After 21 seasons of sensational programming focusing on everything from delinquent children to rampant substance abuse to adultery, Dr. Phil, popular daytime talk show do Dr. Phil McGrawwill end after the current season at the host’s choice, Diversity third report.
It was the end of an era for the influential, Southern-speaking TV star who had a doctorate in clinical psychology but not a licensed therapist. Over the years, the show has attracted a lot of audience (and continues to be average 2 million viewers per episode) with McGraw’s purported interviews with troubled guests, which can be hilarious as well as they’re harassing, despite the fact that the show itself is a consistent magnet. for lawsuits, scandals and criticism.
off-screen storm
One of the presenter’s early controversies involved Britney Spears during the height of her midlife mental health struggles; in January 2008, McGraw was allowed to visit her while she was hospitalized for a mental breakdown. He later made a public statement about the visit that alienated the Spears family and left them. punish McGraw for betraying their trust. In the face of criticism that he was trying to include himself in the story purely for entertainment value, McGraw canceled a scheduled episode of Dr. Phil about Spears’ situation.
More recently, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, McGraw arrested to question the need for social distancing to stop the spread of the virus.
“The fact of the matter is we have people die, 45,000 people die every year from car accidents, 480,000 people die from cigarettes, 360,000 people a year from swimming pools, but we’re not shutting the country down because of that. , McGraw said on Laura Ingraham Ingraham’s Corner. However, we are doing it for this and the fallout will last for years as people’s lives are being ruined.
Legal battles a lot
Those off-screen antics are just the tip of the iceberg, as McGraw is no stranger to lawsuits stemming from his divisive show. In 2021, a woman alleges she was sexually assaulted on a farm in Utah sued McGraw and ViacomCBS for negligence after the host suggested she be sent there on an episode of Dr. Phil. The show is also sued for defamation of the Surinamese brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, two suspects in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.
In another lawsuit, Shirley Rae Dieu alleges that during a recording at Dr. Phil House for a final episode that aired in 2007, she was kept against her will and “forced to be in the same room as a completely naked man living while he exposes his naked body, genitals and all.”
“All of Shirley Rae Dieu’s claims are baseless,” Dr. Phil’s lawyer replied harshly. declare. “As soon as Ms. Dieu showed discomfort, the producer saw that he could not help, so he called a car service to take her home.”
Behind-the-scenes manipulation
And then there’s the show itself, which has long drawn criticism that it has gone too far in its pursuit of entertainment by exploiting vulnerable people and taking advantage of their problems to rating increase.
In 2022, BuzzFeed spoke to dozens of current and former people Dr. Phil employees say they have experienced a miserable working environment where they were encouraged to blow up the racist stereotype on screen and in one case, make sure the guest wasn’t properly injected before appearing so she looked unsettled. McGraw’s personal lawyer denied statementsremove them as clickbait.
A rambling 2016 interview with reclusive actress Shelley Duvall was strongly condemnand Todd Herzog, a recovering alcoholic and former winner of survivoralleging that his drunken appearance on Dr. Phil 2013 is Designed by the manufacturer who he said gave him Xanax and put vodka handles in his dressing room. A psychologist affiliated with the show denied Herzog’s allegations.
‘A cautionary tale’
According to experts and critics who spoke with The Daily Beast, the final season of the McGraw show is long overdue.
“Dr Phil’s legacy is a cautionary tale,” addiction activist Ryan Hampton told us on Wednesday. “It wasn’t just his attitude and approach, it was all we were taught not to do. He never really approached a situation with compassion.
“What really upsets me is the exploitation of these stories and the exploitation of people in crisis to sell products by sponsors,” Hampton continued. “It is well known that if you want to increase hospital admission rates at your treatment facility in Malibu or sell a virtual reality treatment rooted in zero science, you can simply fund Tien’s program. Dr. Phil. From my community it’s a nice quiz.
Taylor Cole Miller, assistant professor of media studies at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, echoed that view on Tuesday. tweeted on TuesdayPhil’s tapes that I have viewed are manipulative, unethical, and represent poor television production practices for a show that claims to be intellectually and ethically honest. “
Speaking to The Daily Beast, Miller further explained, “At a taping that I attended, we had a Michael Jackson dance, everyone was so excited and having fun and I even got a heart-shaped stress ball by Dr. Phil. That episode was about a teenager’s suicide. After it was over, they moved us to different locations in the studio to record the second performance, and the dance continued. We thought: maybe this episode will be lighter. The second episode is about teenagers who severely abuse their parents.
Miller continued: “The sudden downfall of being stoned with such a heavy subject matter after being produced is silly and giddy with feeling extremely psychologically manipulated or extremely incompetent. . “My educated guess is that that kind of production was designed on Dr. Phil, because the quick combination of those sentiments elicits a more emotional response.”
Indeed, the consensus among critics is to pull McGraw and Dr. Phil from the airwaves is a positive outcome — even if his next move is, terrifyingly, still in the air.
“I think it’s probably a good thing for the community that he’s no longer broadcasting,” said psychiatrist Dr Jeffrey Sugar, who previously criticized McGraw for his comments about Spears, told The Daily Beast. “Though I shudder to consider what he could do instead.”
