Mackenzie Phillips To Oprah: Decade Of Sex With Dad Ended With Abortion

CHICAGO -- Former child star Mackenzie Phillips said Wednesday her father, John Phillips, who was a leader of the 1960s pop group the Mamas and the Papas, raped her when she was a teenager and that her sexual relationship with him later became what she termed "consensual."

Mackenzie Phillips writes in her new book, "High on Arrival," that she had sex with her father on the night before she was to get married in 1979 at age 19, according to People magazine.

Phillips wrote in her book: "I woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my own father."

She told "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in an interview that aired Wednesday that her siblings "definitely have a problem with this." Winfrey also read a statement from Genevieve Waite, John Phillips' wife at the time of the alleged abuse and Mackenzie's stepmother that said he was "incapable, no matter how drunk or drugged he was, of having such a relationship with his own child."

Phillips, who starred on TV's "One Day at a Time," said the sexual relationship with her father lasted a decade and ended when she became pregnant and didn't know who had fathered the child. She had an abortion, which her father paid for, and "and I never let him touch me again."

Phillips told Winfrey that she first tried cocaine when she was 11 years old. Her father did drugs with her, taught her to roll joints and injected her with cocaine. Phillips said she's been clean for a year after pleading guilty to possessing cocaine and entering a drug treatment program.

Phillips said the sexual relationship, although she believes it became consensual, was "an abuse of power" and "a betrayal" on her father's part. She said she forgave John Phillips on his deathbed.

"I can't be the only one this has happened to," Phillips said. "Someone needs to put a face on consensual incest."

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Comments

[canuckgirl]

I applaud MacKenzie for coming forward and telling her truth.

My husband suffered the same abuse and damage by his dad for
14 years from age 15 to 29. The abuse stopped when my husband said to his father that one of his advocates was a lawyer.

My husband has been badly damaged by the incest. He has emotional problems and does not trust people.

One of my husband's sisters believes him and the other sister does not.

My husband confronted his dad about the abuse.

Fortunately my husband did not resort to drugs nor alcohol to kill his pain.

My husband saw a social worker for two years to deal with this issue
of incest a few years ago.

My husband is estranged from his father and the sister who does not
believe him.

Incest happens to men too.

[happymom]

"ABC News reports that since Phillips’ public admission on the Oprah Winfrey show this week, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) has seen a 26 percent jump in its hotline calls and an 83 percent increase in traffic on its Web site."

Well it looks like McKenzie's public confession is helping MANY, MANY victims! Hoooorrraaay!! Thank you Oprah. May the dialogue continue! We need to keep the pervs. squirming as education is the key.

[Dweezle]

I have been around recovery over 20 years, I have seen so many addicts on the street as hustlers, thieves and hookers, then get arrested, get forced into treatment then all of a sudden they were victims... They all had choices, and at times many made poor choices. Many of the counselors are recovered addicts that made bad choices also, It is so much easier to place all the blame on someone else, label them as a predator, but it is a painful life and there should be no finger pointing... we become who we are because of the steps we have walked in. Perhaps MacKenzie will get her own TV Game show, like Bonaducci another child star that went dark.

[ittybittykitty]

But her Dad started giving her drugs when she was 11. Wasn't she a little young to be expected to make a "choice" when her primary caregiver and role model was offering drugs?

[NYFreckles]

Mackenzie was permitted to use drugs, by her DAD, the one that abused her later sexually, at the age of 11ish. And by the time she was 19, she was so addicted, she was blacking out. Obviously she was a full blown addict by then. Can we all agree that allowing your child at the age of 11 to use drugs in it of itself IS CHILD ABUSE? So if we agree on that, can we then agree that him allowing her to use drugs, was his way of grooming her? It's safe to say that Mackenzie has been hurt emotionally and psychologically by her father. It is also safe to say that her step-mother Michelle is obviously thinking of herself and making self-serving statements to the press. She isn't being the "loving" stepmother when she calls her stepdaugther "mentally ill", Michelle's own daughter Chynna said that Mack isn't mentally ill and has NEVER had any issues with mental illness and that her mother is MAD. Mack needs all the love and support she can get, especially from family. She has been through hell and back. She is truly the victim in all of this, she, herself doesn't quite grasp it. Incest victims can't give consent. Especially when they have been groomed by their perpetrators with drugs etc. Yes, he may have been high right along with her, but man, he was her DAD. Mack was courageous in coming out with this. I applaud her.

[happymom]

Yes, we can agree that introducing your child to drugs at 11 is 100% child abuse. No doubt. That alone makes McKenzie a hero, who has survived against all odds. Her dad was her abuser and she now has a fighting chance to overcome this now that this deep, dark dirty secret is out. Let the national dialogue continue and help thousands of other victims trapped in this abuse.

