# Marc Elliot > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Marc_Elliot > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Marc_Elliot.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Elliot > Source revision: 1339744215 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American writer (born 1985)}} {{hatnote|For the British actor, see [Marc Elliott](/source/Marc_Elliott). For other people with a similar name, see [Mark Elliot (disambiguation)](/source/Mark_Elliot_(disambiguation))}} {{Infobox person | name = Marc Elliot | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1985}} | birth_place = [St. Louis, Missouri](/source/St._Louis%2C_Missouri), U.S. | alma_mater = [Washington University in St. Louis](/source/Washington_University_in_St._Louis) | occupation = Motivational speaker | years_active = }} '''Marc Elliot''' (born 1985) is an American former motivational speaker and a loyal follower of [Keith Raniere](/source/Keith_Raniere) and his organization [NXIVM](/source/NXIVM), a purported self-improvement company which has been widely accused of being a criminal organization and a cult. Elliot has claimed the group helped him overcome [Tourette syndrome](/source/Tourette_syndrome). Since Raniere was sentenced to 120 years for racketeering and other crimes, Elliot has advocated for the conviction to be overturned. ==Life and career== Elliot was born in 1985 in St. Louis.{{cite web |url=http://www.stljewishlight.com/special_sections/ohr_chadash/article_241642a6-5cc9-11e2-9b69-001a4bcf887a.html |title=Motivational speaker uses his struggles to inspire others - St. Louis Jewish Light: Ohr Chadash - Motivational speaker uses his struggles to inspire others: Ohr Chadash |publisher=Stljewishlight.com |date=2013-01-12 |accessdate=2014-01-23 |archive-date=2013-01-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127085451/http://www.stljewishlight.com/special_sections/ohr_chadash/article_241642a6-5cc9-11e2-9b69-001a4bcf887a.html |url-status=dead }} He was diagnosed with [Hirschsprung's disease](/source/Hirschsprung's_disease), a rare intestinal disease, at birth. A series of operations for the same left him with only 4 feet of small intestines. Elliot claims that he was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome at the age of 9.{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishchronicle.org/article.php?article_id=11248 |title=Tics, compulsions and tolerance: Young man faces Tourette Syndrome with humor and openness - The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle |publisher=Jewishchronicle.org |date=2009-02-18 |accessdate=2014-01-23 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019090923/http://www.jewishchronicle.org/article.php?article_id=11248 |archivedate=2013-10-19 }} On August 11, 2002, sixteen-year-old Elliot was returning home from camp via Greyhound bus when he repeatedly shouted an anti-black racial slur at black passengers.{{Cite web |title=The Indianapolis Star 21 Sep 2002, page Page 19 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/107712236/ |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}} While the driver was aware of his condition, Elliot was ejected from the bus. The incident was covered by local news station [WTHR](/source/WTHR).{{cite web |url=http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?s=891959&clienttype=printable |title=Racial slurs force Greyhound officials to remove a passenger from a bus - 13 WTHR Indianapolis |publisher=Wthr.com |date=2013-01-02 |accessdate=2014-01-23 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201224633/http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?s=891959&clienttype=printable |archivedate=2014-02-01 }} Elliot made his first presentation at Clayton High School. In 2008, Elliot graduated from [Washington University in St. Louis](/source/Washington_University_in_St._Louis). After graduation, Elliot began a career as a motivational speaker.{{cite web |url=http://magazine.wustl.edu/2012/April/Pages/MarcElliot.aspx |title=MarcElliot | WUSTL Magazine | Washington University in St. Louis |publisher=Magazine.wustl.edu |date= |accessdate=2014-01-23 |archive-date=2013-10-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019095251/http://magazine.wustl.edu/2012/April/Pages/MarcElliot.aspx |url-status=dead }} In 2011, Campus Magazine named Elliot the winner of the best speaker and best diversity artist of the year.{{cite web|url=http://www.campusactivitiesmagazine.com/articles.php?articleID=210 |title=Articles |work=Campus Activities Magazine |date= |accessdate=2014-01-23}} In 2013, Elliot self-published ''What Makes You Tic? My Journey From Tourette's To Tolerance''.{{cite book|title=What Makes You Tic?: My Journey From Tourette's To Tolerance: Marc Elliot: 9780615556758: Amazon.com: Books |isbn=978-0615556758 |last1=Elliot |first1=Marc |year=2011 |publisher=Let Live Pub. }}{{Cite web |title=UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA |url=https://frankreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/elliot-lawsuit.pdf |access-date=9 Nov 2025 |website=frankreport.com}} ==Role in NXIVM== In 2010, Elliot was recruited into [Executive Success Programs (ESP)](/source/NXIVM), a self-help program founded by [Keith Raniere](/source/Keith_Raniere), leader of the pseudoscientific [NXIVM](/source/NXIVM) movement, which has been described as a cult and a criminal organization.