Warning: This article contains information that some readers may find distressing or upsetting.
Mackenzie Phillips has revealed the trolling she has received after speaking publicly about her alleged 10-year incestuous relationship with her own father.
The actress, 64, is best known for starring in several TV shows including Orange Is The New Black and One Day At A Time, as well as movies including American Graffiti.
Mackenzie is also the daughter of The Mamas & The Papas frontman John Phillips, the band which brought out hits including 'California Dreamin'' and 'Monday, Monday,' whom she claimed to have had a complicated relationship with.
The actress recently opened up about the pair's relationship - in which she claimed that her father raped her before they entered into a 10-year incestuous relationship - as well as the trolling she had received for speaking out about what had allegedly gone on.
Mackenzie had first discussed the situation in 2009 in her memoir, High On Arrival, claiming that she and her father had taken drugs together on the eve of her wedding to Jeff Sessler in 1979, after he arrived "determined to stop" the nuptials. She was just 19 years old at the time and was struggling with substance abuse.
She claimed, via People: "I had tons of pills, and Dad had tons of everything too. Eventually, I passed out on Dad’s bed." She then claimed that when she woke up, she was being raped by her father.
"Had this happened before? I didn’t know. All I can say is it was the first time I was aware of it," she said at the time.
Mackenzie claimed that after the incident, she and her father had entered into a 10-year incestuous relationship, which she later described as "consensual" in a subsequent interview with Oprah Winfrey, believing it was a "sort of Stockholm syndrome".
Their relationship ended when Mackenzie found out she was pregnant and was not sure who the father was, deciding to have an abortion to end the pregnancy.
Mackenzie appeared on her sister Chynna's YouTube channel this week to share a sit-down conversation with her sibling, who is best known as one-third of the pop group Wilson Phillips, and revealed that she had been brutally trolled for "having forgiveness in her heart" toward her father, though she clarified that her forgiveness did not mean she agreed with his abusive actions.
Chynna described their father as one of her "favorite individuals in the whole wide world" and an "amazing songwriter" - to which, Mackenzie added that he was a "genius" in his field, though said he had a "very dark side" as well.
"I loved his laugh. Yet there was this whole other side to Dad that was kind of, like, monster," Chynna then added.
Mackenzie agreed, adding: "He was so dark, and you just didn't know who you were going to get... it was very unpredictable."
The pair then discussed how Chynna supported Mackenzie after she went public about her alleged relationship with their father, who died in 2001.
"When I stood by you, I meant it with all my heart," Chynna said. "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."
Mackenzie admitted: "Dad was something else. And I get a lot of criticism and a lot of trolling online for having forgiveness in my heart.
"Forgiving is for me, not the other person. And forgiving doesn't mean that I co-sign or agree with what I'm forgiving you for, or him for. It's very complicated. It's very, very complicated. And yet, I am at peace."
The actress then added that it took a "long time" before their family could come "back together" after she shared the bombshell news publicly.
If you or someone you know is battling addiction, please reach out for help and contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357) or go to https://findtreatment.gov/
Additionally, if you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or rainn.org in the US, or contact rapecrisis.org.uk or call 0808 500 2222 in the UK.