Disturbing revelations about John and Mackenzie

[MPsForever]

Apparently she's on Oprah tomorrow to talk about it all....

[KimL]

I just watched her on Oprah... wow. I don't really have any words right now, but will say that watching the show was a very emotional and poignant experience for me.

Kim

[Dark Horse 77]

I saw this and don't buy it. To me, it seems she's down on her luck since the latest drug bust, and will do anything to sell her book. Genevieve Waite issued a statement doubting it as well. My two cents.

[KimL]

Just to share, there are several articles online about this... Michelle apparently doesn't believe it, stating that Mackenzie has "a lot of mental illnesses." However, Chynna does. I'll find and post links if interested.

Kim

[Owen Elliot-Kugell]

READ THE BOOK AND BE YOUR OWN JUDGE.

[Ars_Nova_Chris]

Mackenzie Phillips' Family Split Over Star's Incest Claims

By JOYCE ENG
TV GUIDE

Mackenzie Phillips' family members are split over the veracity of her claims that she and her father, the late John Phillips, had an incestuous relationship.

"I knew it was true," Mackenzie's half-sister Chynna Phillips told Us Weekly. "I mean, who in their right mind would make such a claim if it wasn't true?"

"They were both doing drugs together. 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 said. "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."

News: Mackenzie Phillips says father, Mamas and the Papas' John Phillips, raped her

Michelle Phillips, John's second wife and Chynna's mother, says she has "every reason to believe [Mackenzie's account is] untrue."

"She told me, then she called me back and said, 'You know I'm joking,'" Michelle Phillips told The Hollywood Reporter, adding that Mackenzie told her entire family in 1997. "I said it wasn't funny. Mackenzie said, 'I guess we have different senses of humor.'"

Michelle acknowledges that John was a bad parent and a drug addict. "But f--- his daughter? If she thinks it's true, why isn't she with a good psychiatrist on a couch? I think it's unconscionable that Oprah would let her do her show," she said, referring to Mackenzie's Wednesday sit-down with the talk show host.

VIDEO: John Phillips sings "California Dreamin'"

Mackenzie has "a lot of mental illness," Michelle said, adding that she believes the actress timed the release of her book to steal thunder away from Chynna's new album. "Mackenzie is jealous of her siblings, who have accomplished a lot and did not become drug addicts."

"I am stunned by Mackenzie's terrible allegations about her father," Genevieve Waite Phillips, John's third wife, said in a statement. "I would often complain to John about her overly familiar attitude towards him, and he would tell me that that was just her way. John was a good man who had the disease of alcoholism and drug addiction. He was incapable, no matter how drunk or drugged he was, of having such a relationship with his own child."

Tamerlane Phillips, John and Genevieve's son, did not say if he believes the actress' claims or not, but noted his family's troubled history.

"My family is and always will be a decrepit bowl of dog urine compared to Nityananda of Ganeshpuri," Tamerlane told the New York Post. "That is how great Nityananda is." The Indian yogi died in 1961. "Worship Nityananda, not the Phillips family. Nityananda can protect you."

VIDEO: Phillips tells Oprah that John shot her up with heroin for the first time

In her new memoir, High on Arrival, Mackenzie details an incestuous affair between her and John, who fronted the 1960s group The Mamas and the Papas. Mackenzie says in Arrival that she first remembered having sex with her father on the eve of her wedding to Jeff Sessler when she was 19. She says she passed out from doing drugs and woke up to find John having sex with her.

Mackenzie Phillips, 49, was born to John Phillips and his first wife, Susan Adams, in 1959. Mackenzie has a brother, Jeffrey, and three half-siblings: Chynna Phillips, John's daughter with Michelle Phillips; and model-actress Bijou Phillips and half-brother Tamerlane, whose mother is Genevieve Waite.

[oldschooljamz87]

I'm not sure what to believe about that particular situation. I do hope that Mackenzie will be able to heal from all her issues.

[davidasix]

Hi all,

I saw this news at the airport. What a mess!

I need to throw in my two cents. If John Phillips had sex with a drug-addled woman, it is sexual assault, no matter who it was. That must be condemned when proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Unfortunately, with John dead, there is no way he can defend himself and his reputation.

That said, John was certainly a terribly flawed man, as he admitted in his autobiography. I could hardly get past the abortion issue with his first wife. The infidelities, drug abuse, child neglect/endangerment, and alcohol abuse made it worse.

In the end, though, everything John admitted to and all the unprovable allegations will not affect my interest in John's music for the simple reason that he is dead. All his royalties presumably goes to his widow and/or children. Perhaps MacKenzie might even get a slice to get the help she needs.

Dave

[jcg]

Wow, what a tragic mess.
I've had to sit myself down, metaphorically speaking, and re-teach myself the seperation between artist and art. My personal opinion of John Phillips has taken a nosedive in the last few years. I read his autobiography a few years back and remember almost having to bathe after reading some of it. He definitely put the 'he' in hedonist! He is also a human being, and all of us screw up perpetually.
I am no one's judge and am not going to allow this admittedly decadent chum to draw me into a feeding frenzy of judgement and condemnation. To say that there were issues in the Phillips clan is window-dressing it in satins. I truely wish the best, spiritually and medically, to Mackenzie and healing to them all. I also am not going to let this color what was a substantial soundtrack to my life and times. The music of TM's&TP's, and especially our beloved Cass, is part of my Id at this point. I'll continue to be moved by the music and leave the judgements to God.
Love and peace,
JC

[Midnight Voyager]

Well , for now, this "revelation" casts a big cloud on the John Phillips legacy. I watched the entire Oprah interview, completely stunned and conflicted. Mackenzie certainly seemed genuine with her pain and the story she told. I can understand how this could have possibly happened, given the situation (a long history of heavy drug use and a myriad of other mental/social issues).

If this indeed happened, I can reconcile that it doesn't diminish my enjoyment and respect for his music. Unfortunately, the truth will forever be up for grabs now that Mackenzie has so suddenly thrown this out there. John is not here to defend himself, and his reputation will forever be tinged.

What is truly suspect is the fact the she finally makes these claims -- all these years later -- only when she has a product to sell. I don't think that anyone who has had prolonged mental and drug issues can not be credible, but the jury is out on this one. I'll read her book, but her motivations and my suspicions will always be there.