Was Oprah unfair to Mackenzie Phillips?

Mackenzie was handed her book and instructed to read from a certain page, Oprah saying she wanted to get right to it, despite Mackenzie's weak objection that this was not exactly how she saw things going down, but consenting anyway.

What followed was a disturbing display by a victim of unspeakable child abuse who is not yet far enough along in her recovery to completely understand her own story. She asked us not to judge her father harshly because she adored him and understood he had a difficult childhood also. Mackenzie declared that she wanted to become the face of "consensual incest", an oxymoron if ever there was one. She briefly ventured into simple celebrity tell-all with her nearly smug account of being seduced by Mick Jagger when she was 18, virtually with the consent of her nearby father, also her lover. Understandably there is a part of Mackenzie that is still deeply connected to her role as an insider in a musical and cultural revolution the likes of which we may never see again. Come on, who among us can't admit to a little bit of jealousy there, despite the horrors that came with the price of admission. 

There are some stereotypical components to this story. There is no doubt in my mind that Mackenzie is an abuse victim on many levels. She looks like one, she acts like one. She has only been clean and sober for a year so she is taking on a lot with this public disclosure. I hope she has a tremendous support group around her because she will need it. Her family's response is pretty predictable. In her case, not one but two stepmothers are angry and say she is lying. In most of these cases, that is exactly what mothers do. In most cases, it is more hurtful than the abuse itself, but probably not in this case. It was fascinating to watch the media repeatedly condense the family statements, leaving out pieces that were more telling than those more often quoted.