{{Cite news |last1=Hong |first1=Nicole |last2=Piccoli |first2=Sean |date=2020-10-27 |title=Keith Raniere, Leader of Nxivm Sex Cult, Is Sentenced to 120 Years in Prison |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/27/nyregion/nxivm-cult-keith-raniere-sentenced.html |access-date=2022-06-07 |issn=0362-4331 |quote="Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of Federal District Court in Brooklyn determined the punishment after hearing hours of wrenching testimony from 15 victims, many of whom described how Mr. Raniere had left them traumatized and brainwashed from his pseudoscientific teachings."}}{{Cite news |last=Hess |first=Amanda |date=2020-09-14 |title=Nxivm Had a Cult Leader Made for the Internet |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/arts/television/nxivm-internet-cult.html |access-date=2022-06-07 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Kranc |first=Lauren |date=2020-10-27 |title=NXIVM Vanguard Keith Raniere Has Been Sentenced to 120 Years in Prison |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a34317295/keith-raniere-now-the-vow-nxivm-today-jail-sentence/ |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=Esquire |language=en-US}} By 2011, Elliot begain claiming that NXIVM had taught him to "overcome" Tourettes.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/nxivm-cult-hbo-the-vow-documentary-1047605/|title=How HBO's 'The Vow' Tells the Non-Sex-Cult Side of NXIVM|magazine=[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)|first=EJ|last=Dickson|date=August 21, 2020|accessdate=October 4, 2020}} By 2014, Elliot had discontinued his public speaking tour in order to focus full-time on being a 'proctor' in NXIVM. Also in 2014, Elliot married Canadian NXIVM member Maja Miljkovic to help obtain a work visa for her; The marriage ended following an investigation by [U.S. Customs and Border Protection](/source/U.S._Customs_and_Border_Protection).{{Cite book |last=Berman |first=Sarah |title=Don't Call it a Cult: The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of NXIVM |publisher=Penguin |year=2021 |isbn=9781586422752 |pages=198 |language=en-CA}} ===Tourette Syndrome 'study'=== From 2010 and 2017, NXIVM member and medical doctor Brandon Porter performed unlicensed "human subject research" on more than 200 "subjects" across a variety of projects. Elliot was involved with one project Porter oversaw, which sought to treat Tourette's. From 2015 to 2018, Elliot produced and starred in a film promoting NXIVM techniques for Tourette's; It was released in 2018 under the title ''My Tourette's''.{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/mbxzn4/i-tried-to-make-sense-of-the-alleged-sex-cult-nxivms-bizarre-health-claims|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109010625/https://www.vice.com/en/article/mbxzn4/i-tried-to-make-sense-of-the-alleged-sex-cult-nxivms-bizarre-health-claims|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 9, 2020|title=I Tried to Make Sense of the Alleged Sex Cult NXIVM's Bizarre Health Claims|website=[Vice](/source/Vice_(magazine))|first=Sarah|last=Berman|date=May 1, 2018|accessdate=October 4, 2020}}{{Citation |last=Molatore |first=Alessandro |title=My Tourette's |date=2018-03-04 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6096256/ |type=Documentary |publisher=Truth Films |access-date=2022-06-07}} In 2019, Porter's medical license was revoked for violation of 40 state and federal regulations, including his role overseeing "research".{{Cite web |date=2019-08-22 |title=Doctor tied to NXIVM sex cult has medical license revoked |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/doctor-tied-nxivm-sex-cult-has-medical-license-revoked-n1045381 |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2019-08-20 |title=RE: In the Matter of Brandon Porter, M.D. |url=https://apps.health.ny.gov/pubdoh/professionals/doctors/conduct/factions/FileDownloadAction.action?finalActionId=12236&fileName=HRG+253486.pdf&fileSeqNum=2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823141840/https://apps.health.ny.gov/pubdoh/professionals/doctors/conduct/factions/FileDownloadAction.action?finalActionId=12236&fileName=HRG+253486.pdf&fileSeqNum=2 |archive-date=2019-08-23 |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=[New York State Department of Health](/source/New_York_State_Department_of_Health)}}{{Cite web |last=Lyons |first=Brendan J. |date=2019-08-22 |title=NXIVM doctor who conducted brain studies loses license |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-doctor-who-conducted-brain-studies-loses-14370824.php |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}} Prosecutors from the [United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York](/source/United_States_Attorney_for_the_Eastern_District_of_New_York) in the Bronfman case wrote, "the participants in this 'study' have expressed significant distress at their involvement" and offered one [victim impact statement](/source/victim_impact_statement) from a study participant who said that the study "did nothing for me except ruin my self-esteem, ruin my mental health, and made me hate myself. It did not cure my Tourette’s in any way."