Warning: This article discusses topics of rape which may be upsetting to some readers.
Actress Mackenzie Phillips, known for her role in So Weird, has shared her reasons for forgiving her father for allegedly initiating a decade-long incestuous relationship with her.
Phillips, also recognized for her performances in American Graffiti and One Day at a Time, has delved into her complex relationship with her father, John Phillips, in a new book. She had previously accused him of raping her when she was 19 years old.
In her first book, High on Arrival, Phillips revealed that the alleged incestuous relationship began after her marriage to Jeff Sessler, describing the initial assault. She claimed that the sexual interactions eventually became consensual and ended when she became pregnant and had an abortion.
Her new book, Hopeful Healing: Essays on Managing Recovery and Surviving Addiction, provides further insight into these experiences.
John Phillips, who passed away in 2001, was a member of the 60s group The Mamas & the Papas.
In a 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Phillips expressed that she doesn’t ‘hate’ her father, acknowledging him as a ‘very tortured man’.
“He sort of passed that torture down to me,” she commented during the interview.
She now elaborates on her path to forgiving her father and the factors she considered in this process.
According to People, Phillips wrote in her book: “Do I think that my father held me in his arms when I was a baby and thought, ‘I’m going to abuse my daughter some day?’ No. I think that a toxic combination of chance and circumstance and drugs and alcohol morphed into something dark and ugly.”
Phillips discussed her father on her sister Chynna Phillips Baldwin’s YouTube channel, describing him as ‘something else’.
She stated: “I get a lot of criticism, and a lot of trolling online, for having forgiveness in my heart. Forgiveness, because forgiving is for me, not for the other person. And forgiving doesn’t mean I cosign or agree with what I’m forgiving him for. It’s very complicated and yet I am at peace.”
Chynna commented on the complexities of their father, saying: “Obviously he’s an amazing songwriter and, you know I loved his laugh, and yet there was this whole other side to Dad that was, I mean, kind of, like a monster.”
If you or someone you know has been affected by the issues discussed in this article, support is available through The National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673), accessible 24/7. Online chat support is also available via online.rainn.org