WTF - Mackenzie Phillips: I had sex with musician dad John Phillips

[cbdo2007]

(CNN) -- Actress Mackenzie Phillips reveals she had a long-term incestuous relationship with her famous father, musician John Philips, in a tell-all memoir, according to People.com, which obtained an advance copy of her book.

Phillips, the 49-year-old former child star and daughter of the Mamas and the Papas founder John Phillips, says she had sex with her father the night before she was to marry Jeff Sessler, a member of the Rolling Stones entourage, in 1979, according to People.com.

"On the eve of my wedding, my father showed up, determined to stop it," writes Phillips, who was 19 at the time and a heavy drug user, according to People.com. "I had tons of pills, and Dad had tons of everything too. Eventually I passed out on Dad's bed."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/22/mackenzie.phillips.oprah/index.html

[Mz Pip]

1. Thanks for sharing

Mackenzie. They world needs to know this why, exactly?

[kstewart33]

11. On this, her tell-all behavior says a lot more about her character than her Dad's.

Sick and pathetic.

[NashVegas]

12. Yep. It Shows She's Trying to Get Past It And Move On

And maybe find some work, again.

[katandmoon]

19. Huh? SHE was the victim, not her dad. She gets to spill.

[teh strawman meme]

26. She has the right and it may actually be healing for her to tell the world

such a sick secret. She has nothing to be ashamed about.

[Liberal_in_LA]

30. +10

[wordpix]

58. +1

[Mz Pip]

28. That's what therapists

are for. The audience of GMA is not her therapist.

[Shell Beau]

33. What if her message helps people?

Many stories of abuse are shared with people so they can be helped. Or don't feel alone.


Maybe her timing is suspect, but if it is true, I sure as hell don't want to be the one calling her money hungry. I can't imagine what that would do to someone, and then to be called a liar on top of that... Her dad isn't here to defend himself, but if it is true, what defense does he have? NONE. And let's face it, he wasn't going to ever be father of the year. This is a gross accusation, so I can't imagine even the grossest person to make that up about their own father. Not saying some don't, but she was definitely abused even if not sexually. And she isn't painting herself in a great light. She is saying she willingly participated. I can't imagine why one would lie about that.

[foucaults petulance]

56. It has been helping many people! I just heard on the news last night

that all these calls (a 25% increase) have been made to rape crisis (or similar) hotlines. It took someone with the courage and humility to come out and admit it. I always have admired Mackenzie; I read her father's book "Papa John" and he admits doing drugs with her. So I realized what kind of effed-up upbringing she had. Everyone has a story to tell. They are the way they are for a reason. It doesn't accuse the wrongs, but it explains them. I have to admit, though, that I am disappointed with Michelle Phillips for not being more supportive to Mac. I wonder what the backstory is on that. Mac seemed very cool about it on "Today."

[teh strawman meme]

25. Because her dad plying her with drugs at age 11 shows good parental behavior.

:eyes: :eyes:

[DireStrike]

53. Yeah, sharing elements of your life is so much more notable than having sex with your daughter.

[Forkboy]

2. She's gone through a lot. I hope she finds peace someday.

[Schema Thing]

3. Oh sure. And I guess mom was turned into a pillar of salt as well?

[Buzz Clik]

4. Tabloid forum?

we need one for these gems.

[Captain Hilts]

5. He and Michael Jackson's dad should fight to death. nt

[seabeyond]

6. could be. could also be how she lived her life 3 decades, she says anything

my alcoholic brother of three decades remembers a whole different childhood than what was. some amazing nontruths he gives his kids.

[lunatica]

55. The same in with my sister

She's a full blown manic depressive on heavy medication who 'remembers' being sexually abused by both our step-father and our brother, both of whom are dead and therefore unable to defend themselves. I don't have even a shadow of a doubt that she's making it up. It wouldn't surprise me if she tells her friends that I've abused her also since we shared a bedroom when we were growing up.

On the other hand I don't dismiss people's stories because of my sister's penchant for lying.

[David Zephyr]

57. Sadly...

Your story is not an isolated one: We have a distant family member, now nearly 60, who still tells stories that her father:

1.) beat her with a 2x4 board,
2.) beat her mother with a 2x4 board every night,
3.) beat her brother with a 2x4 board and broke his arm,
4.) molested her and her sisters in front of her mother,

The sad truth of the matter is that her mom, her two sisters and her brother have no idea why she not only continues telling the lies, but that she fabricates them to include them as well.

Because I know them all, including the the one prone to unleashing her shocking stories about her own family, I know how mental illness can cause people to strike out against loved ones with stories and how much hurt those stories cause to the innocent.