[texgal7]

Many of us are pondering the use of that word "consensual." I understand, I think, that Mackenize P is trying to take responsibility in the same way that a woman who is beaten by her man is "consenting" because she has learned helplessness, shame, no other options, etc. In the same way that Jaycee Dugard was "consenting' to her relationship with her abductor. I don't think any of us like that use of the word consensual to describe these situations. For me it brings up the question of women in some countries who "consent to" wear full veil (covering all the body except the eyes). It brings to mind people who say, "My parents whipped me and I'm glad they did; it taught me right from wrong." No answers here - just questions in my mind and a feeling in my heart that people cannot be left in "consensual" relationships that are harmful to them -- yet getting them out (when they are adults) can be construed as a violation of their rights. No answers - just questions.

[NYFreckles]

Texgal, I hear ya on this. I think that it may be easier for Mack to think she was consenting rather than the alternative. The alternative is this: She was born from a monster, plain and simple and that may be a burden too big to carry. Children, even as adults often take on the sins of their parents and it's not right nor is it healthy, but they do it nontheless. I think with continued talk therapy, she will come to terms with it and realize she is NOT her father, she is not her father's daughter, but rather she is Mackenzie, someone unique unto herself. And that is someone special, someone that needs to require love and respect from everyone who is in her life. And if that isn't forthcoming, they need to leave!

Some women feel very strongly about the veil, to go onto that subject. They like them and still wear them in this country. They have the freedom to not wear them but still do. Now I am not naive enough to realize some have the freedome of the US behind them, but still live in "fear" in their homes, I GET IT!!! But there are some muslim women who like the burka's and wear them with honor. I live in a city with a very strong eastern indian population and big muslim pop too.

[the964kid]

Man this story is actually getting more shocking... I wouldn't know what to believe, but so far, 2 of her sisters have come forward to say they also knew about this affair with their father, so right now I gotta say it looks like this may be the truth, or at least mostly true. Wow.

[Bronxdude]

BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER

[horhay]

Said the crackpot to the kettle...

Funny how this song was playing att, "Everybody's got something to hide except me and my monkey"

[EbonBear]

Wow, that's disturbing. We already knew John Phillips was a criminally awful father (he admitted that himself) but if this is true, it takes that to a whole new level.

Thing is, we have no way of knowing if it's true. Phillips has been dead for years and can't defend himself so in the end, this is down to this lady's word. Might be true, might not. Nor am I suggesting that she's intentionally lying. Drug abuse and mental illness will do strange things to one's memory and the fact that she alleges the affair was consensual for about a decade says a great deal about her mental state at that time.

In the end, lacking affirmative evidence either way, we really don't know.

[cydRN]

See Anias Nin for reference to "consensual incest". Ms Phillips is certainly not the first to expose it. Her calculated release of the information is suspect. If she were donating all proceeds of her biography to a charity dealing with incest survivors and/or drug abusers it would be easier to credit. I see a pathetic drug addled woman fishing for publicity and subsequent book sales.

[CaveatLector]

Wow, that's a lot of judgment. Did you watch the interview? I did. She didn't seem "drug addled" to me. She seemed sober and anxious. I will admit I have a problem too with making a profit off this experience, but how do we know what she will do with the book profits.....I'm not going to further judge a woman who has been to hell and back.

[helpusa]

I do believe with some certainty that Mackenzie for the most part has been drug free for a while. I wouldn't bet all that I have on it but she lives in my neighborhood and I have seen her very normal, very nice and not at all affected. Believe it or not, I think she is somewhat shy and has always suffered from self esteem, and I do believe her when she says that during her childhood she was always trying to get her father's attention. Her parents were divorced early on in her life, while he was not around and being a rock star, he ignored her.
In her early teens she was going to adult rock places where she could catch a little of his
star light. Nobody was paying attention that she should have been on a curfew.
As far as the profit motive, I doubt that Mackenzie has any money to speak of anymore and a girl does have to make a living, at the same time, even if she has money, she needed to tell this story for herself and if it can also help give courage to other children in a similar situation. I wonder how many adults committing incest are shivering in their boots right now?

[TequilaMockingbird]

First I'd like to congratulate some of the posters on managing to never have anything this horrible happen to them. It is one thing to have an isolated horrific event befall you.. but it is a whole different thing when the horror actually becomes your life on a daily basis.. It destroys your perception. Ask Jaycee Dugard. Ask the 15 year old runaway drug addict that lives on the streets of your city.

I can only wonder about the charmed lives that allow people to either just look away from things like this or to recoil so completely that they immediately place it in a construct that they understand.. profit, control aka asking for it.. I guess I am somewhat comforted by fact that there are people who find this level of abuse 'Unbelievable" on it's face. I am hoping those attitudes reflect a lack of widespread abuse.. but I doubt it.

I think anyone who was ever abused and betrayed by a parent or figure of authority sees the truth in MacKenzie Phillips story.

