All Episodes Talk: Let’s Talk About Dr Phil the Show

[iHateAmpersands]

Next week has four new episodes instead of three:

Quote

3/16: My Top Model Son Is Convinced He's Mentally Ill

Blake's constant fear of developing schizophrenia is causing nonstop drama and pulling his family apart.

3/17: Coronavirus: Facts vs. Fears

A group of leading medical and health professionals reveal their concerns about the coronavirus; a coronavirus survivor and his wife relive the moment of his diagnosis.

3/18: Gen Z: Lifestyles of the Mooching and Wanna Be Famous

A woman says she wants her own fashion empire and is willing to ruin relationships to get it; a 20-year-old quits his job to become a YouTube star; a man says his goal is to be an internet "influencer" and create his own skin care business.

3/19: What's Going on With Our Daughter?

Vicky says she avoids interacting with her 23-year-old sister, Valerie, because she has full-blown mental breakdowns and angry outbursts almost daily; Valerie says no one understands how debilitating her daily struggle with anxiety is.

3/20: Athlete to Addict

Originally aired on November 19th, 2019

 

[kicksave]

6 hours ago, flyingdi said:

I don't know if i agree.  I feel the daughter is as much a victim as her father and mother.  She's probably in a lot of pain herself.

True...but after having the case reopened herself and finding out that someone else committed the crime she could have had some compassion for her father that spent so many years behind bars for a crime he did not commit!  Instead she accused him of physically abusing her mother and almost made it seem like he was behind the friend killing her. I'm sorry, she needs to do some self reflection and stop blaming her father for something he did not do but was punished for unjustly and quit spewing unsubstantiated slurs about him.

[Dahlia]

Was a bit confused as to why Phil didn’t talk to her first. As much as he annoys me I have seen him help people look at things from another perspective and broker some kind of resolution in many instances and to not assist this poor guy and just throw him in the deep end with his daughter who is also struggling with the whole emotional mess herself just seemed weird and perplexing. 

[parrotfeathers]

I can see a future episode in my mind:  Out of control, disrespectful former A+ student tested positive for Covid and will not stay in quarantine.    He/she left toddler home for me to take care of and I can't go find her/him.   I bought her/him a new iPhone to check in with me and my number has been blocked.  What's a mom to do?

OR

I friended someone who said she had Covid and started her a gofundme.  She got 50,000 and I need to confront her and ask her why she did it because I am so hurt now.

OR

Town explodes with population increase 9 months after being in quarantine from Covid.  Meet all the new munchkins.

I guess I'm bored today.

[Dahlia]

Yah. Another baby boom next Christmas 😁

 

[iHateAmpersands]

Update on a past guest:

Quote

2/21/2019: Insta-Famous to Insta-Lonely

Ava says her one goal in life is to be Insta-famous and she'll stop at nothing to get there, but her real-life relationships are suffering because of her online persona

An influencer filmed herself licking a plane toilet seat for 'clout' on TikTok as part of a 'coronavirus challenge'

Quote

Louise told Insider she licked the toilet seat because she was "tired of some b---- named corona getting more publicity than ME." She added that "hot blondes" can recover from anything so there's "no harm done."

"The xenophobia makes me sad," she said. "What's not gunna make people sad is a hot rich blonde 20-something-year-old licking a toilet. It's not like the virus can kill me anyway because I don't use Facebook [like old people do]."

"It was iconic," she added. "ALS bucket challenge could never ... Period."

Overall, her video pretty much had the desired effect, she said.

"I just wanted more attention than this corona bitch but she's GOOD," she said. "So I capitalized off her. And now I'm like global news. My mom told me she's proud of me I shed light on pandemic while wearing Fendi sunglasses ... The serve."

And surprise, surprise: she's an aspiring rapper with a song called "Skinny Legend Anthem".

Edited March 16, 2020 by iHateAmpersands

[Toaster Strudel]

Dr $$$hill having a panel with the only three experts in the world saying it's OK to go to the movie house during COVID was not on my Bingo card.

Edited March 18, 2020 by Toaster Strudel

[parrotfeathers]

3 hours ago, Toaster Strudel said:

Dr $$$hill finding having a panel with the only three experts in the world saying it's OK to go to the movie house during COVID was not on my Bingo card.

I FF through it stopping 2 or 3 times but didn't find anything worth listening to.   just not sure why we he thinks we should all be listening to his show as an expert source.

[Christina]

I have no idea where I got this link, but think it was on this site. Years ago, Dr. Phil had a family on who claimed to have a young daughter who was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 7. Oprah went to visit her, then they were on Dr. Phil, then later, and the episode I remember seeing, the father contacted the show again and accused the mom of using their two kids to earn money on YouTube.

