There are some things that you hear that make you want to plug your ears and loudly sing “lalalala,” and this is definitely one of them. You can figure out from the title what this story is going to entail so if these details bother you, close it out now and don’t read on. Covering this story really makes my stomach flip and it’s not something I’ll easily forget.
Former child star Mackenzie Phillips has a new memoir out, High On Arrival, and an interview that will air on Oprah today. As selfish as this sounds, I’m glad I only have to read about this because if this segment had already aired on Oprah I’d feel compelled to watch it. I just don’t know if I want to hear this straight from Phillips.
Phillips reveals that she had a sexual relationship with her now-deceased dad, John Phillips of the band The Mamas & the Papas, that she thinks started when she was 19 on the night before her first wedding. She tells a very heart-wrenching story of how she got wasted and woke up out of a blackout in bed and having sex with her dad. On Oprah, she says she is “not sure” if this happened before that night and adds “all I can say is it was the first time I was aware of it.” The poor woman. I’m going to excerpt E! Online’s coverage instead of People’s, because E! doesn’t mince words and says right in the title that Phillips was raped. People makes it sound like a consensual sexual relationship and no matter how old she was it’s impossible for me to see it that way:
Mackenzie Phillips, the trouble-plagued eldest daughter of the late Mamas & the Papas frontman John Phillips, says in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, airing tomorrow, that she was a victim of rape at the hands of her famous father.
Phillips says in her new memoir, High on Arrival (which she discussed with the daytime queen), that she confronted John, who died in March 2001, about their sordid past, saying, “We have to talk about when you raped me.”
To which John replied, according to his daughter, “You mean when we made love?”
Ugh.
“Interviewed One Day at a Time’s Mackenzie Phillips,” Winfrey wrote on Twitter this afternoon. Thought I’d heard it all…beyond shocking! We’re airing it Wednesday.”
Phillips, 49, is John’s daughter with his first wife, Susan Adams. Bijou and Chynna Phillips, who also have different moms, are her half-sisters.
The rock-and-roll progeny has battled drug addiction and has been in trouble with the law off and on since she was a teenager, problems that derailed her promising acting career. Most recently, she was arrested for cocaine possession at Los Angeles International Airport last summer.
She also talks in her book about her father supplying her with drugs when she was a kid, an unsavory habit that ultimately led to the biggest parent-child betrayal of all.
“On the eve of my wedding, my father showed up, determined to stop it,” Phillips wrote. “I had tons of pills, and Dad had tons of everything too. Eventually I passed out on Dad’s bed.”
“My father was not a man with boundaries. He was full of love, and he was sick with drugs. I woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my own father.”
Phillips was 19 at the time.
“I was a fragment of a person, and my secret isolated me,” she wrote.
[From E! Online]
I don’t know what to say about this except that it’s too bad this guy is dead now and doesn’t have to face the consequences of what he did to his own daughter. Some abuse victims have told me that it doesn’t help to seek revenge, though, and that it’s not a constructive or helpful way to deal with the pain and suffering of both the victims and their family. Overall I guess it’s just sad, depressing, and heartbreaking. There’s a lot of sickness in this world.
This creep John Phillips had four other children: Jeffrey, Chynna, Tamerlane and Bijou. Jeffery is Mackenzie’s full brother and Chynna, Tamerlane and Bijou are her half sisters. You may have heard of Chynna Phillips, 41, she was in the band Wilson Phillips, and of Bijou, 29 she’s an actress and model. Bijou’s story of how her father won custody of her when she was in third grade, which I just read on Wikipedia, is troublesome in light of these details from Mackenzie. I wonder if Mackenzie’s brother and half sisters knew about their father and if they’re still in touch.
I’m sorry she was influenced to do drugs, and I’m sorry she was raped but I DONT WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THIS!!!
Its like she’s trying to come up with excuses for her repeated drug relapses.
um… ick
She makes me just as ill as her father does. That should have been kept between herself and a therapist. Oprah =the new Jerry Springer.
One in three women will be raped in a lifetime, sad statistics. Hope MacKenzie through her writing finds her way through this and some peace in her life.
REB – how horrible of you. Using it as an excuse for her drug use?? Shame on you. Don’t you think she would have reveled this sooner than 30 years AFTER the fact? It is part of her story and a good reason to NOT USE DRUGS. You are a jerk for saying that…
Holy shit. That is totally beyond f*ucked up…
Hows that, HEB? I don’t get that at all from this story. She isn’t making excuses at all.