I'm sorry that you've suffered from your sister's tales. What is sad also is that anyone that tries to tale another side of a story is immediately accused of attacking a "victim".

Sometimes, the victim is the target of the lies.

If MP's story is true and that the incest went on for ten years as she claims, she should have ample evidence to prove it. John Philips was a drug addict and exposed his daughter to a lot of crap. That is a fact and that is tragic.

If MP wasn't peddling a book and had come forth, she'd have a lot more credibility.

I'm filing this under the "I don't know" file until there's more to this story.

[LibDemAlways]

7. He died in 01 so this is a case of "she said." She's free to say pretty much

whatever she wants since he isn't around to defend himself, and she has a vested interest in selling her book.

[seabeyond]

10. mommy dearest. i was a teen when that came out. i was so angry and appalled

that this woman waited until her mom died to put that book out. dont know what was true, what wasn't true, but i knew it was one sided and so unfair.

so, whenever my mom did anything i would jest...

i am gonna write a mommy dearest book.

[Zomby Woof]

16. At least one part was true

Kirk Douglas recalled when he was set up on a date with Joan Crawford. He arrived at her house, and she took him upstairs to meet her children and say goodnight before leaving on their date.

The children were strapped down tightly to their beds, just like Christina described in her book.

Douglas said he ran out of there as fast as he could.

[closeupready]

62. Some of Joan Crawford's neighbors and friends CONFIRMED Christina's accounts.

From wiki:

Other stars such as Helen Hayes, June Allyson, Bette Davis, and Betty Hutton have verified some of the stories in Christina's book. Hutton had previously lived near Joan Crawford's Brentwood, California, home and has stated that she saw the children during or after various moments of abuse. She would often encourage her own children to play with Christina and Christopher to draw them away from their challenges at home. Crawford's best friend, actress Eve Arden, even sided with Christina about Crawford's abilities of being a parent, saying that Crawford suffered from bipolar disorder; a good woman in many ways but, as an alcoholic with a violent temper, simply unfit to be a mother.

[NashVegas]

22. John Phillips Inappropriateness With His Daughter Was a News Item In the 1990s

IIRC, at the time, it was just about the drugs.

And it's funny how many people are writing nasty things about her for going public with these allegations, particularly the sexual ones, yet remaining completely silent about the part where he introduced his daughter to drugs.

To injected cocaine.

[LibDemAlways]

27. I'm not defending John Phillips. I read his biography Papa John years ago and

he came across as a less than sympathetic character, freely admitting to copious drug use and sexual infidelity.

Nevertheless he's dead and can't defend himself against the incest charges that are only now surfacing when his daughter has a book to sell. It just strikes me that she's trying to make money off allegations that can't be proved or disproved at this point. It's just tawdry.

[NashVegas]

29. Sure, It's Tawdry, But It Sells

And I've no doubt that at least some of the M & P's insiders objecting to this have sales of their own to consider.

John Phillips is dead and can't defend himself? Well, he's just as dead and can't feel pain, either. HE doesn't need defending; his legacy (and the ensuing royalties) is what needs defending.

The charges didn't "just" come up, either. McKenzie was on the record as having started this discussion with her family over 10 years ago.

Most people just don't want to hear about it, don't want to know about it, regardless whether it's true or not.

[JI7]

35. her sisters say she told them about it years ago

and maybe it's easier for her to deal with it now that he is dead.

[mitchum]

41. Yes, I remember him recounting that as a low point...

although, he claimed it was accidental.
Accidental? How does that happen?
"Oh honey, I'm sorry. I thought that was daddy's arm"
???

[Ozymanithrax]

8. Clearly, fame and wealth do not insure happiness or...

make us less screwed up.

It is a sad story.

[elocs]

9. Posted here today just after midnight:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=210x30380

and moved to the entertainment forum.

[FarCenter]

13. Been done before -- see story of Lot and daughters

[Soylent Brice]

21. ZING!

[liberal N proud]

14. I don't know how any father could do that to his daughter

That is a special kind of sick when a parent messes up their kids like that.

[qazplm]

15. assuming it happened

which unless a third party comes along and confirms I will assume didn't.

[pitohui]

17. well by law you can't slander the dead, so might as well profit from them

not saying i believe or disbelieve because i have no idea how high she was or what she thought happened, but since by law you can't slander the dead she is taking no risk even if the story is a complete and ridiculous fiction to get attention

we'll never know, will we, one thing substance abusers do is lie and if they're a faded drama queen in need of more drama, just keep the wild stories coming

i guess it's a living?

