Infectious Disease Hobbyist Dr. Phil Destroyed For Wild Coronavirus Appearance on Fox News
Talk show host and infectious disease hobbyist Dr. Phil McGraw — or just “Dr. Phil” to most — is getting a dose of bitter social media medicine after a Fox News segment filled with more quackery than a Ducktales marathon.
The doc’s appearance on Thursday night’s edition of The Ingraham Angle was a wild ride of illogic, misinformation, and just plain stupidity heightened by the fact that the subject was a deadly global pandemic.
Among the wild claims, Dr. Phil told host Laura Ingraham that “We probably shouldn’t have ever started” the coronavirus quarantine, and compared deaths from the coronavirus to swimming pool deaths — trotting out several patently inaccurate statistics while he was at it. Most absurdly, Dr. Phil claimed there are 360,000 “swimming pool deaths” a year, one hundred times the number of drowning deaths of any sort.
“But we don’t shut the country down for that!” he exclaimed.
The reaction was swift, most unkind, and focused greatly on Dr. Phil’s lack of medical credentials. His PhD is in clinical psychology, but as many users pointed out, he’s not licensed to practice in any state.
He also says 360,000 people die in swimming pools every year, which isn’t just laughably wrong but shows that the common sense part of this guy’s brain just doesn’t work https://t.co/J3h02TC4Ru
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) April 17, 2020
I think we should call him “Mr. Phil” from now on.
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) April 17, 2020
Dr. Phil voluntarily relinquished his medical license after several run ins with Texas medical regulations. He is currently licensed to practice in zero (0) states. https://t.co/ye0GpD2Ami
— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) April 17, 2020
Dr. Oz, Dr. Drew, Dr. Phil. The confederacy of dunces. https://t.co/OMqw8wjvT5
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) April 17, 2020
Dr. Phil not only apparently has no last name, he also in fact has no medical license. Ignore quacks. https://t.co/GVk7sfKNaI
— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) April 17, 2020
I would suggest Dr. Phil do what some other doctors are doing, and volunteer to help out in overburdened hospitals or nursing homes, or offer free home visits or tele-consultations to people who shouldn’t go out. But of course he’s not a doctor. https://t.co/HEPT99WchL
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) April 17, 2020
Looking forward to seeing Dr. Phil working in an ICU. https://t.co/a2wrJztQZj
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) April 17, 2020
3,600 Americans die in pools each year; not 360,000
“Dr” Phil has doctorate in psychology. He is not a medical doctor. He’s not even licensed to practice psychology. https://t.co/1RvHKMcS07
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) April 17, 2020
Fun Fact: Dr. Phil is not a medical doctor. He has a PhD in clinical psychology, but he currently has no license to practice psychology in any state. So not only is he not qualified to give medical advice, he technically isn’t qualified to give it in his own profession. G’night! https://t.co/s8YxSqJMdh
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) April 17, 2020
My god…fuck Dr. Phil https://t.co/ny1lUO7rKl
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) April 17, 2020
“Dr.” Phil has a degree in clinical psychology, not medicine. https://t.co/i7mRfj9qbs
— jordan (@JordanUhl) April 17, 2020
This statement from Dr. Phil is stupid. None of the things he mentions is contagious.
Also, the case fatality rate of #COVID19 is over 4% in US. If 4% of people who routinely went swimming would die & 15% would end up in the hospital, I guarantee Dr. Phil would not go swimming. https://t.co/UmOx7QBtkH
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) April 17, 2020
Dr. Phil is an entertainer. He hosts a show. Sometimes he makes sense sometimes not. We shouldn’t assume TV hosts know more than scientists. Like you wouldn’t ask the host of The Apprentice for life and death advice. https://t.co/as2tmT7oQB
— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) April 17, 2020
Those highly contagious car crashes and swimming pools are tough. https://t.co/Kg9fWyYAvR
— Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) April 17, 2020
There is a reason we have never shut down for car wrecks, swimming pool deaths, or the flu, but have shut down for this. https://t.co/cPo1Gl0S77 pic.twitter.com/FHgSQrw2WO
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) April 17, 2020
I remember that time someone sneezed on my grandmother from four feet away and she caught a near-fatal SUV collision. https://t.co/eavkOi7ilP
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) April 17, 2020
This man thinks 360,000 Americans a year–a thousand a day–drown in swimming pools. I am amazed that his head doesn’t suddenly say, “What am I doing here? I’m clearly not attached to anything” and fall off his neck onto the floor. https://t.co/oE95ABpII6
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) April 17, 2020
The most meaningful thing Oprah could do to help right now would be to publicly disavow Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz. https://t.co/M3ErslMNqS
— Kate Aurthur (@KateAurthur) April 17, 2020
It would be a gift to the world and would probably save a lot of lives if Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz never made another television appearance for the rest of eternity.
— adrienneelrod (@adrienneelrod) April 17, 2020
Friendly reminder that “Dr.” Phil is not a medical doctor. He calls himself a doctor because he has a Ph.D. in psychology. It’s irresponsible to put someone on TV, introduce him as “Doctor,” let him talk about public health, and not make clear he’s no M.D. https://t.co/7qXBTvHXLM
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) April 17, 2020
Mr. Phil is not a doctor
— Dr. Dave (@davejorgenson) April 17, 2020
This is some ass-backwards
thinking. I wasn’t in the car, I don’t smoke & I can’t swim. BUT I shook the driver’s hand or was on a crowded subway with the smoker or hugged the swimmer at the pool. Their fate may have been sealed but so was mine when one of them gave me the virus. https://t.co/3JHS2HtVB6— Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) April 17, 2020
Dr. Drew: “We won’t get anywhere near 20,000 deaths!”
Dr. Oz: “Hold my green bean weight loss extract… What’s the big deal if only 2-3% of people die???”
Dr. Phil: “Hold my bestselling psuedo psychology book filled w/ folksy yet nonsensical catchphrases…” https://t.co/7aMA4z1lLb
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) April 17, 2020
To those finding out Dr. Phil is a hack — welcome to the party! We have snacks.
— Charlotte Clymer ?️? (@cmclymer) April 17, 2020
Dr Phil sits in his mansion while talking to millionaire Laura Ingraham about the need to sacrifice Americans so they can make more $. But neither even spends a minute praising Americans who are on frontlines still working to help us like truck drivers!! https://t.co/ABjIrdWigE
— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) April 17, 2020
Dr Oz says let kids die. Dr Phil says open up because we don’t close down for car deaths. What would Dr. Smith from Lost in Space recommend. He’ll be on @seanhannity tomorrow night along with Judge Judy.
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) April 17, 2020
Look at that. Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz both being trash human beings. https://t.co/2dyibcpfoO
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) April 17, 2020
Dr. Oz: sending kids back to school might only cause a 2-3% increase in mortality from COVID! That’s appetizing.
Dr. Phil: Hold my beer… https://t.co/GQnbwvmMKz
— Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) April 17, 2020
This was the nicest tweet we could find about Phil, which at least contained a constructive suggestion:
So uh, Dr. Phil needs to work on his lighting situation pic.twitter.com/MDZd1SUc8N
— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) April 17, 2020
In a time of crisis, it’s nice that people can still come together, even if it is just to shame Dr. Phil.
Watch the segment that started it all above, via Fox News.
UPDATE: Dr. Phil walked back on his comments in a video on Friday. Watch it here.
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