I read the part about her father and the wedding night, but in additional portions of the interview, she states that she eventually gave “consent” to having sex with him. I realize she was heavily into drugs, but she talks about him even saying they should have moved to Figi together, where it would be accepted.
I kind of have trouble wrapping my head around this whole thing because why is she bringing this up now? Easy to say things about someone after they are dead. It would have made her claims more legit had she revealed this while he was still alive, forcing him to be confronted with the truth. It almost seems like a ploy to sell books.
Of course, I have no doubts Phillips was a creep and a druggie, and if these claims are true, he is even lower than I thought. I also have trouble with her admission because as the eldest child, she should have brought this up when Phillips got custody of the then minor Bijou. How much of a f*** up must her mother have been for the father, like John to have eventually gotten custody of her? Mackensie should have thought about that, if her father had indeed done those things to her. I do understand that she was/is a drug addict and that she has never been in a good place, but still, allowing a minor child to be placed with an incestuous molester is not right.
I am not unsympathetic with Mackensie, but I also think that this issue should have been addressed while he was alive. He could have been outed and punished for rape, incest and may other crimes. I also realize that many victims of molestation and incest are scared of their attackers and keep quiet for years and have to work out many things before confronting this issue within themselves. I just think bringing this up now and for profit from a book is wrong, but that is my opinion.
I have to wonder if she’s speaking the truth…
I feel that the reason why pedophiles are hidden is exactly because people want to plug their ears and not hear/think about it. Of course she self medicated. That’s usually what most victims do. And then, we lock them up. Great!!!
So keep on plugging your ears and ped’s will remain free and potheads will remain public enemy #1. Okay, let me rephrase that…..how about keep plugging your ears and those who harm and violate other’s will remain free, while those who only harm themselves will continue to be locked up in record numbers. Which is, of course, so Goddamn LOGICAL!!!!????
Im gagging right now. So strange yet heartbreaking.
Omg, any parent that uses their child for sex is indeed raping them. They set out to manipulate them with words, actions, drugs, whatever…there is something wrong with people that stand up for child abusers. YOU DO NOT HAVE SEX WITH YOUR CHILDREN, EVEN WHEN THEY ARE 19 OR EVEN OLDER. Incest is a dirty secret in this country, it is time that a light is thrown on it. Putting fingers in our ears and singing lalala only helps these so called parents/grandparents/relatives keep raping their prey/children.
Phillips probably took drugs to cope with the incest, most likely she was raised in a drug-infested environment. Wonder if you too would have problems?
Oprah doesn’t mind exploiting.
Cara- I agree, but what is the point telling about it AFTER the man is dead? The time to get this out was when he was alive so this could have been publicly known and he could have been punished for the atrocious things that he did.
As I said in my earlier post, I know that this woman has had years of drug abuse and demons to battle, but sometimes in the midst of that whole horrid mess, you have to help others and yourself at the same time. The time for him to be outed was when he was alive, to face his accuser and be punished for his despicable crimes. Telling the story now, while it helps her, maybe, does not punish the person responsible for the atrocities. That time has come and gone. Who knows how many others he did this to because she said nothing about it until now.
I for one don’t want to hear it 30-40 years later when there’s not a damn thing that can be done except to profit off a f’kn book.
She’s a friggen low-life and Oprah’s a nasty soul herself for using it for ratings.
Never mind “save the children” – these creepy f’ks are in it for the attention and money.
I’m gonna puke now.
So many of you are proving exactly why she didn’t say anything for years, most especially when her father was alive.
It is called FEAR. People that suffered from child abuse understand that, any form of child abuse…verbal, physical, sexual, incest….FEAR of the attacker. Maybe Mackenzie is in therapy and can finally say it, because he is dead. Why should John Phillips get a pass just so some people don’t have to feel unpleasant what happens in the real world? Why are we so willing to look the other way? Maybe by her speaking out, victims where their parent/relative/rapist is still ALIVE will come forward and they can be punished….the healing can begin.
I hope Mackenzie’s book brings hope, healing and justice to many victims.
Gross, Sparrow, do you think this nasty piece of shit is all trembley nervous, whispering “brave” words to OPRAH WINFREY and in her BOOK?
Where are the “Child Survivors” charities and groups on her itinerary/schedule?
They don’t exist because this has NOTHING to do with children, survivors or “healing” … it’s about shock value for money, exploitation.
Not touching this hot mess… too upsetting for the ‘morn.
Further on in that interview she talks about how for years they had a consensual relationship and they talked of leaving for Fiji…
Really horrible story that I wont forget either.
