A group has no right to control your family or relationships

Restrictions on seeing family. Rules about whom members could date. Pressure to follow a sponsor’s direction. These are among the controls @complexis describes in public TikTok posts about an AA group she calls a cult. Her captions connect the account to Midtown.

In the on-screen introduction to a June 2023 video, she describes spending eight years in that environment. Watch her original account. The claims below are attributed to her captions and visible on-screen text.

Rules that reach beyond a meeting

In a second June 2023 post, she lists restrictions on spending time with family without another group member present, dating only within the group, and an emphasis on following a sponsor’s direction. See the rules she describes.

A group that controls access to family and relationships reaches into a person’s private life. Such demands deserve immediate challenge. Support should leave people free to maintain outside relationships, hear other perspectives, and make their own decisions.

Pay attention to the years inside

@complexis’s June 2023 caption describes growing up within the group and raises concerns about its involvement with young people. Read that account with attention to the power adults hold over young members and the choices those members are allowed to make.

Do not reduce her experience to a debate over a label. Examine the specific restrictions she describes and what they would mean for a person’s freedom.

Watch the three source videos

1. Eight years in the group — June 13, 2023. Watch her account.
2. Rules within the group — June 13, 2023. Watch the rules video.
3. A later follow-up — December 15, 2023. Watch the follow-up.

Editorial note: This post draws on public captions and visible on-screen text. The spoken audio has not been fully transcribed or independently verified. The videos are one creator’s account, not separate corroborating witnesses.

Put the record to work

Read the warning signs of coercive control. Share the source links. If you have firsthand information, send an account or correction or email midtowncult@proton.me. Tell us whether your message is private or may be considered for publication.