Mackenzie Phillips Defends Incest Story

By PopEater Staff Posted Sep 26th 2009 10:47AM

'One Day at a Time' star Mackenzie Phillips appeared on the 'Today' show earlier this week to discuss her shocking allegations of a 10-year sexual affair with her own father. The actress returned to the show Saturday morning to express her feelings on the widely varied reactions of the public - and her family.

Step-mother Michelle Phillips told The Hollywood Reporter, "Mackenzie has a lot of mental illness. She's had a needle stuck up her arm for 'Rehab' and now she writes a book. The whole thing is timed."

Now Mackenzie responds to the idea that her memories, as a one-time heroin junkie, should not be trusted. "My memory is actually quite good," she says. "I think the misconception is that I spent my life walking around in a stupor, stumbling around and knocking into walls, and that's absolutely not the case. It's weird to have to defend your life and your truth. It's strange to have to say, 'Why would I put myself in this position?'"

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Shocking Celebrity Tell-Alls

Mackenzie Phillips dropped a real bombshell in her new memoir. See what other stars have shocked the world with their autobiographical revelations.

Jeffrey Mayer, WireImage

Shocking Celebrity Tell-Alls

'Little House on the Prairie' star Melissa Gilbert's tell-all memoir accused actress Shannen Doherty of breaking up Gilbert's marriage to Bo Brinkman - when Shannen was just a teen.

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'Brady Bunch' child star Maureen McCormick revealed her troubled past in 'Here's The Story,' including a serious addiction to cocaine and Quaaludes, bouts of depression and bulimia, and an on-again, off-again romantic relationship with her on-screen brother Barry Williams.

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George Hamilton make some shocking revelations in 'Don't Mind if I Do' - like the claim that he lost his virginity at age 12... to his stepmother. He wrote that the pair rekindled their sexual relationship years later, after the death of his father.

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James Frey sold 'A Million Little Pieces' as a memoir, and while the book was filled with brutal tales of addiction and degradation, the real shocker was that 'A Million Little Pieces' wasn't actually a true story.

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In his book 'Growing Up Brady,' Barry Williams claimed to have gone on a date with TV-mom Florence Henderson and to have hooked up with his 'Brady Bunch' sister, Maureen McCormick. Happily-married Henderson has publicly clarified their date, saying that regardless of Williams' romantic feelings, their outing was platonic to her.

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America's darling Mary Tyler Moore admitted a years-long battle with alcoholism in her 1996 tell-all 'After All.'

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Actress Mackenzie Phillips dropped the father of all bombshells - she admits to a long-term sexual affair with her own dad, Mamas and the Papas singer John Phillips, who died in 2001.

Jeffrey Mayer, WireImage

She explains that she felt unable to ask for help while the relationship with her father continued. "What do you do? Go, "Hey I just thought I'd tell you that I'm being molested by my father?' The groundswell of support I've gotten from Facebook and... via email, people have said, 'You think that it's your fault. You think it's so shameful you can't tell anybody.' I've had people come forward and say, "You've given me strength and hope that I can actually overcome the effects of my past."

"The takeaway is that there is something to live for and there's a reason to fight for it. If you've lived the kind of life that I've lived, you quite often feel that you don't have a future, and the effects of your past are going to continue to affect your present and your future, no matter what you do, that you're broken. My story is to say that you don't have to remain broken, and you can lose the shame."

Mackenzie knew that her book would put a burden on her family, and described breaking the news to her 22-year-old son. "I sat him down and prepared as well as one can for for the release of this book. He is one of my biggest supporters. And his father, my ex-husband Shane Fontayne, is one of my biggest supporters and one of my dearest friends."

She added, "My hope is that we can be a stronger family after this. My sister Chynna has come out in support of me - and the people in my family who aren't supporting me, and who are saying that my claims are untrue - I understand that, even though they have known about this as a fact for a long time. Their reaction is not surprising to me. I love my family, i have great compassion [for them] and I feel terrible for having put them in this difficult situation."

Tags: mackenzie phillips, MackenziePhillips

Comments

(199)

Saturday 26 September

By Cherie

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Kirk, you seem like a reasonable man but you are wrong. Mackenzie was the child. Her father was someone who was adored by his fans, and was loved by her. She wanted his love and approval. Though she may have been an adult at the time, she was emotionally stunted from years of drug abuse, and quite possibly abuse from other males. God only knows what this poor girl went through. It is no wonder she medicated her pain with drugs. She was unable to make the right decsions, it is completely his responsibilty. In addition to shooting her up, which was known by her family, he ruined her life. She had zero chance for normalcy. The fact that some of the adults in her life KNEW this was going on (and at least Denny did, as he told his daughter), the fact that she reached out for support from her family, the fact that adults did nothing to even stop the drug use, which began when she was only eleven and was instigated by her father, is CRIMINAL. The adults in Mackenzie's life let her down horribly. If you haven't been sexually abused, you cannot understand. If you have been a victim of incest, you will both understand and cry for her. UNfortunately, this story happens more than you can believe. Many children are the victims of incest/sexual abuse, and their lives are ruined as a result. It takes years of therapy to come to terms and start the healing process, and it's different for everyone. This is her healing process and it should not be denied. She is owed this, by everyone who let her down then, and who is letting her down now.