I can feel sorry for her and sympathize for her drug problem while still realizing that she’s making an excuse for her recent fall off the wagon.
Why does she need to tell us this?
Think about it–a few months ago she was all over the tabloids for being a drugged out junkie, now she’s on Oprah and back in everyone’s favor. She doesn’t need to tell Oprah and THE WHOLE WORLD her private business in order to heal. How will that help anymore than just talking with her therapist?
You know, all this talk of “she should of said something while he was alive, so he could be punished” well, come on….what would happen to him? Do you really believe he would of been prosecuted?? Find me the DA. And you know, he is being punished, right where it would of hurt him the most….on his legacy. Who can erase this from their memory of him now, true or not.
@Dora- I am well aware of FEAR of your attacker, but where was her FEAR for her little half sister Bijou in all of this? I have seen several stories on incest/rape/molestation survivors, and the one common thing I have gotten from all of them is that when they saw their attacker around a younger sibling or relative, they KNEW they had to speak out and face their demons and fears and try to save another child from going through what they did.
MacKensie allowed her FATHER to be around her younger half sister and didn’t utter a thing when he got custody of her years ago. That, to me, is shameful! I don’t care how drugged out you are, or scared, you pull yourself up, ask for help and try to prevent any harm from coming to another innocent victim. You do not allow him to go unpunished and possibly pray on another child.
She can face her demons and talk about this now, with a book to sell, but her half sister wasn’t important enough to her years ago to try and help?
@Cara- Yes, I believe that he could have been punished, and at least if it had come out then, there would have not only been the possibility of punishment, but also PUBLIC humiliation that he would have been subjected to for what he did. As it stands, he is in his grave, and so what if his legacy is shamed, he never had to face it publicly, so he isn’t suffering, unless you believe in God, in which case he may very well be suffering.
Mackenzie Phillips seems to represent the dark & sad side of the free love era… Shame on her father for abusing her, not guiding her like a parent should, and causing her lifelong pain. I doubt anyone would reveal something so personal and catastrophic in an attempt to justify their drug relapse– that would be like saying, “Officer, I was only speeding because I thought the ghost of this guy I murdered was chasing me.”
That is a good point, Cara, that this man’s legacy is now forever tainted whether or not his daughter’s claims are true.
I suspect it is true.
If his daughter had revealed this information WITHOUT a BOOK and TALKSHOW, in a more sensitive setting, then I wouldn’t/couldn’t have enough sympathy.
But, not like this.
In my mind, she’s exploiting victims.
Shame on you Firestarter. Until you know what its like, you can’t possibly have any idea why she acted the way she did. Holding her accountable to rational adult decisions that she *should* have made is incredibly unfair given the trauma and her upbringing. How judgemental. Again, someone said it and I’ll say it now–no wonder victims don’t come forward. They probably already blame themselves for many things that happened, and then people like Firestarter come around to demand an answer as to why they didn’t act like a better person (when they were obviously going through emotional trauma.) Classy.
I will say this, as a victim of extreme amounts of abuse– you are in too much pain and are simply too afraid to even try to protect yourself. The poor self esteem has you convinced that you both deserve it, and cannot get away from it.
For those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, its even worse.
You cannot expect traumatized people to make good decisions. Yes, she “should” have done a lot of things. But I challenge you to go through what she has, and still have made impeccable flawless decisions throughout.
PS Reasons aren’t always the same thing as rationalizations.
I am not going to get into some internet arguement over people, that you are quite right, I do not know. I, however, do not apologize for my viewpoint or opinion on the matter. It is not because of people like me that molestation victims don’t come forward, so do NOT even try to pin that label on me. Others on this thread have said far worse and I find nothing wrong in the points that I made.
Like Popcorny said, I would have a lot more sympathy for her if she had done this without a book in the hopper. I do not doubt for one minute that Phillips was a disgusting human being, but I find her timing poor.
Crucify me however much you like, but if you read my posts clearly, you may walk away understanding my points.
I have nothing but sympathy and respect for people who have been raped, molested and victims of incest, who have come through it and lived to tell the tale. To suggest I am a horrible person for expressing some valid points regarding a story is ridiculous.
@!- I am also sorry that you have been a victim. I do agree, trauma is different for EVERYONE, and I am sure decisions are not always made in the best of times. I do see a few of your points and I wish you could actually understand mine a bit as well.
She was 18-19 years old, not 4, 5, 6 or even 12, 14, 16.
She was an adult.
