Tony Alamo cult survivor on Dr. Phil

[justins5256]

Did anyone catch this last Thursday? Phil interviewed a woman who escaped Alamo's cult. We Tivo'd it and I'm watching it now.

[crystaldawn]

Originally Posted by justins5256

Did anyone catch this last Thursday? Phil interviewed a woman who escaped Alamo's cult. We Tivo'd it and I'm watching it now.

No I didn't know anything about it. Did she say anything interesting?

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by crystaldawn

No I didn't know anything about it. Did she say anything interesting?

I just finished watching it, and it wasn't all that interesting past the first half hour or so. The woman and her husband and children were a part of Alamo's cult in the eighties. Then she got a divorce and was awarded full custody of their kids and left the cult with seven of the kids (I think she 11 kids in total). The husband somehow ended up with four of them even though she technically had custody. Of course, the cult moved locations, and the existing compound is surrounded by armed guards, so she can't go back in alone. She went to Phil for help in finding her husband and the four that were presumably still living on the Alamo compound in Fouke, Arkansas. Phil hired a PI to infiltrate the compound and he did locate the kids. On the show, Phil asked the woman some hard questions about how she was as a mother, how she would take care of the kids, how she would be able to support them financially etc.

Fast forward to some point later on (I guess they taped this in two parts) and the seven kids she did have were taken by the state due to allegations of neglect and abuse. So now she has no kids. To say this woman has major issues would be an understatement. Phil put a camera in her house and caught her yelling, cursing and getting into physical altercations with the kids she did have.

Interestingly enough, they didn't mention Alamo's past brushes with the law. They did interview a couple of girls who said Alamo really paid a lot of attention to the young children, specifically the teenage girls, in the cult. Although they did not out and out accuse him of sexual abuse, it really sounds like that is what they were implying.

I saved it. Let me know if you want a copy.