His “doctor” status never applied to physiology or medicine, but that didn’t stop him from authoring a book in 2013 called The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom (previously, McGraw had to settle a multi-million dollar lawsuit over bogus diet pills he shilled). Phil guests because he was never bound by patient confidentiality regulations. For example, McGraw could freely exploit the privacy of his Dr. ![]() Eric Rasmussen of Texas Tech University noted that while McGraw is not a licensed doctor (he previously practiced clinical psychology but let his license expire in 2006 1), he still exudes the authority of one and creates a “parasocial bond” with his audience.Įven though McGraw is not a licensed medical doctor, the “Dr.” title allows him to seem trustworthy on medical matters and to get away with questionable ethical behavior. Phil McGraw entertained audiences with his avuncular personality while simultaneously intimidating them with his “no-nonsense” attitude. Phil launched in 2002 and, for a while, was a TV mainstay. ![]() Phil.” It was only a matter of time before McGraw got his own spin-off show ( similar to another Oprah-platformed charlatan).ĭr. McGraw’s popularity grew so much that Oprah’s Tuesday show became “ Tuesday’s with Dr. She emerged victorious.Īs Winfrey heavily credited him for her acquittal, McGraw became Winfrey’s recurring guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show. To aid her in the ensuing lawsuit, Winfrey hired McGraw and CSI. Most know this story: In the mid-’90s, Texas cattle ranchers sued Oprah Winfrey for stating on her talk show that she would not eat hamburgers anymore for fear of “Mad Cow Disease” (a neurological disease of cattle that, rarely, can spread to humans). McGraw may have permanently stayed out of the media limelight had a woman named Oprah Winfrey not hired him to fight a “beef libel” lawsuit. (CSI), which provided trial consulting, jury selection, and witness training to “dozens of Fortune 500 companies” (including Exxon during their legal battle over the infamous Valdez oil spill). By 1989, McGraw had left the mental health sphere. Before working in behavioral medicine and forensic psychology, McGraw worked “hundreds of jobs” as he pushed himself through school to earn his degrees. McGraw, as he tells it, grew up very poor, even living penniless on the streets. Phil, the show and the man, wasn’t inevitable. As McGraw once told an audience at the American Psychological Association’s 2006 Annual Convention, “What if you could deliver common sense, understandable information about life and living and deliver it to the safety, security, and privacy of people’s homes every day for free?” Phil guests to a blend of witty aphorisms, good humor, and “tough love” to solve their problems. Rather than provide therapy, McGraw consistently subjected Dr. ![]()
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