[FabulousAt52]

And anyone who has ever lived in the real world knows for a fact that SOMETIMES people lie - for a whole host of reasons.
Sometimes adults accuse other adults of things that aren't true.
Remember Tawanna Brawley? (sp)
Remember more recently the college coed who claimed to be raped by several college guys?
Remember the "B" face girl who claimed she was attacked and "branded' by a black man?

People lie about the most astounding things- both insignificant and profoundly significant.

Sorry, but Mackenzi has 30+ years of heavy drug and alcohol abuse under her belt, a book coming out, and her dad is long dead and can't defend himself. Hell, by her own admission she needs to come to terms that SHE instigated incestuous relations with her Dad every time she went to his house and slept with him. SHE made that choice, over and over again; as a grown (even married) woman.

[TequilaMockingbird]

Read John Phillips book and realize that HE TOO was a long time drug addict whose choices to expose his young daughter to drugs and his drug abuse made him CULPABLE for whatever happened next.. If he screwed her head up to the point she WANTED to sleep with him.. that just indicates a level of abuse that is far WORSE than garden variety sexual assault. It became programming at that point. Ms. Phillips still has no idea what really happened and she is desperate to claim control over the situation by calling it 'consensual' as to not feel further diminished. She probably will go off the rails again and I am sure people like you will feel somehow personally vindicated and I must say.. that is disgusting.

Do you know what the best interrogators do to ensure willing compliance? They force dependence (food, shelter, drugs, safety etc.).. then they hurt you and then they make you feel real good.

[mirandawilde]

Thank you. Very well said.

[CaveatLector]

Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. She admits it was consensual. She is embarassed and ashamed about this; and is trying to come to terms with it. How does the fact that she may have instigated the sex beween them make it any less weird and wrong?

She will not make 'millions' from this book; it's going to be yesterday's news SOON. I thinik that NOT coming forward with this information would have been the safer choice; both for her personally and for her career. This will forever color anything she does in her life.

Please, people...a little more compassion...and a little more resesarch. Read her fathers' book "Papa John"...I think you'll have a different opinion of this if you do.

[rising sun]

My daughter is 19...honor student in college, has a job...but she is still a teenager. McKenzie was a full-fledged drug addict and alcoholic at this young age. How many mature decisions do you holier-than-thou judges think she made at that stage in her life?

[happymom]

When people make comments defending the abusers in these situations, you have to wonder what they are hiding in their own closets.

She deserves our respect in empathy, not our biting, horrible assessments of something that was horribly wrong. By coming forward, many women will gain courage to face their own horrible truths and find healing.

[PaleMail]

I haven't read one comment defending fathers that abuse their daughters incestuously . The question to be answered here is was John Phillips an abuser.

[Beca]

Well if he raped his own daughter and continued with an incestuous 'relationship' wiht her for years, I'd say, YES he was an abuser! He secually abused his own child, what the heck do you call that?!!

[FabulousAt52]

And when people accuse others of being hidden pedophiles and or sexual predators and criminals * ONLY * because they QUESTION some things, or have a different opinion than they do... well, what should we wonder about them? Probably a religious, right wingnut?

[CaveatLector]

What are you talking about? What does that have to do with John Phillips? He wrote a BOOK PEOPLE. And it speaks volumes. He doesn't talk about the sexual relationship wtih MacKenzie, but he admits shooting her up with drugs.

That is a violation right there; RAPE with a needle. I don't have a hard time making the next leap. This was a man with NO MORAL COMPASSS.

[happymom]

You may not have been on here the last few days, but there are a few posters intent on discrediting her story, just go look up TopJack's log of comments. Accusing McKenzie of doing this for the money is defending the abuser.

[PaleMail]

TopJack implies that Mackenzie is lying to make money on her new book. He is not defending incest.

[PC0207]

If this is true, she has my deepest sympathy! Not only is it sick but disgusting!!

However, I have to wonder why these details weren't revealed before she decided to publish them in a book. I can't help but to question one's motives when airing dirty laundry in public like this. I know the almighty dollar or shall I say the lack of the almighty dollar will make anyone say and do a lot of crazy things but this a tad bit much....

[rising sun]

Jack, you make me feel sorry for BottomJill. I bet she yearns for peace and quiet.

[bokiluis]

It was one of the most uncomfortable interviews I ever experienced. It is hard to be with it.....but it is her reality. It is quite easy to see the damage that it has done to her.

[PaleMail]

As I recall a number of years ago Oprah interviewed a young women with a multi-personality disorder. She related the terror and torture she experienced at the hands of her father. Turns out it was all made-up. A brain addled by drugs and/or mental illness can play many tricks.

[leeleelu]

While that may be true, it doesn't mean that she is lying. If she recalls the drugging with her dad (completely corroborated), why would she need to imagine something so vile to add to the memory? Watch the full hour with Oprah, she's not a good enough actress to pull off the pain she is clearly in.