Oprah’s Long History Of Sketchy "Experts" And Endorsements

[onehandle]

With the news that Dr. Melvin Levine—who appeared on Oprah repeatedly over the course of several years as a childhood education expert—committed suicide on Friday, the same day that 40 of his former patients filed a medical malpractice and sexual abuse suit against him, it raises the question of whether O is doing enough vetting of the authors and experts to whom she chooses to lend her credibility.

The number of recent scandals that have emerged — and we're talking about scandals that go beyond Dr. Phil not being a "real doctor," or Rachael Ray not having any formal culinary training, or her own falling-out with Iyanla Vanzant, or even the whole James Frey debacle — is troubling. Seeing as how Oprah's most successful "product" these days is cultivating and grooming personalities into credible and trusted sources, a great deal of responsibility comes with that task.

Charges of pedophilia first emerged against Dr. Levine, who was the Professor of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical School in Chapel Hill, in 2008. His most recent appearance on Oprah was in 2006. Carmen Durso, the attorney representing the Levine's former patients, had approached the show to discuss Levine, but Oprah wanted nothing to do with topic. In fact, aside from one article in 2006, her entire website has basically been scrubbed clean of Levine and his former contributions to her show. In the clip on the left, Dr. Levine is interviewed by Katie Couric on Today about his book Ready or Not, Here Life Comes, and for someone who had sat on Oprah's stage numerous times before, he seems completely uncomfortable and shifty-eyed.

Perhaps the most egregious and devastating incident for Oprah was the physical and sexual abuse allegations at her Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. Less than a year after the school opened in 2007, 27-year-old dorm matron Tiny Virginia Makopo had been arrested after seven girls came forward, alleging abuse. Oprah, who is very open about being a sexual abuse survivor, took aggressive action at the school, cleaning house of staff, starting with a headmistress. In October 2010, Makopo was found not guilty. Oprah found the verdict disappointing.

http://jezebel.com/#!5766506/oprahs-long-history-of-sketchy-experts-and-endorsements

[hlthe2b]

1. Considering how many years Oprah has been on tv and

how many people that necessitates her becoming involved with, in her many operations, I think it is pretty inevitable she's going to be tarred by a few. Her life and dealings are pretty damned public--yet I would wonder how her "scandalous association" rate would compare with any high profile type--say the Donald Trumps of the world, who manage to keep their day to day business dealings a bit more private?

Not really trying to defend Oprah, but think this needs a bit of perspective. Oprah is Oprah and that involves promoting many people--and relying on the judgments of even more. Do it long enough and "big" enough exponentiates the odds of mistakes.

That said, she owes it to her legion of "fans" to try to 'learn' from this experience and try to put some improved screening measures in place.

[Dorian Gray]

2. Bob Greene

sort of got screwed by her. I haven't read his book, but I thought it was pretty straight-forward dieting stuff. But who would follow his advice based upon her results?

[bbgrunt]

3. Oprah has been pushing consumerism and

"make-overs" and education "reform" among other things. She is vastly over rated.

[SidDithers]

4. Jenny McCarthy, anyone?...nt

Sid

[blondeatlast]

9. Bingo. nt

[MilesColtrane]

5. Well, she's never been known to posses the most rigorously analytical intellect.

I mean, c'mon! Deepak Chopra?

She's an anti-skeptic.

She's Art Bell with a vagina.

[Ikonoklast]

7. George Noorey, not Art Bell.

Art never really had any agenda besides entertainment, Noorey has an agenda, like Oprah.

[MilesColtrane]

8. Agenda aside, my point was that she doesn't challenge her guests' remarkable claims.

Art Bell also rarely asks his guests to prove their wacky assertions.

(Noorey may also do this. I don't know, I don't listen to him.)

[Ikonoklast]

19. I get your drift. Art went along with his guests, but you could almost see

him sitting at the mike with one eyebrow raised, and a little tongue in cheek action going on.


Oprah does it to promote those personalities in order to make even more money off them, a la "Dr." Phil, who she produces, or used to.

She portrays them all as legit, even though the majority of these media 'experts' are all frauds.

[MilesColtrane]

30. Yeah, at least Art was entertaining.

Oprah's just annoying.

[cleanhippie]

6. I equate Oprah watchers and Fox News watchers as about the same.

Ignorant folks who do not want to think for themselves.

[CanSocDem]

10. Not to sound like I agree with you...

...but as much as I like some of her 'crusades', I still can't bring myself to watch her show.


There was, however, a time......


.

[cleanhippie]

24. The Jenny McCarthy bullshit was the final straw for me.

Not that I ever watched Oprah, but that incident was when I KNEW that Oprah was not concerned with the truth, only sensationalism.