Granted, it was her father with all it’s relationship complexities -but she was not a child, she was an adult.
So, no shame on Firestarter for expecting a lot more responsible behavior regarding the welfare of her siblings who, in fact, were younger CHILDREN at the time.
The shame belongs squarely with mackenzie and her father.
TOTALLY agree, Firestarter said nothing wrong or villainous. McKenzie HERSELF states she went ON and proceeded to have a CONSENSUAL sexual relationship with her father.
There is more than the little bit CB touched on in this article. Read more and THEN talk about how villainous people with limited sympathy are.
disturbing!
I don’t know what’s more sad, the fact she has to reveal this bombshell in hopes of selling books, or the fact she sat on it all these years, and only disclosed it now because of her book. There are some things a person needs to keep private, this is one of them.
Sometimes it helps to speak about it, not just to a therpist in a closed room but out in public to “convince” people of your innocence. Kind of like, “it wasn’t my fault”.
Funny how this comes out when she is trying to sell a book
It’s unfortunate that this guy is not here to defend himself. It’s like people can say anything about ANYONE when they are dead and get away with it beccause the person isn’t around to give their side.
Incest does happen probably more often than we would like to think. But I’m not going to just out and out believe what she says is golden. She’s a junkie (former?) they can’t be trusted to always speak the truth. Plus she’s trying to sell a book.
@ Firestarter…very well said.
Update: Now Chyna Phillips is saying that it is true. If people in the FAMILY knew about it and didn’t DO anything about it, then that is what I find SICK.
Disturbing. And disturbing how many people want to stop up their ears and ‘not hear it’. This is why incest is allowed to continue on through the generations. Good for Mackenzie to speak up. Who cares if it’s too late to nail Pappa John? It might bring courage to a currant sufferer, allowing them to break out of the psychological hell-cage that incest is.
Some secrets are deadly–keeping quiet lends them power. It is very brave of her to discuss this publicly. I can’t imagine the misery she has been through. I hope that her speaking out will give others the courage to do so, because she is probably not the only person to experience something like this. Until we can talk openly and intelligently about these things, nothing will change.
this poor child has never had a chance, nor did most of her siblings. She and her brother have been drug addicted since they were tweens. Thanks to papa! You can’t expect them to make rational decisions like the rest of us.
Some children are just screwed. Like the Phillips kids, like Tatum & Redmond. Marlon Brando’s bunch. Those poor babies of that chic from England who keeps doing lines on film while the babies are in the tub. As a child you can’t recover from that unless a mentor steps way in to help.
Mackenzie was a mess @ 19. It’s documented on film. Verified by witnesses. I’ve heard they kept Val Bertinelli well away from her on set, as to not scare Val, but even she says you could see how messed up MacK was. Some adult long long ago should have stepped in. There is little chance of a child who’s own parents give them drugs @ 9 or 11 to pull themselves out of that.
FWIW, John was a mess of a man himself. I’m not defending him!! Just saying…obviously a cycle here. A bad bad cycle
@ yadira – you may be right that it helps the victim if they can tell total strangers, who otherwise didn’t care about them or their fathers, all about it. If that’s so, though, there should be stories like this every day.
Really, not putting 100% faith in her story or doubting any aspect of it’s timing is NOT equivalent to “stopping up one’s ears” and ignoring the reality of incest. More than one of you are claiming that’s what’s happening here, though. Incest is real, and horrible, and it happens to lots of people. I know it exists, and I (lucky me) even know how the repercussions can carry on for years and affect entire families. Doubting Mackenzie’s motivation doesn’t mean I am ignorant, thanks.
Una victima de incesto no lo cuenta en el momento y sÃ, ella escapaba de ese asunto con más drogas.
Es una pena que no se tome en cuenta que esta clase de abuso crea a una persona con muchos problemas mentales.
@wow: Where did you see that Chyna said the story is true?
Too many IGNORANT a$$hole$ commenting. Shame on all of you who do not wish to be inconvenienced by this information. Love your compassion! Wonder what skeletons are hiding in YOUR closets – or what kind of parents/friends you must be!
Considering the amount of cocaine Mackenzie vacuumed up in the 70’s and 80’s- why should we trust a word she’s saying now?
Bright side? She can afford better coke now that she’s riding the sweet gravy train of confessional “writing”.
