

I'm the avatar.

I'm the truth.

I'm God.
I'm your nightmare, [bleep].

- Over the years,
a lot changed.

His ideology changed.

And he was always
testing the boundaries,

testing the limits, to see
what he could get away with.

NATUREBOY: I'm coming to wrap
my m*therf*cking d*ck

around your
m*therf*cking neck.

- He had to put on
a bigger show.

He had to up the stakes,

almost like it is
a reality TV show.

NATUREBOY: In the end,
you gonna be wanting

to suck my d*ck.

I promise you, all these
b*tches gonna suck my d*ck.

- If you're willing
to do that,

what else
are you willing to do?

[laughter]

[pensive music]

[waves lapping]

VELVET: One day,
there was a situation

with me and this one girl.

Natureboy egged it on.

♪ ♪

Natureboy pulled her
to the side,

saying that she
should fight me,

saying that she needs to show
the world that she's queen.

And then he pulled me
to the side and was like,

y'all gonna fight anyway
because, you know,

y'all need to squash it.

It really didn't feel right.

But he put us on the beach,
and he created the scene.

NATUREBOY:
You ready?

Nana, you ready?

- And he went live,
and we fought.

NATUREBOY:
Fight!

[dramatic music]

- I did not have to fight her.

♪ ♪

I didn't have to lift a finger.

- I don't feel like any of them
joined this group to be abused.

NATUREBOY:
Stop! Break!

Break!

CHANTELLE:
And at this point, the abuse

is normalized for them.

They don't see
what the public sees.

♪ ♪

The darkest form
of entertainment

is humiliating your own people
for a view, for a donation,

for a dollar.

[waves lapping]

[pensive music]

♪ ♪

JENAE: We were his play toys,
being forced with a whip

to entertain the people
who watched and laughed at us.

♪ ♪

Like, it's just like being
a monkey, a circus monkey.

♪ ♪

[crying]
Like, I didn't have a life.

I didn't have my own life.

I didn't have my life.

I didn't have my--

I--who was I?

♪ ♪

- I was so over it.
I was so done.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

I gave up college.

I gave up my money.

I gave up my womb.

I gave up my mind

to be a part of Carbon Nation.

♪ ♪

I thought that Carbon Nation
was going to be the family

that I've always wanted.

♪ ♪

Living with "God,"
this "Natureboy God,"

was like living in hell.

[indistinct shouting]

♪ ♪

I knew that this was the end.

♪ ♪

I absolutely needed to leave.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

I decided that I was going to
get everybody drunk and high.

I made drinks for everybody.

♪ ♪

Everybody was so inebriated.

♪ ♪

Everybody went to sleep.

♪ ♪

I woke up the next morning.

♪ ♪

Got my harness, put it on,
put my child on.

I kept walking.

♪ ♪

And I proceeded
across the gate.

♪ ♪

And I never looked back.

♪ ♪

I never saw Natureboy
ever again.

- You got God's wrath
after you.

You got God's wrath
after you, [bleep].

You got God's wrath after you,
[bleep].

I swear to God, it's w*r now.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