Highlights
- Questionable ethics surround Dr. Phil and his show due to mistreatment of employees and guests.
- Past guests like Bhad Bhabie have accused the host of abuse at the ranch facility.
- Dr. Phil faces lawsuits for emotional distress and negligence by former guests, despite denying any wrongdoing.
Phil McGraw A.K.A. Dr. Phil has received multiple allegations about his “abusive” show – both from mistreated employees and exploited former guests. One of the most notable cases was Bhad Bhabie’s. Born Danielle Bregoli, the meme star-turned-rapper first appeared on Dr. Phil when she was 13 during the 2016 episode called, “I Want to Give Up My Car-Stealing, Knife-Wielding, Twerking 13-Year-Old Daughter Who Tried to Frame Me for A Crime.”
Bregoli quickly rose to fame after saying her meme-worthy line: “Cash [sic] me outside, how ’bout that?” Then in 2021, she posted a video asking McGraw to make a public apology. She claimed she witnessed and suffered abuse at the ranch she was sent to for treatment. The host – who unethically handled the infamous meltdown of Britney Spears – denied any responsibility for the ordeal. But more accusers have come forward since, leading to the rediscovery of McGraw’s long-“retired” psychology license…
Dr. Phil Is Proud Of Retiring His License In Psychology In 2006
While McGraw holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, his license to practice has been inactive since 2006. That means it was an illegal practice when he consulted with Spears in 2008. As if the pop star not consenting to the session wasn’t bad enough. When asked about the matter, the self-proclaimed “one of the most well-known and trusted mental health professionals in the world” defended himself with pride:
“I retired my license … I don’t need a license … I’ve chosen instead to pursue another course and use of my education.”
McGraw only got away with running Dr. Phil until 2023 because he technically plays a medical professional on TV. It’s also why he can publicize his interactions with his supposed patients. “If he never bills anybody for counseling services, he very well may not be covered by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act),” said Kirk J. Nahra, head of the law firm Wiley Rein in Washington, D.C. “Depending on his licensing, he may not have professional ethical obligations, either.”
But in 2020, McGraw might have abused his privileges by downplaying the seriousness of COVID-19. “45,000 people a year die from automobile accidents, 480,000 from cigarettes, 360,000 a year from swimming pools, but we don’t shut the country down for that,” he said at that time. “But yet we’re doing it for this? And the fallout is going to last for years because people’s lives are being destroyed.”
Oprah Winfrey
helped Phil McGraw launch
Dr. Phil
in 2002 after his appearances on
The Oprah Winfrey Show
in the 1990s.
Dr. Phil Has Been Sued Multiple Times By His Guests For Mistreatment
As of October 2023, McGraw has been sued by five Dr. Phil guests, per Nicki Swift. In February 2019, Kaden Mahaffa filed a lawsuit against the host for “emotional distress, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation.” Mahaffa claimed that McGraw “aggressively interrogated” her and humiliated her in front of a live audience. It resulted in her “collapsing in tears and engaging in erratic behavior” and then pulling her hair out backstage. She was involuntarily committed for five days after law enforcement came in.
The case was initially dismissed. After an appeal from Mahaffa’s legal team, the court ultimately maintained its decision. That same month, Josie Goldberg sued McGraw, claiming that he owed her $10,000. She believed she was entitled to the episode’s re-runs as a member of the labor union SAG-AFTRA. Eight months later, 17-year-old Hannah Archuleta sued the TV personality for negligence while in a treatment facility.
“Dr. Phil said that, ‘Hannah needs to go to the Ranch to have any chance at a good life,’” the lawsuit said.
Archuleta’s camp also accused McGraw of saying her father was “wimping out” when they resisted the treatment plan. The suit was dismissed, with McGraw and CBS countersuing for $400,000 in legal fees. Before these cases, there was also Matthew Barasch who sued the unlicensed psychologist for $100 million in damages, citing complaints like breach of contract, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation. However, it was also dismissed in December 2018.
In 2011, another lawsuit against McGraw and CBS was dismissed. It was filed by Shirley Rae Dieu and Crystal Matchett who were “traumatized” after a male nudist exposed himself to them while filming the spin-off, The Dir. Phil House. They cited “fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, rescission, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.”
The defendant’s camp explained that the “incident was part and parcel of the scenarios being used at the house to focus each of the participants on their ability to tolerate unique individuals and situations, and to resist their own judgmental character.” But Dieu also said that Dr. Phil “touched her left breast during her therapy session,” which was denied by McGraw’s reps. “Dr. Phil is never alone in the House with any of these guests, and all of his interactions are captured on video and/or audio tape.”
Things really blew up when Bregoli spoke up about her awful experiences with McGraw. Here’s a timeline of their feud.
|
February 10, 2017 |
Bregoli returned to Dr. Phil after her ranch treatment and told the host: “What’s good for you is I made you just how Oprah made you.” |
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March 19, 2021 |
Bregoli demanded McGraw to issue a public apology about the malnourishment, and mental and physical abuse she suffered at the ranch along with Archuleta and other former patients |
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March 22, 2021 |
McGraw responded: “[Bregoli] had a bad experience… But we don’t have anything to do with what happens with guests once they leave the stage. That’s between the guardian and the parent and whatever facility they go to. So we’re not involved in that.” |
|
March 26, 2021 |
Bregoli said McGraw had contact with the ranch. She said: “He damn well had to do a follow-up on me because my program got extended. I was there for six months instead of 100 days. And he’s the one who approved me being there for six months instead of 100 days.” |
|
April 7, 2021 |
Bregoli added: “My mother signed a consent of release of information to send progress reports directly from Turn-About to the Dr. Phil show. So when you say you don’t have any f–king feedback from them, that is not true.” |
|
April 8, 2021 |
Bregoli partnered with Paris Hilton for Breaking Code Silence, an organization that advocates for survivors of abuse in facilities for troubled teens. |
Dr. Phil Has Been Accused Of Running A Toxic Workplace
In 2022, employees of Dr. Phil came forward about McGraw’s toxic leadership. “Everyone was just pretty miserable. You would walk into the building and there was just a palpable dread and anxiety,” one said. “Dr. Phil — the show about mental health where everybody who works on it has terrible mental health because our work conditions were really bad.”
Another former staffer admitted: “I would have nightmares. I would literally be working in my sleep and have nightmares about something being wrong or not turning in something the right way. Even when I quit, I had to go to therapy for it, which is crazy because you’re working for a therapist” One employee even confessed that they were instructed not to let a guest take their prescribed medication.
“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.”
They added: “She did take the medication because no one got there in time and I remember thinking, ‘My God, I don’t want to be the one to tell them or dissuade them from that.’ And that’s all for the sake of TV. 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.” McGraw’s attorney said he “categorically denies” all the claims.
Wrapping up
Dr. Phil
in 2023 was reportedly Phil McGraw’s own decision.
Source: NewsFinale