@Bodhi – the Chynna Phillips story is on on US Weekly and MSat will possibly over it a little later. Ok, I admitted I didn’t want to hear this story, and I am so sorry that this is contributing to a culture in which this type of abuse is swept under the rug. We did cover this story, though, and I think that cancels out what is a very human response (denial) to hearing these kind of horrific stories. My heart goes out to all of you who have suffered abuse and I really don’t know how to feel about this revelation or about whether Mackenzie is benefiting from it in some way. Yes, I chose not to discuss in great detail the allegedly “consensual” part although I touched on it when I wrote ” makes it sound like a consensual sexual relationship and no matter how old she was it’s impossible for me to see it that way.” It really is impossible for me to see it like that, no matter how old she was, because this was her dad and he had some control over her even as an adult.
Alexa: Wonder what skeletons are hiding in YOUR closets – or what kind of parents/friends you must be!
I don’t crawl around in pig-sh*t in the backyard either, that doesn’t make me a bad person. If someone is revolted by a story they’re revolted.
Lord I had forgotten Chyna married a Baldwin. Here’s hoping for their kids!
Where’s the link for the whole interview that y’all are reading?
Alexa- Questioning what kind of people were are is rude, not to mention questioning what is in our pasts.
First- In the interview, she was an adult and continued, according to her and now her sister Chynna, an incestuous relationship with her father for 10 years. As an adult, you know that is wrong, drugs or not, and she wasn’t even living with him during those 10 years full time.I don’t pretend to know anything about the mind of an incest victim, but I know that you do not carry on that type of abusive sick relationship for 10 years, when you are an adult when you don’t even have to be around the man in the first place.
Second- I do not think it is we don’t want to be inconvenienced by the story, I think it is that she has chosen this time, when she has a book to sell, to tell the story. Why is she just now telling the world about her father? She could have mentioned this last year, or over the last 13 years that he has been dead (if she was fearful of her attacker), but she has chosen to do it right at the time that she has a book to sell. I think that is why people are put off. Her story may have been received better if she wasn’t selling something right now.
I know this is a hot button topic. I cannot imagine how difficult revelations like this must be for the people who survive them. I feel horrible for ANYONE who has gone through such a horrendous thing in their life. It is sick and tragic to be raped, to be molested, and it be by a relative. It makes the victim lose a part of themselves that they will NEVER get back. I have no problem with hearing about such things, as it needs to be brought into the light.
I do, however, have a problem with it being brought to light, AFTER the abuser is dead, unable to defend or be punished for his actions. I also have a problem when a book signing at Barnes and Noble and a tv talk show are involved. It reduces the claims to nothing more than salacious stories to sell a book. Did he do what she says, probably. Does she have anything to gain by revealing this now, certainly. Do I have sympathy for her? Less than I would for someone else who is not profiting from the whole terrible mess. Do I have any idea what it is like to go through something like this? Not molestation or rape, but I was in a very physically abusive relationship with a man, so I have an idea of fear and low self esteem.
somewhere right now Woody Allen is smiling.
wow some of you people who are calling her out on anyhting have got to be sick… :/
Ok, thanks CB. This story is so horrific on its own & coupled with Mackenzie’s very public battles with addiction… I don’t know… its just really hard to comprehend.
To everyone who’s saying that it was her own fault, she gave consent, she was old enough to resist and blah-blah-blah:
She grew up with a drug addicted dad who was capable of having sex with his daughter.
Don’t you think horrible things happened to her in her childhood WAY before she was 19 which made the abuse possible?
First off, never in my posts did I even remotely say that it was her fault, what I said was that as an ADULT, she had the ability to do a lot more than she would have as a child. Nor in any of my posts did I say that she did not endure anything horrific as a child. She, herself, in the interview said, that the sex between them became “consensual”- Her words, not MINE! Check out excerpts on other blogs from the interview.
@FizX- Why is it that people have to resort to name calling or making nasty comments when they disagree with what other posters say? Just politely disagree, but you don’t have to call people sick and get personal about things. State that you think that person is wrong, but getting nasty doesn’t help get your point across.
Like others on this thread, I have my opinion about this situation and so do you, and we are both entitled to it. Not once have I gotten snide or nasty with those who I may have disagreed with. Not once have I gotten personal or name called.
Many victims of abuse identify with their abusers or say it was consensual sex.
That doesn’t make it true, but it makes it harder to understand or feel compassion for the victims.
I don’t think it works to say that Mackenzie should have been able to act rationally in such an insane, irrational situation. I knew people who were given drugs by their parents when they were teenagers, and without exception they were seriously f-ed up people. I feel bad for her, she didn’t stand a chance.
