Dr. Phil is being sued for fraud.

[Blue_Roses]

LOS ANGELES — "Dr. Phil" McGraw admits in e-mails he had "no expertise" in making the line of diet products he endorsed and is being sued for.

Still, he put his name on Shape Up! nutrition supplements, shakes and energy bars after asking for "the strongest of disclaimers" in the products' ads.

His concerns, detailed in e-mail printouts contained in court records and obtained by the New York Daily News, may come back to haunt him in the class-action fraud lawsuit filed by angry users of the diet line.

With his demand for the warning label suggesting misgivings about the Shape Up! hype, the e-mails may be a weighty topic at his deposition, which could take place as early as next month.

"This fleshes out our position that Dr. Phil was in charge ... he was rewriting the commercials," said lawyer Henry Rossbacher, who filed the class-action suit against Dr. Phil in 2004.

The suit alleges Dr. Phil, who endorsed the products, and CSA Nutraceuticals, which marketed them, made phony claims about Shape Up! products.

more...


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2002664825_webdrphil04.html

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Hmmm...

:popcorn:

[Daphne08]

1. Dr. Phil left me cold long ago. n/t

[Raster]

2. I have long suspected and believed that dr. phil is just another

self-help huckster. Jeebus Christo on a crutch. I am sick to death of the "your life is inadequate" crowd and their "let me sell you the key to happiness (or hair or sex or beauty)".

dr. phil was an overpriced jury consultant when he was "discovered" by Oprah. His 15 is long over.

[Sequoia]

4. I never liked him and it amazes me how people are just

sucked into his crap, just blindly following like the sheep they are.

[FreedomAngel82]

27. I used to watch his show

but than after watching it a little while it got boring and I started feeling weird vibes. :shrug: I don't trust the guy.

[Aimah]

35. Some of the issues he has on the show should be totally

private. I had to stop when he had the family on with the son who molested the sister. It just seems like that should be a situation handled in private with a psychiatrist and not fodder for a ratings sweep. The other thing that bothers me is his promotion of his wife and son. His son doesn't have a degree but he's running around on tv trying to counsel people. If I have a problem and I seek help I don't want my doctor to refer me to his wife for counseling or advice.

[Chimichurri]

37. I thought he lost it completely when he said he had proof Natalie Halloway

was abducted into a sex ring. I don't know much about that story but he seems to be standing alone in that mind field and I felt bad for her family for his exploiting that horror.

[Punkingal]

3. Bwahahaha!!!

I hope they get millions from that pompus bag of wind.

[gulfcoastliberal]

5. "Dr" Phil is a charlatan

I hope he does time for practicing his bullshit.

[AlCzervik]

7. and a snake oil salesman! cannot stand him.

[Mutley]

6. I forced myself to watch one full episode of his show

so that I can fairly and accurately say it's crap.

[FreedomAngel82]

29. The "Daily Show" did this great

skit that was called "Kill Dr Phil". It was so funny. I think you can still view it at onegoodmove.org

[Mutley]

32. I'll check it out.

:D

[Cocoa]

8. "way too Phil-centric"

:rofl:

In another e-mail that night, he wrote: " ... we need to kill or redo all of those. ... All of the press releases, or whatever they are, are way too Phil-centric."

[KingFlorez]

9. He's done more than that

His show edited a tape to incriminate someone in the Natalie Holloway case

[FreedomAngel82]

31. Seriously?

So what happened with him on that?

[KingFlorez]

34. Nothing at all

It was pointed out on Nancy Grace, but the mother didn't believe it was edited, but it was obvious, because the tape on Dr. Phil and the original differ.

[FreedomAngel82]

36. Wow

Of course the mother wouldn't believe it. She's too close to the case.

[greyl]

10. And Oprah is endorsing "magic" watches

I saw a story on one of my local new channels today about Oprah Winfrey's favorite things for 2005. The item that made the top of the list was the Philip Stein Teslar Diamond Watch. Here is the description from her website:
PHILIP STEIN TESLAR DIAMOND WATCH
Every Philip Stein timepiece has integrated active Teslar technology designed to reinforce the human body's electromagnetic field with a natural earth signal associated with calm, meditation, relaxation and enhanced performance. Experience the Teslar effect and let yourself feel more relaxed, more rested and less tense. The diamond-faced watch has 50 diamonds; the changeable band comes in six colors.
http://www.randi.org/jr/200512/12025teslar.html

http://www2.oprah.com/presents/2005/holiday/gifts/gifts_oft.jhtml

ahh, the invincible ignorance of celebrity. :) I hope Oprah can re-enter reality someday.