Mackenzie, hold your head up. This was not your fault. You are brave, and though this is hurtful for your family, you do what you need to do to heal. If that's sharing your story with the world, in order to try to help other vicitms of abuse, so be it. It is your journey, no one else's. Chynna and Bijou, it's difficult but you are doing the right thing standing by your sister. God bless you all.

By Kirk Campbell

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She was 19. She knew it was wrong. She's just as criminally responsible as he was.

Again, I'm not exonerating him. But we as a country make too many excuses for people who screw up their lives and then by extension other people's lives. I feel sorry for her if what she said about her upbringing was true. But again, she was 19 when it happened, which makes her legally responible for her own actions. A lot of people have screwed up lives and still don't have consensual sex with their father.

From my impression, she seems to be trying to put the responsibility on him, not because she's angry with him over what happened but because she doesn't want to look bad for consenting to it. There have been many studies that have shown that many women (more than you'd think) fall in love with their fathers. Maybe she wanted it as bad as he did?

Again, it doesn't make him any less of a sick human being. But instead of blaming him exclusively, maybe you should look at it as two very sick people who consented to a sick relationship?

By lyric

Cherie, in defense of Kirk....... Mackensie was indeed the child but she wasn't a child, she knew what she was doing. No one is disputing that her father was probably at fault for her drug use and was probably a pretty lousy father overall.....but the dispute is whether he molested his daughter or not.

Mackensie admits that they were both high and both had consensual sex which continued for 10 yrs. until "she" decided that "she" wanted to end it. Now within that 10 yrs I'am sure that she's had moments of lucidity and could have stopped.

We may never know the truth behind all of this.......but don't assume she's a victim, her father's not exactly here to defend himself.

Actually, Lyric, while you make a point that sounds reasonable on the surface, it fails to address the psychological confusion she must have felt. Also, experts have stated that an adult victim of incest reverts to an adolescent mentality. See, this is a blame the victim mentality, one we must fight against. Why do victims refuse to press charges against their abusers (ie: in domestic violence)? Is it because they are lying? Occasionally, yes. More often, the victim becomes confused and dependent on their abuser. Eventually, like Mackenzie, they are able to break free, if they are very brave. Others live their lives with the abuser, with the abuser sometimes killing them. Did the victim deserve to die, because their emotions were all confused. Of course not. Did they want to continue in the relationship. Of course not but they are all confused. Lyric and Kirk, I challenge you. Talk to an adult survivor of sexual abuse who is willing to talk to you. Ask them how they felt while it was going on? Why didn't they stop it? How did they find the courage to make it stop? How long it occured? I think you will be very surprised by their answers: the confusion, the self-hatred, the feelings of being trapped, not knowing how to stop it, will my family abandon me? are common to most survivors. Challenge yourselves to understand the victim's point of view, and perhaps you will understand other survivors outrage at how Mackenzie is being treated. It is infuriating for survivors to see their Mackenzie being villified while her father, the perpetrator is being unconscionably defended. Try to understand their point of view. I did group yesterday with 30 survivors and Mackenzie's pain is their pain, Mackenzie's story is their story but Mackenzie's journey to healing is no one else's but hers. So, talk to a survivor, really hear their story and then let me know if you feel the same towards Mackenzie and John. If you really take the time to listen, I doubt you will.

By Dean

Its really quite simple,to believe Mackenzie you have to be as big an idiot as she is.

Sunday 27 September

By jan

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Dean, or to not believe her could mean that you are just as much a PERP of sexual abuse as her father.

By Justsayin

It is unfortunate, but I tend to believe her and I agree with jc and the others who say he "groomed" her into this...and introducing her to drugs at age 11 - HELLO. I wouldn't be surprised if the relationship was longer and she is just saying it started at 19 to "protect" him (making him seem less of a monster because she was older and her more to blame) which in a way she is still trying to do by saying he was a good father. She is the obvious victim. Good fathers don't introduce their daughters to drugs and eventually molest them. Makes me thank God again for the great parents he gave me! Don't forget she told family members back in 1997 or so about the relationship and upon seeing their reaction, retracted it. This is not some new "revelation" that she all of the sudden came up with. Regardless, I hope she finds her peace and moves on. Lets not victimize the victim again. She is trying to make her peace and move on. Everybody else needs to also!

By Mary

She could have accomplished just as much keeping
her big woman mouth shut ! No. She has to have
the attention. Nobody really cares about you.
Typical woman wanting attention. What a culture !

I think you're giving him too much credit for this alleged 'grooming'.

What is more likely is that both were very bad addicts who had been using together for a long time, and eventually their relationship became sexual in nature.

When people are using drugs in that much abundance, boundaries and relationships get blurred. You typically abuse drugs because you feel empty and detached so it stands to reason that you'd have sex with the person you were abusing drugs with the most, and it simply didn't matter that he was your father or that she was your daughter. They were simply chasing a feeling of emptiness and their unhealthy relationship likely made both of them feel better.

