Actress Mackenzie Phillips opens up about alleged 10-year incestuous relationship with her father
Warning: This article contains discussion of rape which some readers may find distressing.
Actor Mackenzie Phillips has claimed her father John, the lead singer of 60s band The Mamas & The Papas, assaulted her over a 10-year period.
She claims their incestuous relationship eventually became 'consensual' after he trapped her in a form of 'Stockholm syndrome'.
When Phillips died at the age of 65 in 2001, nobody could have been prepared for the news that was to come out a few years later.
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Known for their drug-fuelled bust ups, The Mamas & The Papas were notorious, and so was John for his antics when under the influence.
However, drugs and alcohol were allegedly not his only crime.
One Day at a Time actress Mackenzie Phillips, daughter of the frontman and Susan Adams, spoke out about something which shocked the music industry and everyone who knew them.
In 2009, she released her book, titled High on Arrival in which she alleged an incestuous relationship with her dad, that lasted ten years.
While her stepmother Michelle Phillips claimed she was lying, her sister Chynna has stood by her.
In an interview for Chynna’s YouTube channel, Mackenzie revealed the alleged abuse she faced at the hands of her father and why she considers it ‘consensual’.
In an interview with People, explained how it all began in the late 70s after a drug-fuelled party.
“I had tons of pills, and dad had tons of everything too. Eventually, I passed out on dad’s bed,” she claimed.
She went on the add that when she woke up, she was being raped by her own dad.
She said: “Had this happened before? I didn’t know. All I can say is it was the first time I was aware of it.”
When she appeared on Oprah years later after her book came out, she said that it progressed: "Fast-forward...and it's 1981, maybe, and we're touring and I begin waking up after drug-fuelled events with my pants around my ankles and my father sleeping beside me."
She added that she had to forget about it: "Again, 'Don't think, don't look, just keep going.'"
Mackenzie added: "It didn't happen every day, it didn't happen every week, but it certainly happened and it happened enough times."
After the initial assault, she claimed that she began a consensual sexual relationship with her father.
She said: "It's sort of the Stockholm Syndrome, where you begin to love your captor. And I felt great love for my father."
It only ended after she became pregnant and she couldn’t be sure of who the father was.
In their YouTube video, Chynna told her sister: “When I stood by you, I meant it with all my heart.
“And I believed you and I want you to know that I was proud of you for coming out, even though it was painful for everybody.”
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
Topics: Music, Weird, Sex and Relationships, US News
Britt Jones