I want to say something about it so I decided to copy and paste the article under a spoiler tab to save room and because I don't know if everyone can read it otherwise. There is no reason for me to try and rewrite or summarize it. If you can read the actual article, I suggest going to that page because the formatting in the cut and paste is crappy. The article is not just about the family on Dr. Phil.

 The Verge article regarding Schofield

Spoiler

HOW A FAMILY YOUTUBE CHANNEL UNRAVELED A MEDICAL NIGHTMARE

Susan Schofield wanted to share her children’s treatment — but for viewers, the cure looked worse than the disease

By Makena Kelly@kellymakena  Apr 2, 2019, 9:30am EDT

Illustration by Alex Castro

odhiBodhi Schofield is sitting slumped over in an office chair, staring straight ahead. His eyes are glazed over, and he’s drooling out of the corner of his mouth. According to his mother, Susan, who is filming this for her YouTube channel, it’s nearly 4:30AM, and he hasn’t had his medication yet.

“Do you need any medication? Yes or no?” she yells, filming. “Do you need medication? Tell me ‘cause I don’t know. You tell me. So you tell me: do you need medication? Yes or no? And if so, which medication do you need?”

Bodhi is 11 years old in the video. He has been prescribed a rotating regimen of medications, including Thorazine, clozapine, Geodon, Depakote, Vyvanse, lithium, Seroquel, Zyprexa, Risperdal, and Lyrica throughout most of his young life, as described by Susan over various videos. Most, but not all, are antipsychotics. Sometimes, Bodhi takes them in combination; sometimes he takes them alone.

IN SUSAN’S YOUTUBE VIDEOS, BODHI IS OFTEN IN A NEARLY CATATONIC STATE

According to his father, Michael, Bodhi was diagnosed with severe autism when he was six. Susan has been skeptical of the diagnosis from the beginning. She’s certain that, just like his older sister, Jani, he has schizophrenia, and she has found doctors willing to place him on an intense regimen of medications.

In Susan’s YouTube videos, Bodhi is often in a nearly catatonic state, drooling and slurring his words.

Those symptoms haven’t gone overlooked in the heated and skeptical world of YouTube commentary. A community of Schofield skeptics has developed to catalog Susan’s behavior, noting every time they believe Bodhi has a seizure or appears cloudy or overmedicated. Many in the community believe Jani and Bodhi are victims of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a disorder where parents or caretakers feign illness and disease in their children. In many cases, caregivers will often lie to doctors about their child’s symptoms, change the results of tests to make the child appear sicker than they actually are, or even physically harm the child to produce symptoms.

Victims of Munchausen syndrome by proxy are usually smaller children, with caregivers who thrive off the attention they receive from caring for a sick child. In most cases, the attention comes from relatives and the local community. But YouTube commenters theorize that Susan got attention from the platform itself. At its height, Susan’s YouTube channel featured nearly 200 videos, broadcasting the children’s lives to nearly 30,000 subscribers. The family’s audience on YouTube was small in comparison to other channels, but thousands of people across the internet had been following their lives for years through forums, Reddit threads, and reuploads of the videos on YouTube in order to not feed into family’s ad revenue or simply make a profit of their own. The followers varied from younger people who made fun of Susan’s sometimes outrageous behavior to other mothers who were afraid that she might be seriously harming her children through overmedication and misdiagnoses.

In several videos, Susan notes Jani’s adoration for the family vlogging channel, Daily Bumps, which has nearly 4.5 million subscribers. According to SocialBlade, it could bring in at least a six-figure salary for the family.

“Jani, do you realize when you watch Daily Bumps all the time that you’re other people’s Daily Bumps?” Susan says in one video. “Do you realize that, Jani? You are actually other people’s Daily Bumps.”

TheThe Schofields’ first taste of public attention came in 2009 when Jani was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah traveled to California to speak with the then-seven-year-old girl who had been diagnosed with a “rare case of childhood schizophrenia” only a year prior. In the interview, Jani pores over drawings she’s made to describe the characters that come out to play with her when she hallucinates. She has many friends in her world of Calalini, which she tells Oprah is “on the border of my world and your world.” There’s the “bad friend,” 400 the Cat, a little girl named “24 Hours,” and a second cat named Sycamore, among many others.

