Officially released by William Morrow and Company on November 10, 1978 (though thousands of copies had already been placed in bookstores in October),[1] the book attracted much controversy for its portrayal of Joan Crawford as a cruel, unbalanced, and alcoholic mother, with Crawford's other twin daughters, household staff, and family friends denouncing it as sensationalized fiction.

The book culminates with Christina learning that she and her brother, Christopher, were intentionally disinherited upon the death of their mother for "reasons which are well known to them."

Among them were Van Johnson, Katharine Hepburn, Cesar Romero, Bob Hope, Barbara Stanwyck, Sydney Guilaroff, Ann Blyth, Gary Gray, and Myrna Loy.

Crawford's other daughters, Cindy and Cathy, have stated many times that they did not witness or experience any of the events described in the book.

"[3][4] Liz Smith, writing in The Baltimore Sun and other newspapers that carried her syndicated column, said, "I was inclined to believe Joan was misguided in her attempts to 'mold' her children—and was vain and self-absorbed like most great stars—but the stories of beatings and near-madness were over the top.

During the interview, Cathy Crawford LaLonde, stated "Christina says Joan was rotten, and I say she was a good person," further going on to say, "I just can't feel for anybody who would do that to their own mother.

"[13] Helen Hayes,[14] June Allyson,[15] and Vincent Sherman[16] stated they had witnessed strict discipline.

Allyson stated in her autobiography that she witnessed Joan put Christina in "time-out", and did not let her go to a friend's birthday party as a punishment.

Lalonde stated neither claim by Christina was true and attached copies of the twin girls' birth certificates and adoption documentation to the lawsuit.

[18] Lawyer Richard Orloski, representing the twins at the time, said, “We proved our point, and her adopted sister should now be careful in the future, knowing she'll be held accountable for her words".

Biographer Fred Laurence Guiles later reported that Christina began writing her book before Crawford's death.

[21] In 2017 Crawford worked with lyricist and composer David Nehls on a stage musical adaptation of Mommie Dearest, which was produced by Out of the Box Theatrics in New York City.

[22] Saturday Night Live featured a sketch parodying Mommie Dearest on the ninth episode of its fourth season, airing on December 16, 1978.

Gilda Radner played an exaggerated version of young Christina as mute and possibly mentally handicapped, puffing her cheeks out and crossing her eyes as she sauntered around the set.

[24] This sketch, which took place around Christmas, also featured Dan Aykroyd as Clark Gable, Bill Murray as Cary Grant, Laraine Newman as Katharine Hepburn, and guest host Elliott Gould as fictional character Archer Armstrong.