[annabanana]

11. I do not believe that Oprah has an especially discerning intellect.

She goes with whatever catches her fancy and is pretty gullible when it comes to the "truths" that she feeds her uncritical audience. She is a ferocious businesswoman, and that's about it.

[Kievan Rus]

16. She goes with whatever will get her higher ratings

[Arugula Latte]

12. Rachael Ray has always been open about not being a formally trained chef.

[onehandle]

14. LOL!

Good one.

[Arugula Latte]

17. I'm not sure why that's funny.

I'm not doubting that a lot of these people are sketchy (Dr. Phil -- gag!), but I've heard R.R. comment a few times that she's a cook, not a chef. :shrug:

[onehandle]

22. I had forgotten that Rachael Ray was just another Oprah product...

...and the 'cook, not a chef' detail made me laugh and is quite apropos.

I missed her name in the article.

[Arugula Latte]

23. Okay -- I was just responding to this line in the article:

"The number of recent scandals that have emerged — and we're talking about scandals that go beyond Dr. Phil not being a 'real doctor,' or Rachael Ray not having any formal culinary training..."

I'm just saying it's not really a "scandal."

[KittyWampus]

27. Rachel Ray is an HGTV "product" and she worked to get where she is.

[seabeyond]

13. levine was around long before oprah. his crime has nothing to do with her. i read his books

without influence from oprah.

he had good stuff. reading the material does not clue a person to his pedophilia

[seabeyond]

15. damn, men hate oprah about as much as those bad ass feminazis. what a laugh

and no, i dont watch her show. i dont watch any tv. amazing the dislike males have towards oprah, without even watching her show

[SwampG8r]

26. maybe we just recognize

a danger when we see it

[seabeyond]

31. lol sw, you be getting around. these mean wemmin. nt

[PVnRT]

29. This has nothing to do with sexism. Give me a break.

The fact that she has had people like Jenny McCarthy on the show, preaching against vaccination while formerly-eradicated diseases have begun making a comeback has nothing to do with whether she's a man or a woman. She has an enormous audience and virtually everything on her show gets an automatic stamp of authenticity.

Are we not allowed to offer legitimate criticism of anyone who is a woman in the media now?

[seabeyond]

32. for a decade i have been hearing men diss women and they have never watched the show

it is all about oprah "empowering" women and pisses men off.

and could be your reason too

[SidDithers]

34. No, it's about Oprah being "not smart"...

and using her giant megaphone to broadcast "teh stupid" all over the world.

Sid

[seabeyond]

35. see, this.... nt

[SidDithers]

36. Exactly...nt

Sid

[Dappleganger]

37. As a woman I can't stand her either.

She gives science and intellectualism a bad name.

[joeybee12]

18. Oprah has no credibility with me...she loves her scientologist actor buddies...nt

[Akoto]

20. How could she have possibly known Levine was a pedophile?

How does a talk show host 'vet' someone for pedophilia? Levine had been around for a long while, and so far as I know, the accusations weren't out there at the time. She can't really be blamed for this.

Oprah's not perfect, but she has done good amidst the consumerism. I won't try to depict her as somehow being evil.

[ScreamingMeemie]

21. I'm sorry, but as the daughter in law of an alcoholic, I still recommend

James Frey's books. The way Oprah handled that with him was more than disgusting. I have never been a fan of the PR machine.

[Romulox]

25. The clips I've seen of Oprah from her network make her look crass and profoundly stupid. nt

[SoCalDem]

28. I agree with the main ideas, but Rachel Ray is where I don't agree

Rachel has never pretended to be a "grand chef".. She has always called herself a COOK, and has often told of how she cooked in the family restaurant from the time she could reach the stove.

A person does not have to be a "professionally trained chef", to be a good cook, or to plan menus or to have good ideas about food.

I like Rachel because she does not pretend to be anymore than what she is..a cook who can throw together a meal that's easy to prepare..and in a hurry..

about the other "experts"..I never put much stock on Oprah's choices of the people she elevated..

Dr Phil? really?.. a blowhard jury consultant who helped her, but other than that...ptooey...

and 99% of those new-age-y "spiritual" experts? double ptooey.

I think Oprah ran out of stuff for her show about 10 years ago, and this is how she chose to fill the empty :)

The whole "self-improvement" binge is not all that helpful. People waste most of their lives trying to fix what's "wrong" with them, by buying books & listening to experts tell them how screwed up they are:(

Stewart Smalley's philosophy might be better for us all in the long run:)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TkR-KeU-T2A/STsQeTSf-9I/AAAAAAAABj8/Isl8inTTKkc/s400/stuart+smalley.jpg

[Little Star]

33. Oprah is not someone who people should look to for advise...

She has shown poor judgment on many an occasion.