The actor vehemently denied the claims and asserted the events hosted at the temple were to foster community.
Andrew Keegan, best known for his role in 10 Things I Hate About You, is addressing long-standing rumors suggesting he founded a cult following his acquisition of an abandoned temple in 2014.
On a recent episode of Pod Meets World, Keegan vehemently denied these claims, asserting that the events hosted at the temple were simply gatherings aimed at fostering community and spiritual exploration.
Describing the initiative, Keegan clarified, "There was this interesting group of hippie types, if you will, in Venice. I was connected with some folks and we had this opportunity. This old Hare Krishna Temple, it was sitting there empty and we were like, ‘Why don't we get some people together, and let's open this place up?'"
Dubbed Full Circle, the gatherings organized by Keegan and his associates included dinner parties and spiritual events over the course of three years. Despite the group's positive intentions, Keegan expressed frustration over the persistent labeling of Full Circle as a cult, dismissing such characterizations as "clickbait central."
"There was no doctrine," Keegan emphasized. "We were just getting people together."
Keegan, 45, acknowledged that he could have handled media inquiries better during the height of the speculation surrounding Full Circle. However, he stands by the gatherings' positive impact on the community, asserting that they served as a "really cool community center" for the Venice area.
Reflecting on the experience, Keegan expressed pride in the friendships and connections forged during Full Circle's existence. "We opened it up and spent three years and really did build an amazing friend group," he shared. "We went through something really significant from 2014 to 2017."
Despite the lingering stigma, Keegan revealed that he still receives messages from individuals expressing gratitude for the experiences shared at Full Circle. "It was really beneficial to a lot of people," he remarked. "I still hear about it now, where people are like, ‘That was such a great time.'"
In 2015, the actor was busted for selling Kombucha -- fermented tea containing the tiniest alcohol in it -- at Keegan's Full Circle spiritual community center.
Keegan and his fellow enlightened were busted by undercover agents at the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, who found that the beverage was being served during a fundraiser for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
"Kombucha is something we'd never imagine to be an illegal substance," Keegan told the Argonaut at the time. "And it's frustrating the system has that perspective."
RELATED CONENT