But I seriously doubt it was this big 'grooming' conspiracy, especially since he never abused his other daughters.

Kirk, please, I beseech you, on behalf of all victims of incest, stop. It is clear you really don't comprehend an abuser's mentality. They are manipulative. Often they are described as a "nice guy or sometimes, woman". Often, the absusive parent targets only one of the children (ie: Melinda Loveless comes to mind offhand)for a romantic relationship. Yes, it is indeed possible and indeed probable she was groomed by him. Please stop trying to defend him because there is no defense. It's reprehensible. If you don't believe me, read the comments from mental helath professionals on the subject. The all concur that if true, and it certainly appears to be, Mackenzie was horribly victimized by her father, over and over again. Please stop blaming the victim. This isn't the girl from Hofstra who claimed rape. This is an actual victim who is trying to heal. Won't you allow her that? Yes, she is an ex-druggie, yes she has lived a life we cannot understand, but that does not make her unworthy of support and healing. We are not blaming the male gender for these actions, only the perpetrators of these actions. Mackenzie, if you watched the tape, tried to defend her father. That is a typical reaction of a victim. Please stop perpetuating the abuse and place the blame where it falls in the case, squarely in John Phillips lap. As for why she is coming out with it now, she is trying to help others. The same reason other victims of abuse share their stories, if they are brave enough. No, they often aren't in a position to make some money off of their story, as Mackenzie is, but those around them often say the same cruel comments seen on this blog. And it is cruel, extremely cruel, to blame her.

By susan pugh

i guess that it could happen. no one know but her

By Bud

YIKES....all the hot chics chaseing this guy and pick his own ughly daughter?...Hard to believe....without him here to tell his side of the story,no one should pay attention to this flake....but who cares?...shes makeing book sales left and right over this stunt....

By PICKLE'S

This Country Should not have a satude of limitation on Child Molestation, I was Raped a 8 years of age and by the time I was Strong enough to fight back this law stood in the way. Is this right????

By angel

Not only is it true: in the next year we will find out he was screwing her way before the age she gave to us. Yes, it's true, but she has blurred some of the specifics ( as MANY abused ones must) in order to protect her AND her pedophile father.

He messed with her head when she was way too young and the fallout was she didnt know what reality was.
Many druggies started out as abused children.

How do we keep our children safe in this world?
When a child is raped not just her body is violated
but her mind and soul are warped. This is a world problem that creates drug abuse, prostatution, crime and illiness ect...

Cherie -

You are taking one person's VERY distorted and VERY unreliable account into consideration, and not exploring the alternatives.

That's more closed-minded than anything I've been saying.

She was 19 years old. She consented to sex with her father. She knew it was wrong, yet she continued on with it.

I'm not entertaining any other scenarios other than the facts as they've been presented. She's lucky I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt in believing her this much, because despite being whacked out on drugs during that period and the fact that this is all in an attempt to sell a book - many years after her father is long dead and can't defend himself - she's already altered or 'tweaked' her story once this week in an attempt to make it seem MORE like rape and LESS like it was consensual.

I'm not defending him. They're BOTH sick. That's what YOU need to understand. But her being sick doesn't mean she didn't know it was wrong, because she clearly did, hence why she got the abortion.

I'm simply saying that this notion she was 'raped' or 'molested' doesn't fit with even her story. You're not raped if you consent and you're not molested if you're of age and are consenting. What they both did was illegal and immoral, and both should be held accountable.

By mireille siclait

She obviously is doing this for publicity and for money.If the purpose of all this scandal is to heal herself, she is misguided. And what about her family, what about the hurt she is causing them? Plus the father is dead, unable to defend himself. We only get one side of the story from somebody who was using drug, who might have been hallucinating for all we know. I hope she won't blow the money she is making in drugs. She needs some therapy.

By savagemouse

Why is this story being pushed as the SELLING POINT for her book?? I didn't want to know this, nobody wanted to know this! You know how hard I'm trying to un-know this?? I gotta see this on every damn website I go to, stop telling me this! I feel like I need to scrub my brain clean after this week! Ahh!

Cherie, I don't have to take the time to talk to a victim of child molestation.......I am one. I am a 40+yr. old female who was molested as a child by two separate people one male and one female at different points in my childhood........ fortunately not family members.

You see I know that victims see victims everywhere, what I mean by that is some are so willing to reach out to others that are claiming the same thing that we tend to overlook the fact that not all are truthful.

A true incest victim doesn't usually start a incestuous relationship at the age of 19 and if you'd seen her on any of the talk shows she seems almost boastful, not in pain or ashamed.

Maybe because I have been victimized by both sexes I have a different views on males and don't blame them automatically. Don't assume that everybody who cries victim is actually a victim.

By madaline

Its good bad this man (her father) is no longer here to defend himself. I do think she is a sickie and she probably wished her father would try to make love to her. She a sick turkey. Compared to the others her father has had why in the world woul

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