Mackenzie Phillips is revealing some of the debauchery that she claims went on behind-the-scenes with Valerie Bertinelli on their family-friendly sitcom One Day at a Time.
Showbiz
Mackenzie Phillips: Cocaine and Wine Lunches with Bertinelli
Mackenzie Phillips is revealing some of the debauchery that she claims went on behind-the-scenes with Valerie Bertinelli on their family-friendly sitcom One Day...
Advertisement
The pair played sisters Julie Cooper and Barbara Cooper on the series from 1975 to 1984, but Phillips struggled with
Now Phillips, 66, is recalling how they would unwind from the set at her home with wine and cocaine.
'So this might surprise you that during lunch break, Valerie and I would drive to my house, get in the pool, drink wine, and snort coke,' she told Fox News Digital at the Chiller Theatre Expo in Parsippany, .
Advertisement
She added what she was sharing was nothing new and stressed she was the one struggling with addiction, not Bertinelli, 66.
'But Valerie talks about it openly, so it’s not like I’m pulling her covers or anything,' she said. 'The thing was that I was the, you know, Valerie didn’t have the kind of addiction that I had, she didn’t have addiction.'
Mackenzie Phillips is recalling the wild memories she had on the set of One Day At A Time with Valerie Bertinelli
The pair played sisters in the hit sitcom One Day At A Time
Advertisement
'And you know, so we would do coke together in the dressing room and stuff,' she said. 'I just happened to be the one that got caught. And thank God I got caught, you know?'
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Bertinelli for comment but have not yet heard back.
Phillips said she and Mackenzie would enjoy lunch breaks paired with wine and cocaine
Phillips said her father taught her to roll joints at 10 and she tried cocaine for the first time at 11.
Her life began to spiral out of control because of her substance abuse, and she has previously spoken out about how she and her father, John, would do drugs together.
In her 2009 memoir, High On Arrival, Mackenzie alleged that she and John had a 10-year incestuous relationship, a bombshell claim that not only rocked the public — but divided her family.
During her interview with Chynna, she also reflected on when she was fired from One Day At A Time.
'My addiction was so powerful and so out of control that when I was fired for the second time from the show for drug use, I thought, "Ah screw them, you know, I'll get my next job in a minute," that did not happen. And I became basically unhirable for a long, long time,' Mackenzie said.
Phillips' career was brought down by drug use — as a result she was fired twice from One Day At A Time
'Once I got sober for the first time I realized that I had to put my pride in my back pocket and not go, "Well I was on the biggest TV show all time," because there were many like me who refused to audition and I just said you know what I'm putting that behind me, and I went out and I pounded the pavement and I auditioned against a bunch of other young women and I started booking gigs and I started booking jobs.
'I was sort of in episodic hell for a long time and then the Disney Channel show [So Weird] came along... it was a great show, it was so much fun.'
She appeared in 65 episodes of So Weird from 1999 to 2001, but didn't land another major role again until Orange Is The New Black (2018) and the One Day At A Time reboot (2017-2020).
In 2008, Phillips pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine after she was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport earlier that year.
It was alleged she was carrying drugs packaged in balloons and plastic bags, Reuters reported.
Both Phillips and Bertinelli, pictured 2007, have been open about this period of their lives
As part of her plea, Phillips agreed to complete an 18-month drug treatment program, according to Fox News.
Now Phillips has turned her life around and uses her own past struggles to help those battling addiction.
Mackenzie has since become an addiction counselor at the LA treatment facility Breathe Life Healing Centers.
'My addiction was so powerful, and so rooted in early trauma, that I lost myself for many years. Now, with a strong recovery I’m committed to helping others find their voice at Breathe Life Healing Centers,' she says on their website.
Advertisement
Advertisement