[KamaAina]

18. My dearest childhood friend claimed to have been abused by her dad

I called BS. I had slept in their guest room many a night. I am a light sleeper, and if I had thought that Christine was in any danger whatsoever, well, "You won't like me when I'm mad!"

Later she realized that she had indeed been abused -- but by an adult male friend of the family. Alas, that alone wasn't enough to keep her from spiraling into heroin addiction and ultimately dying in a jail cell in her grandma's home town in Pa. :cry:

Perhaps Mackenzie, too, is projecting abuse by someone else onto her dad?

[pitohui]

20. she's claiming this was "consensual," i'm pretty much thinking it's total confabulation

druggies lie, it's what they do, and how else is she going to earn?

claiming an ongoing affair w. one's dad to grab attention is fairly trashy, though, eek!!!

on the other hand there is prob. nothing useful this woman can do to earn a living, so i guess what choice does she have to get creative

fake memoires are big money these days

[Forkboy]

23. Way to trash a female victim of incest.

If anyone else did it you'd shit your pants trying to type out a deranged response fast enough.

Got hypocrisy much?

[JVS]

24. Yeah WTF? Is this some kind of boomer thing, where raping is wrong unless you're a rock star?

[earth mom]

32. Who the hell would want to be known for such a horrific thing?!

:wtf:

Mackenzie obviously confessed so she could purge it from her system.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

34. Somebody hoping to make cash?

This is a sales pitch for her book.

[earth mom]

36. Some people will do anything for money. But I don't that is true in this situation. nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

38. Just a coincidence she's launching a book tour?

Uh huh.

[earth mom]

39. Everyone that writes a book goes on a book tour. It's part of the contract. nt

[wordpix]

63. also stated she hopes her story will help other girls. Says she's hearing from lots of victims

John Phillips was a musical hero of mine but great music does not make a great man, or daddy.

[wordpix]

60. how do you know these are "fake memoires [sic]?" Were you there?

[JI7]

31. I kind of hoped she was lying about this

and i leaned towards that yesterday. but today i found out her sisters believe her and both Chynna and Bijou say she told them years ago about this.

so it's not something that just came out of nowhere in an attempt to sell a book as it seemed just a day ago.

[David Zephyr]

37. I have no idea where the truth is in this story.

Having watched Mackenzie's attention-seeking antics for years played out in public, long before she claims that John Philips came on to her, it's very difficult for me to believe anything she says now. That's the sad part in this entire tale. She's always sought attention through outrageous behavior and comments, just as LaToya Jackson has.

Having said that, John Philips, as one DU'er above noted, did introduce her to drugs and a lousy lifestyle, also long before this alleged incest took place, so he is no saint either.

Mackenzie Philips was a proven liar and attention seeker long before the date of her claim of incest began.

It will forever be a mystery unless she can corroborate with evidence her claim. Ten years of sexual activity with a father who is that famous: there should be evidence.

Sad story all around.

[JSK]

51. Her "attention-seeking antics"

make perfect sense now. It has always been clear that the girl was seriously messed-up. I do not doubt her story.

[lib2DaBone]

40. Ya.. this is all made up to sell books and get on the TV Talk shows

[scarletwoman]

42. My own 6 degrees of separation from John Phillips - why I'm inclined to believe Mackenzie's story.

Okay, my droogies, here's the deal. I was far into the drug scene back in the early 70s. I was living in Venice Beach CA, hanging out with serious cocaine dealers -- I even did a turn as a mule, bringing in coke from Bogota, Colombia in 1970. It was a wild time in wild place.

Anyway, these guys had connections that went in all directions, including segments of the L.A. movie and music scenes, and their clientele included big shot money guys, lawyers and corporate suits -- all interconnected with the Hollywood drug scene of those days.

I even got to be an extra in a bar scene for a movie that some friend of one of the lawyer friends of my coke dealer friends was shooting, in which John Phillips was one of the "stars". The movie never actually got off the ground -- it was obvious that no one actually had their shit together to see this project to fruition -- but it was really quite fascinating to watch these people throw wads of money (and drugs) around on such a disorganized endeavor.

The thing is, I overheard one of the strangest conversations one day, between a couple of the coke dealer guys. They were talking about fucking their daughters. Seriously. Like it was a perfectly normal thing to do. One guy, who had a young teenage daughter, was talking about how he intended to "turn her out" when she turned 16. He seriously considered it his role as her father to give her her first sexual experience so that she'd get started "right". His pal (who had a then two-year-old daughter) expressed total agreement, and said that he would do the same thing when his daughter came of age.