FYI -in the book Mackenzie says that their relationship was consentual. Then she refers to it as rape… little confusing. I don’t know if anyone else pointed this out, there were too many comments to read
here in the uk, not a lot of people know who Mackenzie is, but living in the usa for a while, I do. I was shocked about these revelations. I’m one of the lucky ones, I haven’t gone through this. But my friend has. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Its beyond my understanding how any parent can abuse their child like this. Her brain was so drug-addled, that maybe her brain couldn’t make sense of it. As for the blackouts, well – my friend has those. The brain shutting down to protect itself maybe? I feel sorry for her, maybe its a way to come to terms with it. Admittedly, using the media and revealing all in a book, may not be the way to go, but hey – who am I to judge? All the best for her in the future.
fizXgirl and saintdevil – are YOU saying that if a person has a bad parent, they should get a free pass for life? Say whatever they want, whenever they want. No one should say anything in response except ‘you poor thing’?
People aren’t saying it’s her fault. Re-read the comments. If a person doesn’t want any criticism or response from the public, they should not be publishing a book and trying to sell it to that same public. The public is nasty and people are jerks; take a look around the internet.
My question is, she said that this happened on her wedding night, right (the first encounter), ? Did she get married? I mean, wouldn’t her husband have been a little curious as to where his wife was on their wedding night if she wasn’t with hi,
I may have missed if she said the marriage took place or not. I am just wondering where the husband was at, and was he into drugs too, so much so he didn’t notice her being gone.
If any of your friends ever show up on your doorstep confessing how their cousin or uncle molested them at 19 or 20, please do not react like some of these fools on this board. It happens more than you think, the perps don’t stop and they will continue to molest..they will just molest younger people as their “it’s okay because it is family and I can manipulate them into consensual sex” supply dries up, they will go younger. That is what happened to my friend and her cousin, they ended up testifying years later on behalf of the guy’s young step-child.
Rape is rape, even if the older person manipulated the younger into it.
Lives are destroyed by these molesters, they are sick.
My friend’s marriage was threatened because her husband didn’t understand how she could be 19 and be molested. It wasn’t until the other cousin spoke up and the police arrested the perp cousin for molested his step-daughter was she believed 100%. Molester’s “groom” their victims, why wouldn’t they groom their 19 year old victims? Stop and think of yourself at 19…make any mistakes or bad judgments?
Perhaps the producers, agents, etc. dropped the on Mackenzie. Maybe $$$ keeps people silent too and lets young women be molested and raped.
Firestarter has put it well. I find the timing somewhat questionable, and I would probably be more sympathetic if there wasn’t a book/money involved, and if she had revealed this information whilst raising money for transition houses, counselling and other assistances for abused women/children, perhaps I’d be less skeptical. I am getting rather tired of all of these stories involving women who have made bad decisions because they were on drugs. McKenzie doesn’t appear to be accountable for her actions. It takes two to tango. The fact that she never revealed this while he was alive, so that her sisters could be safe and he could get help or be put away … inexusable. Enough already!
@Dora- I don’t see where anyone on this thread has said anything about not wanting to help someone who has been abused in any way. I think the general consensus here is genuine disgust at the situation. I don’t get that people have said that it doesn’t happen. I know it does. The town where I live, I know of a few people who are incest survivors, and people are very supportive of them.
In the case of MacKensie, I am not aware of her ever speaking out about it, so the likelihood that people were paid to be quiet about it is slim to none. It would have been GREAT if she had spoken about it years ago in order to have had something done to her father while he was still alive and able to account for his actions.
I think that no one on this thread has been the least bit insensitive regarding rape and molestation/incest, I think that many just are suspect of her timing, but as some posters have said, unless you have gone through the ordeal, you have no idea what you are going to do.
I think she should have done this while her father was alive, not only to let him face his accuser, but for some closure and relief herself, by taking appropriate actions to see that he was punished. However, what I think is not necessarily what is right, so no one needs to get on me about being a horrible person. She needed to think of the other people, her younger sisters, who she was also putting in jeopardy by keeping her secret, or any young child or naive adult that may have crossed paths with her father.
I think it would be great for her to donate a portion of her books earnings to shelters etc for this type of thing, so others may get the help that they need. Maybe she has, but I have not read anything about it.
This is not the first time in history a father has been in love with his daughter and vice verca. The father took advantage – yes, I believe he raped her. I imagine this woman lived very dark and isolated days indeed coping with feelings of love for her father. The drugs, and plenty of them, probably helped to dampen the confusion for most of her life.
