Actor Michael Douglas said he once feared for his life after a dinner with people he later described as members of a cult. He recounted the episode during an appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” as reported by Fox News.
Douglas said the group invited him to dinner with a female companion. Near the end of the meal, he recalled, the guests told him they had been trying to reach him and that he needed to join them or surrender himself to their cause. Douglas said they then told him he would have to be “eliminated.”
He said he answered that they had already carried out whatever they intended to do. According to Douglas, the group acknowledged this, followed by a long silence. He recalled his companion becoming extremely distressed. Douglas said they believed they might be killed, but the group ultimately let them leave.
Douglas described the situation as dangerous, saying a sudden movement could have provoked violence. He also recalled feeling numb and unable to move. Asked during the podcast who was behind the group, Douglas identified its leader as Mel Lyman. He said he notified police after the encounter. The supplied account does not provide a date or location for the dinner, or independent confirmation of the threat.
The actor also spoke about a period when he lived in Mountain Drive, a Santa Barbara commune he characterized as informal and organic. The discussion included material from his memoir, “One Helluva Ride,” in which Douglas writes about his family life and personal history.
In the book, Douglas describes his father, actor Kirk Douglas, as ambitious and prone to a fierce temper. He wrote that he and his brother Joel were frightened by their father’s behavior, and recalled Kirk explaining his shouting as a sign that he cared. Douglas wrote that Joel experienced more of the abuse.
Douglas also addresses his son Cameron’s addiction and legal troubles. He wrote that Cameron was addicted to cocaine and heroin, sold methamphetamine and carried a handgun for protection. Douglas recounted one drugstore incident in which Cameron displayed the weapon and was nearly shot by police.
The memoir describes Douglas considering an effort to take Cameron to rehab against his will, with two men enlisted to help. Douglas wrote that Cameron realized what was happening and resisted, leading him to abandon the plan.
Cameron later served seven years in prison after a federal drug case, according to the account. Douglas wrote that a heroin relapse while Cameron was incarcerated resulted in a judge adding four and a half years to his sentence, and that Cameron spent two years in solitary confinement.
The Fox News report also notes that Douglas’s memoir discusses his past substance use and marital difficulties. The recollections about the dinner and family events are attributed to Douglas and the memoir; the report does not independently verify those accounts.
