February 02, 2010
Candid Confessions
Actress Mackenzie Phillips talked about her sexual relationship with her father in her memoir "High on Arrival," but now the former child star wants the public to know the relationship was not consensual.
See other shocking moments from 2009
In an interview on "The Joy Behar Show," Phillips said, "I'd like to reframe my word consensual."
She continued, "As I was writing the book, I thought, this word, it kept sitting wrong with me. But I used it for lack of a better word. Since then, I've been schooled by thousands of incest survivors all across the world that there really is no such thing as consensual incest due to the inherent power a parent has over a child. So, I wouldn't necessarily call it a consensual relationship at this time."
See 15 facts about Mackenzie that you never knew
Phillips appeared on the show with Dr. Drew Pinsky to talk about their VH1 show, "Celebrity Rehab." Dr. Drew said incest cannot be consensual.
"The child is trying to make sense of this situation she feels as though the only she can survive it is by saying, 'I'm creating it, I have some power in this, I'm consenting to it,'" Dr. Drew explained. "When the fact is, the kind of relationship a parent has with a child makes consent actually impossible."
In "High on Arrival," Phillips wrote about having sex with her father, John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas -- including on the eve of her wedding. The secret relationship continued for 10 years.
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September 25, 2009
The Extra List
Mackenzie Phillips' best friend released a statement to "Extra" on Friday, backing-up Mackenzie's claim of an incestuous relationship with her father, John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas.
Owen Elliot, 42, is the daughter of Mama Cass Elliot of the The Mamas & the Papas. She tells "Extra," "Mackenzie is my best friend. She speaks her truth, and it's not a pretty truth. She has lived with this for 30+ years, and talking about this now is an important part of her recovery. I am very proud of her. Her bravery in telling her story is bound to help others."
September 25, 2009
The Extra List
Singer and actress Michelle Phillips, 65, says she's "so embarrassed -- and mad" about stepdaughter Mackenzie's recent revelations about incest with her father, John Phillips -- who was married to Michelle for eight years in the 1960s.
Sheila Weller interviewed Michelle for Vanity Fair two years ago, and called her for comment on the Mackenzie story. Michelle said she was also mad "At Oprah, at the publisher, and at Mackenzie, who should be on a psychiatrist's couch, not on TV."
In her new book, "High on Arrival," 49-year-old Mackenzie claims that she began an incestuous relationship with her father at age 19, which went on for ten years.
When asked if she thought the story was true, Michelle replied, "Is this all true? We'll never know, because she waited until John was dead," and voiced her concern about how the news will affect other members of the family, adding, "If you're going to make these accusations and they don't hurt anyone living, that's one thing. But Mackenzie has affected the lives of all her nieces and nephews, who are not going to school today and are staying home sobbing instead."
Weller also reports that an unnamed member of the "inner circle of the original Mamas and Papas" e-mailed her, saying, "If I could pull John out of his crypt and beat the crap out of him I would. What a tragic, disgusting, and disturbing piece of news."
High on Arrival is the #4 bestseller on Amazon today.
September 24, 2009
Poll Vault
September 23, 2009
On the Mend
Dr. Drew Pinsky tells "Extra" the topic of Mackenzie Phillips' incestuous relationship with her father came up while shooting the upcoming season of VH1's "Celebrity Rehab." The addiction specialist breaks down the relationship between the 1960's rock star and his troubled daughter.
Dr. Pinsky says he and Phillips talked privately about the relationship, but out of respect for her family, she told him she didn't want those discussions televised.
"What's unusual about Mackenzie's case is there's a romantic quality to the relationship," Pinsky explains. He says her father assumed the role of "almost a cult leader where he was sort of using mind control over people and telling them that his way of seeing things was the right way," adding, "When you're a kid, you have no other way of seeing things and if you're then given drugs and addicted at the same time, it's hopeless for the young person."
Phillips declared on "Oprah" that she loved her father very much. Dr. Drew says, "She's been sober long enough that she can really reflect upon the fact that these were real feelings. This was somebody she really cares about and this was despicable situation."
Pinsky says incestuous relationships are more common than anyone can know, and there's an epidemic of childhood sexual abuse in America.
Season three of "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" is slated to premiere in early 2010.
September 22, 2009
The Extra List
Former child star Mackenzie Phillips has publicly dealt with drug addiction, arrests and divorce, but the actress' memoir "High On Arrival" reveals she engaged in an incestuous relationship with her father, John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas.
People reports in the book Phillips recalls the time she had sex with her father on the eve of her wedding to Jeff Sessler. She was 19 and already abusing drugs.
"My father showed up, determined to stop [the wedding,]" Phillips writes. "I had tons of pills, and Dad had tons of everything too. Eventually I passed out on Dad's bed."
"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," she explains.
"Had this happened before? I didn't know. All I can say is it was the first time I was aware of it. For a moment I was in my body, in that horrible truth, and then I slid back into a blackout," Phillips adds.
The sexual relationship eventually became consensual. "One night Dad said, 'We could just run away to a country where no one would look down on us. There are countries where this is an accepted practice. Maybe Fiji.'
"He was completely delusional. No, I thought, we're going to hell for this."
Phillips' sister Chynna tells Us Weekly magazine she found out about the relationship after it had ended. "After long nights of heroin use, she's claiming that she once woke up and that my father was on top of her having sex with her," Chynna tells the magazine. "Was he actually raping her? I don't know. Do I believe that they had an incestuous relationship and that it went on for 10 years? Yes."
Mackenzie's stepmother Michelle Phillips, another member of the Mamas and the Papas and mother to Chynna, issued a statement saying "Mackenzie's drug addiction for 35 years has been the result of many unpleasant experiences. Whether her relationship with her father is delusional or not, it is an unfortunate circumstance and very hurtful for our entire family."
"High on Arrival" arrives in stores September 23.
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