Maybe she’s no longer afraid to be ridiculed and outed as a woman engaged in an incestuous relationship. It’s possible she self-confessed to being in love with her father, and finally understands and accepts the reasons why the relationship was wrong. She’s not a monster or a freak to be pitied by the likes of you people. I hope she’ll be able to move past the drugs and fear of being abhorred by her society.
As for the father…he took advantage of his daughters love, poisoned her and raped her. Shame on the judge who awarded child custody to a drug addled and deeply disturbed parent.
Some things are best kept private.
Dora, maybe you’re a bit confused, reread the passages and you’ll figure it out!
Pretty much agreeing with “Fire starter’ on this, s/he put it most eloquently.
And Damn, I must say, even though I grew up without a father and dirt poor and in the Cassiano Courts, the childhood I had must have been pretty sweet! No domestic violence for me! Or abusive relationships! Or molesting! Or Incest in my family! Woo hoo!
This guy’s kids are all fucked up in one way or another.
Tamerlane – in a cult
Bijou – substance abuse problem that led to rehab, she STABBED someone, and the whole shadiness of the foster care situation
Chyna – has had substance abuse problems in the past
MacKenzie – VERY troubled past, even before we learned about this
I find her story very credible, especially when you consider her siblings’ issues as well. This guy fucked up his kids beyond belief, and he should burn in hell.
Sex between a parent/child is NEVER consensual – it is ALWAYS rape. Hopefully, her courage in sharing this will shine a light on a very real problem, and other victims and survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of their parents will know they aren’t alone, and get the courage to find help – that is if they don’t get freaked out and too scared after seeing all the disgusting victim-shaming some assholes are leveling at Mackenzie.
Firestarter, I agree with most of the things you are saying. But not all ‘adults’ know what is wrong and what is right. Most do, but not all. Upbringing, substance abuse, mental illness and many other things can play a part in this. Did papa Phillips know the difference?
Just because she was at an adult age, doesn’t mean she was in the frame of mind to make ‘good’ decisions. For all we know, the combination of drugs, incest, and god knows what else meant she may have had the mind of someone much younger.
And for those who have said she should have done this when he was alive. Maybe you are right, but maybe that wasn’t an option for her. We don’t know the full story.
Suspicious timing? Because she has a book coming out? Um, yes, it’s her memoir. You know, where people talk about their lives.
This relationship is a huge part of the book, I presume.
You people are stupid. Seriously, eat some fish, listen to Mozart and stay away from celebrity gossip. Maybe you’ll gain a few IQ points.
You can still heal if you are an adult?
I love how people resort to petty insults when they disagree with other viewpoints.
elvisgrace, you are so right.
The lack of compassion demonstrated by some posters here is unbelievable.
Aren’t you lucky that you don’t have a horrible story to tell, and to be met with such derision and hostility.
Shame on you.
hey,I believe all that Mackenzie said about her “father”. Thinking about it, so what if she makes some money out of her book? He raped her, pure and simple. She can’t get her justice in the courts, so at least she can get something out of it. But this will never leave her, it will always be in her past, and will haunt her. Maybe if more people spoke out, for whatever reasons or motives, it would help other abused children. That sicko piece of crap that called himself her father, should never have been allowed near children, he’s barely human. It still took guts for Mackenzie to go public with this, no matter why she did it. I don’t know if I could have been that brave. Good luck to you, Mackenzie.
MacKenzie has a right to say whatever is true and doesn’t need to edit it for sensitive ears.
I’ve always liked her straight-forwardness.
A nineteen year old having sex with her father is pathetic and unacceptable by any standards. If she is calling rape now, why didn’t she do anything about it then. Give us a hint, did you talk to anybody about it. No! it’s just her word. I mean, she could have run away. She was not a helpless child, but a nineteen year old girl.
Okay! let’s believe the first time was out of her control. But after that , continuous sexual relationship, what was that all about. Okay!, she did not want to scream rape then , but she could have got away from it all if she wanted to, but she chose to stay and follow the forbidden path of incest.
Now after several years, when her father is not there to defend himself and she is so wasted on drugs, she throws a life line to herself, to sell a book on the pathetic story of her being raped by her father. Which is douubtful now… Come on, give me a break. I would have been mpathetic, if she did something to get away from her father. But her continuous consensual sexual relationship has put her in a spot, where she could not be given any sympathy. And once again Oprah has capitalised on a TV moment on made to believe grief. Which is a platform where people could go and talk about having sex with their parents. Way to go Oprah… this a new low even for you….
