The Mamas & the Papas were the soundtrack of an era, with hits like California Dreamin’ and Monday, Monday that you probably still hear in grocery stores or cool, retro coffee shops. Behind those feel-good harmonies though, there was some seriously dark stuff going on, especially with John Phillips and his daughter Mackenzie.
John Phillips was the mastermind behind the Mamas and the Papas. He wrote most of their songs, played guitar, and was the unofficial leader of the whole hippie-dippy outfit. His daughter Mackenzie had a bit part in the movie American Graffiti as a teenager before landing her big break on the sitcom One Day at a Time.
Mackenzie’s mom was Susan Adams, John’s first wife and personal secretary of Robert McNamara, the former United States Secretary of Defense. However, Susan and John split when Mackenzie was pretty young, and Mackenzie bounced between her parents as they both pursued their own thing – Susan with her jet-setting lifestyle and John with his music career and string of wives (he was married four times!)
Despite her showbiz success, Mackenzie had a tough upbringing in many ways. She started using drugs as a teenager and her addiction quickly spiraled out of control and derailed her acting career. Mackenzie has been open about her struggles with substance abuse, saying she first tried cocaine when she was just 11 years old after her father gave it to her.
Can you imagine? Eleven years old and your dad is introducing you to hard drugs. As her drug use escalated, Mackenzie’s professional life suffered. In 1977, she was arrested for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. Subsequently, she was fired from her starring role on the hit sitcom One Day at a Time because her addiction made her so unreliable on set. But here’s where things take an even darker turn: in her 2009 memoir High on Arrival, Mackenzie revealed that she had a consensual sexual relationship with her father John that began when she was 19 years old.
I woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my own father. I don’t remember how it started or, thankfully, how it ended. Was it the first time? Had this happened before? I didn’t know, and I still don’t. All I can say is that it was the first time I was aware of it.
Mackenzie Phillips wrote in her memoir
She claims that she was on a drug binge with her father when he initiated the first encounter. It later became consensual as she developed a complicated and distorted bond with him. And she says the relationship continued for nearly a decade!
It didn’t happen every day, it didn’t happen every week, but it certainly happened many times.
Mackenzie Phillips told Oprah in an interview
The release of Mackenzie’s book sent shockwaves through the entertainment community and the public. While some expressed skepticism and disbelief, others voiced support for Mackenzie’s bravery in coming forward. Of course, some people might argue that Mackenzie’s allegations could be the result of false memories or drug-induced delusions.
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.
John’s third wife Genevieve Waite publicly stated
You should take with a grain of salt anything that’s said by a person who has had a needle stuck in their arm for 35 years. The whole story is disgusting.
John’s second wife Michelle strongly countered the allegations
Other than his wives refuting the claims, Mackenzie’s half-sister, Chynna Phillips, has, however, come forward to support her claims. Chynna even stated that she believed Mackenzie was telling the truth because the latter told her about it long before she publicly exposed her dad.
Somebody could have dropped a piano on my head and I probably wouldn’t have felt it. But I knew it was true. I mean, who in their right mind would make such a claim if it wasn’t true?
Chynna Phillips claimed
In the end, I guess we’ll never really know the full truth about what happened between John and Mackenzie Phillips. John passed away in 2001, taking his side of the story with him. I gotta say, there’s no reason not to believe her as coming forward about something so horrific and taboo takes strength, especially accusing a famous, beloved figure like John Phillips.
