Chynna Phillips Supports Mackenzie on Oprah

Oprah Winfrey devoted the first segment of her September 25, 2009 show as a follow-up to Mackenzie Phillips' explosive revelations of an incestuous relationship with her father, John, which has been the target of much more than simple skepticism. Mackenzie has been called some pretty horrible things, and even been characterized as having "mental illness" by one time step-mother, Michelle Phillips. Mackenzie said this was untrue. She never suffered from mental illness. She also refuted Michelle's statement that she had a needle stuck in her arm for 35 years, when she said that people were forgetting the 15 year period she had stayed straight.

Oprah read a statement from Mackenzie's half sister, Bijou Phillips, whose mother is Genevieve Waite. Bijou said she was devastated by Mackenzie's decision to air the family's dirty laundry and made it plain that her experience being raised by John Phillips was in no way similar. "This news was confusing and also scary, because I'd lived alone with him since I was 3," she said. "[John Phillips] was Mr. Mom, loving and encouraging; the man who raised me would never be capable of such things."

Mackenzie was questioned as to why she left Bijou there, knowing what she knew, but Mackenzie did not feel that Bijou was in danger of molestation, for one thing. For another, there was a time when Mackenzie felt that Bijou was being neglected and she and Mama Cass's daughter, Owen, took Bijou away to Los Angeles. Why the responsiblity to keep Bijou safe would fall upon Mackenzie in the first place was left unexplored.

Michelle's daughter, Chynna appeared on Oprah live to support her sister and to also express her own reactions to the public revelations of a family secret she said she had already known for 12 years. Chynna also made a point of saying that Mackenzie's previous drug addiction was not the same thing as mental illness. Chynna said that she was by no means overjoyed about the situation and didn't think anyone would be, but she understood Mackenzie's need to have this out in the open. Once a member of the 80s rock group, Wilson Phillips (with Beach Boy, Brian Wilson's daughters, Carnie and Wendy), Chynna now sings Christian music with Vaughan Penn. She is married to actor, Billy Baldwin, and is the mother of 3 children.

Oprah also read an email received from Jessica Woods, who is the oldest daughter of The Mamas and The Papas other male singer, Denny Doherty (who, as you may or may not know, had an affair with Michelle Phillips while she was married to John). Jessica told Oprah: "... Tears are running down my face. Everything [Mackenzie] said is true. My dad told me the awful truth" about what John had done to his daughter. Mackenzie acknowledged that she knew Jessica and that there were people (she could count them on both hands) who knew she was telling the truth and could offer corroboration, but she pointed out that her objective was only to tell her own story and not ask anyone to back her up.

Mackenzie has tried her best to make it very clear by this time that she has not done this to villainize her father. She repeatedly points out that he was not a bad person, which was echoed by Chynna, who called him a charismatic, very charming man with a big heart. "You know, sometimes" she said "the worst of the worst can be the most delightful to be around, believe it or not."

She also offered her sister a piece of advice" "Get the Lord on board, 'cause you're gonna need it."

The segment ended with Mackenzie indicating her desire to move forward and try to help other incest survivors. "The outpouring of support for survivors shows me that maybe I can help be a voice," she said.

In my article on the September 23rd show Is There Any Value to Mackenzie Phillips' Tell-All Book, I included some alarming incest statistics. It shows that there certainly are a lot of people who could benefit from learning about Mackenzie's story, and be able to reach out to others either for help or to help.