RAËL CULT: SHE WINS HER LAWSUIT AND SPEAKS OUT ABOUT 20 YEARS UNDER CONTROL
Lydia Hadjara recounts twenty years under Raelian control and her won lawsuit against Claude Vorilhon.
What is said in the show
Lydia Hadjara explains how her mother enrolled her as a child in the Raelian movement, presented as a summer camp. At 9, Claude Vorilhon approaches her at the poolside of the Eden camp and promises to see her again. At 13, she is forcibly initiated into sexual acts by a bishop guide, presented as preparation for Rael. At 18, she becomes one of his chosen ones, signs a contract, and endures coerced intercourse and physical abuse. She describes how the guru is financed by his followers and his current life in Japan. In October 2007, the gaze of a waitress during a meal triggers her escape. She then recounts discovering the control she was under, anorexia, three hospitalizations, and the damage to her relationship with Sylvain, the father of her children. In November 2025, she files a complaint against Vorilhon and two disciples. Rael sued her for defamation: she won that case. She criticizes the inaction of the Miviludes and claims a whistleblower role, refusing the status of victim.
Chapters
- 0:00Introduction and presentation of Lydia Hadjara
- 1:00The trigger: the Netflix documentary on Rael
- 2:30Childhood in the Raelian movement
- 6:00The sexual violence and the status of chosen one
- 10:50The escape in October 2007
- 20:00The legal battles and the complaint
- 32:40Heads or tails segment
- 34:40Rebuilding, the children, trust
- 46:00The Miviludes and the whistleblower commitment
Key moments
« I was a chosen one. I was his chosen one and the Elohim's, the extraterrestrials', and I was very very too close to him, let's put it that way. »
Lydia Hadjara · at 5:17
« On the evening of those two meetings, there was a dinner with lots of women and Rael punishes me and seats me at the end of the table. So I am very very disappointed to have disappointed him. »
Lydia Hadjara · at 11:17
« I just want to show that we need to stop being afraid. I want to give the signal: let's go, let's speak up, we have a voice and we are not just victims. »
Lydia Hadjara · at 22:15
« Don't change for someone. Change if you want to change, but above all don't change just to be loved. »
Lydia Hadjara · at 38:55
« I learned to say no without justifying myself and I think that is the greatest freedom there is. »
Lydia Hadjara · at 44:55
« We have Europe's largest budget in terms of cult-related harm, one million euros per year, and we are the European country with the least results. That is not normal. »
Lydia Hadjara · at 48:12