So, this Mackenzie Pillips thing has brought me back to that long ago conversation between those guys who were connected to those other guys who were connected to John Phillips, and all of them part of this weird drug culture/movie/music biz confluence in L.A. of the early 70s. And I can't help but wonder if that sense of "normalcy" about fathers fucking their daughters was maybe a widespread "thing" in that crowd in those days. Which would make Mackenzie's assertions in no way out of the bounds of possibility, imho.

And in case anyone wonders, I left it all behind and moved back to Minnesota shortly afterward and never did cocaine again.

sw

[RagAss]

43. A widespread thing?... No.

[scarletwoman]

45. Please note that I included a qualifier in my query -- widespread "in that crowd". (nt)

[RagAss]

54. Gotcha...I missed that.

[astral]

46. Incestual sexual abuse is extremely widespread.

[wordpix]

61. not to mention, poor people in other countries give their young daughters up to prostitution

to make $ for the family. Maybe here, too.

[RagAss]

44. dupe

[Poll_Blind]

49. I started to type up a recollection of mine and decided not to. But I believe yours.

It wasn't nearly as juicy or as freaky as your story. But there's some weird shit that goes on. As a parent, it especially freaks me out that the world I have discovered exists, is...a very concerning one sometimes.

Thanks for sharing that. I think people who haven't seen the rougher edge (and that includes me, ultimately) really don't grasp how far down the rabbit hole certain things in our society go.

PB

[scarletwoman]

52. Thank you. Yeah, you got it -- there's some weird shit that goes on, indeed.

I wasn't sure I wanted to post anything about that time in my life -- even the very dry edited summary I ended up writing -- because that journey into extreme weirdness is still hard to look back on. I will always feel amazed and grateful that I survived with my soul and spirit intact.

I think that people who've never found themselves sucked into one of the dark places that human behavior is capable of have a hard time understanding how the process of "normalizing" the extremely abnormal works. There's a great seduction and thrill in breaching boundaries, and once those boundaries have been cast aside, behavior that would ordinarily inspire horror and loathing becomes easily rationalized and accepted.

When there are no limits, well... then there are no limits. No place to draw the line, because you've already rejected the entire concept of lines.

Anyway, having witnessed what passed for "normal" in that L.A. milieu that John Pillips was part of, I just wanted to speak up in defense of Mackenzie, because I don't think her story is farfetched at all.

sw

[closeupready]

64. I guess this is a function of age, that I don't find your story at all unbelievable.

In fact, I believe every word. I am probably older than the median poster here, and I recall an era when the New York of 'Taxi Driver' was just how things really were, and people consumed narcotics rather openly (coke lines on top of bars). The 60's and 70's were very open but in other ways, depraved.

[scarletwoman]

65. Could be. I'll be 60 in November. I spent my late teens & early 20s in the thick of the drug culture

As much as I loved the freedom and wild exhilaration of those days, depravity was always just a short step away. Lots of people took that short step.

sw

[Odin2005]

47. That's messed up!

Some "dad", what a scumbag! :(

[greenbriar]

48. this girl is

one messed up chick

[winstars]

50. My 2 cents...

The Jeff Sessler mentioned in the story was a good friend of mine. He passed away 4 years ago. I knew him during his post-MP years. When I asked, he never would say a bad word about her (MP), and would NOT despite many offers from the scum media that we live with and watch everyday. Anyone with a brain knows that MP and ANYONE with her at that time were serious drug addicts. I think we knew that already. This new info is indeed very new if true... I am glad that my friend is not alive today to read the above as this 'story' has been breaking, I was also pleasantly amused that my friend's name was 'lost in the sauce' in all 'the reporting'.... I ONLY bring this up to My DU sisters and brothers so that WE can know a little more info on a story that we maybe we only read about here on DU!!!


I'M FIRED UP AND READY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Le Taz Hot]

59. The daughter of the late Denny Dougherty

confirms that Denny knew about the inappropriate relationship between father and daughter. That's now two sisters and the daughter of a close friend who knew about it and who have come forward.

And, Michelle Phillips? Could I remind everyone that the late-20-something John Phillips was boinking Michelle when she was only 16? And this while he was still married to MacKenzie's mother. This is a man who TAUGHT his daughter how to shoot up cocaine. Bijou was born addicted to methamphetamines. We're not exactly talking father of the year here and most of that time he was stoned out of his mind. Given all that, are these claims within the realm of possibility? Yep, I'd say so.

[scarletwoman]

66. Thank you. I don't doubt her story at all,

for the reasons I outlined in my post #42 above.

sw