[RebelOne]

17. My sister is a blind follower of Oprah.

Many years ago we were shopping and stopped in a shoe store. I was trying a pair of shoes on and happened to be wearing slacks with stirrups. My sister said,"They say that you shouldn't wear that type of shoe with stirrups." I asked, "Who is they?" And she replied, "Oprah." The salesgirl even cracked up.

[C_U_L8R]

11. Is this clown even a doctor???

Of what... buffoonery?
I mean... lets get real America...
why the hell does a quack who goes
by his first name get any respect at all.
Has anyone ever actually listened to the guy?
Crap Crap Crap.
And more crap.

[greyl]

18. Yes, Ph.D. in Psychology.

So what? ;)

[Occulus]

23. Still better than most media hacks who go around calling themsleves

"Dr." so-and-so....

At least he has the ethics to back up his title with an actual degree. That, however, says nothing at all for the stream of catsick that spews forth from his face...

[mnmoderatedem]

12. "Nutraceuticals"

watch out for this crapola. There's a growing movement to market these "Nutraceuticals" as part of the "wellness industry", huckstering these dietary supplements that supposedly cure everything from acne to pancreatic cancer. Trouble is there are no independent studies that show these products are a cure or treatment for anything. Only glowing recommendations and testamonials as to how wonderful they are. Mostly these people only separate you from your money...

[KharmaTrain]

13. My Latest Favorite Fraud...John Baskcow

First...WTF is he? His self-proclaimed title is "fitness celebrity". WTF is that? Jack LaLane's illegitimate kid?

I used to be a strong critic of fraudulent advertising on television...but it's never been reigned in. Be it the subliminal "gotta have" message hidden in the large advertisers or the snake-oil salesmen at 2am, the television culture has become so purvasive that anyone who gets takes that leap of faith into the tube deserves to get taken by it.

Dr. Phil's another Roman Circus performer who can be very entertaining if you watch him while very wasted and with lots of popcorn.

[C_U_L8R]

25. And the worst jingle ever created...

if I hear that damn "fitness made simple" crap one more time
I'm gonna..... arrrrgh !

[Arkana]

30. Dude looks like he's jacked up to his eyebrows on steroids

I hate John Basedow and his crappy ads.

[Ian David]

14. Oh, no! They want to ban vitamins! WhaaaAaAaaaaa! n/t

[Marr]

15. Pheee-ul, wut were you thinkin'???

[Catherine Vincent]

16. I have never watched his show.

But the few times I have seen him as a guest, I can't look at him very long. He appears fake, imo. There's just something about him.

[greiner3]

19. Never could stand the person. All talk, no substance;

Just like bush!

[Drifter]

20. Well, its about time ...

I could never understand why people are lured in by him.

Cheers
Drifter

[noonwitch]

21. Never trust an overweight guy who is selling a diet plan

If it's so great, why hasn't it worked for him?

[rniel]

22. You guys should check this out

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/drphil.html

Dr. Phil soundboards. Loads of fun to play with.

[Initech]

24. It's about time someone is suing "Dr." Phil!

I mean come on, why wouldnt you trust a guy who got his start on Oprah?

And can someone explain why this jackass is on every single freaking channel everytime I turn on my television?

[Arkana]

26. I guess there is a God

Because only He could have made sure that this fat, pompous, Bush-ass-fucking fucktard got what he deserved for laughing at people with real problems.

[graywarrior]

28. One word...

AMWAY.

[Ikonoklast]

33. I love Dr. Phil, so there

He is my hero. Any time a self-righteous, platitude spewing windbag like that gets rich off of the freeptards, I figure that he is doing the rest of us service by draining their disposable income. Then there is less money to give to the likes of Dobson, Robertson, Falwell etc.

I hope that he drains them dry with his self-help nonsense crapola. Anyone with more than one brain cell functioning can see that he is only a carnival barker with a larger audience.

[stanwyck]

39. Too funny.

And I'd like to add Dr. Laura to your list of parasites who feed off rightwing low self image.

[rd_kent]

38. They should sue themselves.....

While ALL tv docs and judges and self-help gurus are douchebags, in my opinion, why should someone be able to sue for something they SHOULD KNOW IS NOT TRUE???
A bit of personal research will prove that there is no "magic cure" for obesity. Anyone who believes this crap, like drinking a shake twice a day, will get you in shape, deserves to lose their cash.
These class action lawsuits for being dumbasses only make it harder when folks have real problems that need to be addressed by the courts.