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Summary: Multiple former guests of the Dr. Phil Show said they were given drugs or alcohol by the show’s staff.
In 2007, Todd Herzog won a million dollars on the reality game show Survivor, but his life post-win was not as joyous. He plunged into despair as an alcoholic, and in 2013, he was invited to appear on the Dr. Phil Show to discuss his problems. During his 2013 appearance, he was guided out to meet Dr. Phil McGraw and while answering questions, he seemed glazed and drunk.
In a shocking interview for Stat and the Boston Globe that was published on Thursday, Herzog claimed that he was sober when he had arrived to Dr. Phil’s set and that he got drunk after finding alcohol waiting for him in his dressing room. He said he consumed at least an entire bottle, and a producer later gave him a Xanax to help him before he went on stage.
Dr. Phil, who has a PHD in psychology but is not a licensed therapist, is the star of a hit talk show where he frequently helps those struggling with their emotional problems. He and his staff vehemently denied Herzog’s accusations as well as the claims from two other people who stated their addict loved ones were directed to buy heroin in Los Angeles’ Skid Row area.
Martin Greenberg, a psychologist who serves as the show’s director of professional affairs, said that he and those at Dr. Phil would never feed an addict drugs or alcohol.
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“We do not do that with this guest or any other,” Greenberg told Stat and the Boston Globe. “Addicts are notorious for lying, deflecting and trivializing. But, if they are at risk when they arrive, then they were at risk before they arrived. The only change is they are one step closer to getting help, typically help they could not have even come close to affording.”
Dr. Jeff Sugar, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Southern California, said that the Dr. Phil Show exploits vulnerable people.
“It’s a callous and inexcusable exploitation,” Sugar said to Stat and the Boston Globe. “These people are barely hanging on. It’s like if one of them was drowning and approaching a lifeboat, and instead of throwing them an inflatable doughnut, you throw them an anchor.”
After Herzog’s 2013 appearance, the reality star appeared on Dr. Phil three other times in 2014 to discuss his alcoholism.
Source: Stat News
