Tina Dupuy on Her Childhood

Tina Dupuy talks about her traumatic childhood with progressive talk show host Sam Seder. Dupuy's parents were members of the Children of God cult. Dupuy tells Seder that when she was a child that her mother used her as a prop. Dupuy's mother had Dupuy by her side to help sell Children of God pamphlets on the streets on Manhattan. Her parents exposed to alcohol and drugs at a young age. Dupuy was later placed in foster care.

Dupuy's parents were highly unloving and made her a ward of the state. Dupuy briefly tried to live with her father and that didn't work out. Nancy Updike of This American Life researched Dupuy's story. The head of the group home told TAL that Dupuy's parent's rarely visited.

Here is the link to Dupuy's appearance on This American Life. The interview made Dupuy highly uncomfortable.

This is so awkward for me to talk about, because I've spent the last 25 years convincing myself that it had nothing to do with that my mommy didn't hug me enough. I don't want anyone to think that I'm blaming my mommy. And I also don't want to feel like I'm ripping on her. Does that make sense?

Dupuy did a one woman show in Los Angeles called "The Cult and the Cyclops." The show is about Dupuy's youth and her parents time in the Children of God cult.

The Daily Caller is attempting to shame Dupuy by saying that the secret is out on Dupuy being a member of the Children of God. Dupuy made a statement of her family's time in Children of God in 2005. The hysterical thing is The Daily Caller thinks they have a scoop.

Dupuy's 2005 statement.

To Whom It May Concern;

Ricky Rodriguez’s recent death has brought on national publicity and the Law and Order episode. People have begun to inquire about the group known as The Children of God or The Family. I realized that I have been ‘outed’ online as a former member.

In order to quash any rumor or speculation, this is what I have to say on the issue:

My parents met in the group. I am a 2nd generation. We lived in 10 countries all over Europe and South America. My parents left when I was 5 years old and we went back to the states. The way I see it - my parents are hippies. If your parents embarrassed you when you were a teenager – I have you beat!

My uncle Rick Dupuy (AKA Watchman) was one of the leaders at one time; he killed himself 10 years ago. I have in my possession the ‘purged’ literature that belonged to him. You think you have a strange uncle – I have you beat!

I have met and talked with many other 2nd generations. I left the group when I was very young. Some things we have in common (i.e. anger, alcohol abuse and the fact that we all bawled uncontrollably when we found out about Ricky). Other things, we don’t have in common. With that being said, I’m not a good spokesperson for the group and don’t desire to be. I feel there are others better qualified.

Since I am a stand up comic, I like to tackle these things on my own terms. I deal with events in my personal life through humor. Everything that I have gone through in my life I use as material, because let’s face it – public figures can’t do stupid things everyday. I did write a one person show called, “The Cult and the Cyclops”. It covers my experience in the COG. Copies of it are available on my website.

I would like to be known for my humor and not for my association with a child abusing, prostitution encouraging – good old fashion Christian cult.

Thank you,

Tina Dupuy

March 29, 2005

Side note: there is an interesting story on how Tina Dupuy became a columnist. This statement by Dupuy is from an an interview she did with the Kentucky Democrat blog in 2005.

It's a great exercise as a writer. A guy wrote on his blog that I wrote better than some columnists. You'd think I'd be flattered. Yet, I immediately thought, "Wow. I'm a loser. I should submit my work to newspapers." So I started doing that. A couple of pieces have gotten published. Which may have not happened if I wasn't obsessively writing a blog almost everyday for two years.

The person who wrote that praise about Dupuy's writing is me.

“But her blog posts are humorous and on target. She writes better than many columnists.” -Michael Hussey in 2005

I am insanely proud that my words helped inspire Dupuy to become the great columnist she is today. Dupuy was even my one time employer during the 2012 Republican National Convention. Dupuy and I were both involved in the Tampa Tribune using our content without payment. The blogosphere can be a wonderful and very small word.