The outcome of this episode would be be that, all her other female siblings also must have been raped by their father and they are too coward to face it and come out on a reality show to express their grief. So what has this wasted druggie done, ruin the rest of the life of her siblings who are alive, while the father is long gone….and Oprah once again becomes the savior from our social misery….i bet some people atheist would believe , that if there was god, God would be female and should would be a replica of OPRAH.
Mind you readers, I am sympathetic and ny heart goes out to the female victims who gets abused, raped or at the least mistreated, especially from those people whom they trust. But clearly this is not such a case, this is just yet another TV episode and a junkie being honored on TV on a make belief story.
What I don’t understand is this: John Phillips died in 2001. Chyna Phillips said she found out about this in 1997. Michelle Phillips has said that she found out about this around the same time. Mackenzie is supposed to have called up Michelle told her the story and then called her back and said it was a joke. So between 1997 and when John died in 2001 his family knew about this and nothing was done?
What is the point of writing a book now? It just comes across as a cash grab.Mackenzie has had a rough life and no one can argue otherwise. She had told her family, so why not just go talk to a doctor in order to move on with her life. The only people who needed to know would be a doctor and her family. Confront the abuser by all means and she did on his deathbed,which must have helped in some way.But there was no need for the world to hear about this.
Hurray for you Mackensie for facing your truth and bring your sexual experiences and your drug addiction out of silence….when we open the door to light people can heal and hopefully society will come out of denial and grow, too.
Have a look at http://www.courageouskids.net is a group of kids who were placed in the enviroment with the non protective parent and abuse of all sorts happen until the children ran away or they turned 18. This is where the courts let children down….these kids need a spokeperson and face and funds to keep going and to reach more people out there….www.protectiveparents.com empowers usually Mothers to keep focused and to keep fighting and to deal with the emotional pain of losing a child/children to an abuser when He usually has the money and court power to keep abusing. BREAKING THE SILENCE IS A GREAT DOCUMENTARY PUT TOGETHER BY THE MOTHER WHO FORMED THE ASSOCIATION AND THE HEALING CONFERENCES FOR KIDS.
We have another Silent place in society. We have battered women locked away “among the forgotten” in prison’s across America for defending their own life and the lives of their children against a domestic abuser.SIN BY SILENCE IS A DOCUMENTARY WORTH SEEING AND PUTTING YOUR ENERGY BEHIND….OUT OF SILENCE IS HOW WE GROWTH…THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE!
THANK YOU BRAVE ONE….I ALSO HAVE SPECIAL SKILLS TO DEAL WITH ISSUE AT THE SUBCONCIOUS LEVEL OF EXPERIENCING…IF YOU WOULD LIKE MY HELP. TAKE GREAT CARE!
Me thinks those that can’t deal, or have the darling gaul to blame her for not speaking up sooner are the same ones who won’t and don’t deal with things in their own houses. You need to look into your own families, and not worry about somone you don’t know and won’t meet.
Those are the ones in danger because of your head in the sand attitude.
This is the same person who has been on and off heroine and coke for the past 40 years. I have trouble believing anything she says.
I personally think she is lying to sell her book to support her crack habit!!!
Geraldo Rivera has interviewed this liar drug addict since the 70’s and recently replayed all of them on his FOX program. She lied about being drugged up and admitted in recent interviews she lies for attention. She wants attention and says anything she can to get sympathy and pity!
Don’t believe a word she says as all she is looking for is her next fix!
I believe her. I absolutely believe Mackenzie’s story.
You can see her interview on Larry King Live she gives more details how it happened, etc. By her telling she often woke up to it happening or after it happened. So she was not cognisant mentally to be ABLE to give consent. If you have sex with someone who is passed out and unable to give consent that is RAPE. Her father did RAPE her.
As for why she waited to tell her story, she says in the video interview she just was not ready until now. Imagine the courage it takes to talk about this for the whole world to judge. But when you are pushing 50 you have seen a lot more in life and you realize the people closest to you are what is important. What the world thinks is not as important. She is probably doing this to just put it to rest in her mind once and for all.
Her closest family and friends already knew so this is not new.
I am glad that Mackenzie Phillips told the story. My family went through something like this. I have a Ph.D. from an Ivy League University. I come from a “normal” family. People need to know that “normal”, even admirable people can be abusers.
So much of the public discourse undercuts Mackenzie’s character. I feel much of this unnecessary and cruel. Whenever I read these comments, I feel very, very sad for my sister who has struggled with her demons for many years and born the brunt of criticism and blame.