{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=The Government's Sentencing Memorandum as to Defendant Clare Bronfman|doc-number=922|date=2020-09-14|pacer-number=420062|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=2022-06-07}} ===Post-conviction advocacy for Raniere=== In 2018, the leadership of NXIVM was arrested and later convicted of [sex trafficking](/source/sex_trafficking), [forced labor](/source/forced_labor) and [racketeering](/source/racketeering). Allegations of [visa fraud](/source/visa_fraud), [identity theft](/source/Identity_theft_in_the_United_States), and [human trafficking](/source/Human_trafficking_in_the_United_States) were central to the Department of Justice's [RICO Act](/source/Racketeer_Influenced_and_Corrupt_Organizations_Act) case.{{Cite web |date=2020-09-30 |title=NXIVM Executive Board Member Clare Bronfman Sentenced to 81 Months in Prison for Identity Theft and Immigration Offenses |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/nxivm-executive-board-member-clare-bronfman-sentenced-81-months-prison-identity-theft |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en}} Raniere was sentenced to 120 years imprisonment. In 2020 Elliot helped form "Make Justice Blind", an organization of loyal Raniere followers; The group is offering a monetary challenge to exonerate Raniere on both his sex trafficking and forced labor charges.{{cite web |title=Make Justice Blind |url=https://www.makejusticeblind.com/initiatives |accessdate=2020-11-03 |archive-date=2020-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210182103/https://www.makejusticeblind.com/initiatives |url-status=dead }} In September 2020, Elliot spoke out in defense of Raniere in an interview with ''[CBS News This Morning](/source/CBS_News_This_Morning)''.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/keith-raniere-nxivm-supporters-petition/|title=Some supporters of Keith Raniere, ex-leader of alleged cult NXIVM, keep fighting for him|website=[CBS News](/source/CBS_News)|first1=Nikki|last1=Battiste|first2=Shannon|last2=Luibrand|first3=Lauren|last3=Hoenmeyer|date=September 29, 2020|accessdate=October 4, 2020}} In February 2023, Elliot appeared on the ''[H3 Podcast](/source/H3_Podcast)'', presented by [Ethan Klein](/source/Ethan_Klein) of [h3h3Productions](/source/h3h3Productions) to defend Raniere. Klein, who himself is diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome, accused Elliot of faking his Tourette's, and disputed Elliot's claims of Raniere's innocence.{{cite web | url=https://frankreport.com/2023/02/23/youtube-host-ethan-klein-accuses-guest-marc-elliot-of-faking-tourettes-750000-views-in-two-days/ | title=YouTube Host Ethan Klein Accuses Guest Marc Elliot of Faking Tourette's, 750,000 Views in Two Days | date=23 February 2023 }} In October 2021, Elliot filed a $12 million lawsuit against [Lions Gate Entertainment](/source/Lions_Gate_Entertainment), alleging the [Starz](/source/Starz) network documentary series ''[Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult](/source/Seduced%3A_Inside_the_NXIVM_Cult)'' libelled and [defamed](/source/Defamation) him.{{Cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=2021-10-20 |title=NXIVM loyalist files $12 million suit against Starz network |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-loyalist-files-12-million-suit-against-16546392.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020172434/https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-loyalist-files-12-million-suit-against-16546392.php |archive-date=2021-10-20 |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}} In November 2022, the court dismissed the lawsuit and granted Lions Gate Entertainment's request for attorneys' fees and costs. The judge found that the documentary did "imply that Plaintiff was a devoted member of an organization whose leader has been implicated in a range of serious sexual crimes, but this assertion – however unflattering – is substantially true."{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=Marc Elliot|defendant=Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation|title=Order Granting Defendants' Motion to Strike Pursuant to C.C.P. § 425.16|doc-number=49|date=2022-11-08|pacer-number=834220|use-recap=yes|case-state=CA|case-district=CD|case-division=2|case-year=2021|case-type=cv|case-sequence=08206|access-date=2022-11-12}} == References == {{Reflist}} == External links == * {{official|http://www.marcelliot.com/}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, Marc}} Category:American motivational speakers Category:People with Tourette syndrome Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:Writers from St. Louis Category:NXIVM people Category:Washington University in St. Louis alumni Category:21st-century American male writers --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Marc Elliot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Elliot) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Elliot?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.