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Controversy Follows Dr. Phil Again

Dr. Phil McGraw was thrust into the public spotlight, after talk show hostess and entertainment mogul -Oprah Winfrey - helped to launch his career. His many appearances on her popular show catapulted him to fame, as he dispensed homey, no-nonsense wisdom to troubled individuals. He was eventually rewarded with his own talk show, which has also garnered a fairly loyal fan base.

Dr. Phil, however, has been caught up in several unpleasant controversies over the last few years.

There was his problem with the diet products he hawked back in 2003, where he used his celebrity and supposed "expertise" to influence consumers to shell out at least $120 a pop for supplements he declared would help them lose weight.. He ended up having to pull his Shape-Up line from shelves, when the Federal Trade Commission complained.

He was also hit with a huge class-action lawsuit by dissatisfied customers who lost more money than weight.

Although that caused things to be uncomfortable for awhile for the pop psychologist, it was soon forgotten and McGraw's show continued to thrive. It seemed that things were running smoothly for awhile, as he gave his counsel to the dozens of dysfunctional guests who appeared on his show.

Trouble stirred again, however, when Dr. Phil decided to take on more high-profile topics, such as the Natalie Holloway tragedy. He hired special "investigators" to follow up on rumors that the Alabama teen, missing in Aruba since May, 2005, may have been taken into white slavery and was in foreign brothels.

He also did a televised. interview with the Kalpoe brothers, former suspects in the disappearance and possible murder of Holloway.

The Kalpoe brothers sued the show for defamation and Dr. Phil was roundly criticized for the manner in which he further sensationalized the Holloway story, milking it more for ratings than actually providing any kind of solid help,

Again, the public was forgiving, but he created more of a hullabaloo in 2008, after he paid a visit to the hospital where singer Britney Spears was a patient. Supposedly, he had been asked by her family to help intervene. Rather than keeping it confidential, however, he chose to publicly disclose his intentions, drawing outrage from the Spears family.

Whether the outcry coming from the conventional psychologist community over this was based upon legitimate concerns about him being unethical or whether it was based upon professional jealousies is a matter of opinion. Nevertheless, his reputation took a major hit.

Again, the public got over this, but his most current controversy has deeply angered many people.

Most of the world watched, in horror, at the recent YouTube videotape of a group of Florida teens, who mercilessly beat another teenage girl into a bloody mess. The eight individuals connected with the crime were arrested.

According to a bail bondsman, "The Dr. Phil Show" paid the bond for the girl alleged to be the ringleader. There is also a video of one of the show's producers, blocking reporters from being able to gain access to the girl and declaring that "The Dr. Phil Show" possessed "exclusive rights" to an interview.

Even Dr. Phil's staunchest fans find it difficult to support these actions, which some see as being exploitative.

McGraw, of course, puts the blame on the producer and other staff members for "violating guidelines" of the show. As I write, Dr. Phil has yet to fire these people.

Will this one be the straw that breaks the camel's back or will it, like his past controversies, eventually be forgotten?

I highly suspect that it will be the latter.
By: Ezriela Devereux
Published: 04/18/08


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1 Posted Comments:

Dr. Phil's controversies

@ 7:22 pm 04/19/08 by Tonya
I recently wrote a paper on Dr. Phil McGraw, as he is a psychologist, and I am currently attending a psychology class. The paper was on his lifespan development and personality.

I found information on the Internet, that included information concerning foundations that Dr. Phil contributes to, that help children and others, to overcome their underlying issues that led to who or what they are today.

As far as the recent controversies that have made the headlines, which, of course, is bad news the majority of the time, Dr. Phil has been made out to be a bad guy of sorts.

I feel that if the people employed by Dr. Phil, are going beyond the limitations, they should be reprimanded, and possibly fired. Television stations are always trying to get higher ratings, unfortunately, and the medias attention to these matters of controversy, actually only assist in the bringing in of those ratings.

I think that the bottom line is, or should be, that Dr. Phil's organization, the television producers, other talk-show hosts who have assisted Dr. Phil in getting his career off the ground, and any others who may be involved, just sit down, talk through the matter, and move on.
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