From racism to addiction enabling: Top 5 controversies of 'Dr. Phil' through the years as TV host plans to step down from talk show
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA: Phil McGraw is stepping down from his popular talk show 'Dr. Phil' after 21 years. On Tuesday, January 31, it was announced that the show is set to stop as the former clinical psychologist, Phil, has chosen to stop producing the show at the end of the 2022–2023 season.
“I have been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television,” McGraw said in a statement, as reported by Variety, adding, “With this show, we have helped thousands of guests and millions of viewers through everything from addiction and marriage to mental wellness and raising children. This has been an incredible chapter of my life and career, but while I’m moving on from daytime, there is so much more I wish to do.”
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'Dr. Phil' premiered on September 16, 2002, before which Phil had been a regular on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' as a guest. The show was ranked as the top syndicated talk show back in 2011. Before that, it was the second highest-rated talk show after 'The Oprah Winfrey Show'. The show, however, came with its share of controversies through the years. Here is a look at five of the biggest.
When staffers said the work environment was toxic
In 2022, 10 former staffers and two employees of the show reportedly claimed the work environment was toxic and traumatizing. They alleged that they experienced verbal abuse and intimidation. “Everyone was just pretty miserable. You would walk into the building and there was just a palpable dread and anxiety,” a former employee said, per Buzzfeed News. “Dr. Phil — the show about mental health where everybody who works on it has terrible mental health because our work conditions were really bad,” the ex-employee added.
Racism allegations
As many as seven employees had alleged in 2022 that they were encouraged to perpetuate racist stereotypes onscreen. Two others claimed they faced racism behind the scenes. Denying these allegations of racism, bullying and unprofessional behaviour, McGraw’s attorney H Patrick Morris reportedly said, "Dr. McGraw categorically denies racist conduct and CBS does not tolerate racist conduct."
Withholding a guest's medication
Employees of the show once said they were ordered to participate in unethical behavior involving guests. An ex-employee claimed they were ordered to ensure a guest did not take her prescribed psychiatric medication in an attempt to sensationalize the show. "We were specifically instructed, ‘Make sure that she doesn't take her medication before she goes onstage,’ because they wanted her to look unstable and quote-unquote, ‘crazy,’ for lack of a better term," the employee reportedly said.
"That's all for the sake of TV," the continued, adding, "Obviously this girl should be on her medication and that's what we're trying to get her help for, but for the sake of TV they wanted her to look off the rails."
When people struggling with addiction alleged staffers enabled their issues
In 2017, a joint investigative report from Stat and The Boston Globe revealed that several former guests, who appeared on the show seeking help for their addiction, alleged that staffers enabled their issues instead. Todd Herzog, who was battling alcoholism, alleged that he arrived at the show sober but found a bottle of vodka in the dressing room. After he had it, someone allegedly gave him a Xanax assuring him it would help ease his nerves. Phil's rep later denied the claims in a statement obtained by E! News.
"The Stat article does not fairly or accurately describe the methods of Dr. Phil, the TV show, or its mission to educate millions of viewers about drug and alcohol addiction," the statement read, adding, "The show does not give drugs or alcohol to its guests and any suggestions to the contrary is errant nonsense."
The "exploitation" of Shelley Duvall
Actress Shelley Duvall's 2016 appearance on 'Dr. Phil' show received heavy backlash for being insensitive to her mental health struggles. Duvall was in no state to be interviewed. Asked about co-star Robin Williams, who suffered from depression and anxiety and died by suicide in 2014, Duvall said that she did not think he was dead. She said that she instead believed that he was only "shape-shifting,” adding that the “Sheriff of Nottingham” was threatening her.
"I found out the kind of person he is the hard way," Duvall said of McGraw, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The show ran a promo in which the actress was seen saying to the camera, “I am very sick. I need help.” This was her first interview in several years.
An appalling public display of Duvall on the show did not end here. “After three days at the treatment center, Shelley still refused to take any medications and she would not sign the paperwork required to treat her,” Phil said at the time.
“She was accompanied by trained professionals and was safely returned to her family and boyfriend at home,” Phil said, adding, “We are happy to report that we are now working directly with Shelley’s mother and are providing Shelley treatment from a group of local professionals who, due to her refusal to take medication, will use alternative methods to treat her.”