Jani’s unique case sparked a media blitz. There was a Discovery Life documentary in 2010, the Huffington Post wrote about the family in 2012, and Dr. Phil featured Jani on his daytime show in 2013, just as her parents were identifying similar behaviors in her younger brother Bodhi. That same year, Michael published the family’s first book January First: A Child’s Descent into Madness and Her Father’s Struggle to Save Her.

THEIR TIME IN THE LIMELIGHT PROVED PROFITABLE

Their time in the limelight proved profitable. Not only did it offer publicity for Michael’s book, but the family started a nonprofit called The Jani Foundation which attracted thousands of dollars in donations from friends and community members. It’s unclear what services the foundation provides, but its YouTube channel lists videos of small events and holiday parties that it sponsors for the family’s children and others.

As media attention waned, Susan grew more active on YouTube, and her relationship with Michael faltered. They divorced in 2015, and Susan took over as president of The Jani Foundation. Michael moved to Minnesota, remarried, and built a new life more than a thousand miles away from Jani, Bodhi, and Susan.

SchofieldSchofield Productions’ first video was published in October 2015. It leads with the question “What does schizophrenia look like in the young?” Clips of Jani and Bodhi are captioned with supposed symptoms like “high intelligence,” “incoherent thoughts,” and “extreme agitation.”

In the beginning, the channel featured videos of other children who were also believed to have schizophrenia. Several of those videos mirror the format Susan first used, but with other sick children and their parents discussing their behavior and pharmaceutical regimens.

After the first crop of videos, Susan’s children and their illnesses began to take center stage. She documented tantrums, fits, toilet breaks, showers, and even a video of one child discussing her first period. In 2017, Susan released her own book, which she at first planned to entitle “Jani’s Savior,” but it was released as Born Schizophrenic: A Mother’s Search for Her Family’s Sanity. After publication, she began to publish videos more frequently and tape more intimate moments with her children.

FORUMS BEGAN TO DOCUMENT HOW MUCH MEDICATION SUSAN SAID HER CHILDREN WERE TAKING

Watching Susan’s behavior, some viewers became concerned about the children’s welfare. When it became clear the family would be making new television appearances, concerned viewers started up a channel called The Schofield Lie, creating montages of clips of the children to show how they were being treated. “We thought that the best way to get the information out there was to set these pages up, and when the episode airs, a lot of interest will come from that,” one member of the Schofield Lie group told me.

In August 2017, a group of skeptics started a thread on Kiwi Farms, a lively forum for deep internet gossip. Users shared doubts about Susan’s behavior and treatment of her children, oftentimes likening it to physical and emotional abuse. They began to document how much medication Susan said her children were taking over time, noting changes and different prescriptions from the slew of doctors Susan took her children to when others would not prescribe the strong antipsychotics she believed her children, especially Bodhi, needed.

“It’s rage-inducing to see these children pathologized for normal child developmental stages,” one user wrote. “I bet the thorazine-wielding psych nurses seem like a model of compassion and kindness after being raised by these parents.”

YOUTUBERS POSTED COMPILATION VIDEOS TO SHOW THAT THE CHILDREN’S HEALTH AND BEHAVIORS WERE GETTING WORSE

Some users reached out to the family directly, either seeking more information or to antagonize them for what they saw as exploiting children for YouTube fame. The Kiwi Farms threads on the Schofields run more than 700 pages, often with active rebuttals from Susan and her new husband. Susan argues that she’s simply doing advocacy work for people with mental health disorders. “What you’re up against in the mental health care system is doctors who give blank autism diagnos[es],” Susan said. “That’s all they do and usually there’s a mixture of both or several diagnoses.”

Other forums like r/SchofieldCabanaAbuse on Reddit formed to discuss new updates involving the children, and YouTubers began to put together compilation videos to show that the children’s health and behaviors were only getting worse over the years. As the family put more and more of their lives online, strangers from around the world were able to reconstruct which types of medications the children were taking and in what dosage, just from clips of Susan talking online.

What the forum-goers and YouTubers constructed from Susan’s videos was troubling. They built graphs dedicated to showing Bodhi’s medicine and dosages over the years, starting from when he was just a toddler. Onlookers weren’t only concerned with Bodhi simply taking the medication, but that doctors weren’t conducting the normal amount of oversight. Susan seemed to take him to a different doctor seeking a different prescription for every checkup.

According to attentive forum-goers, Bodhi was on at least 350mg of clozapine, 750mg of Depakote, and 300mg of Thorazine. The exact amount may be in doubt, but on YouTube, Susan had discussed her excitement of finally convincing doctors that Bodhi should be on both Thorazine and clozapine.

According to Jeffrey Hunt director of inpatient and intensive services at Bradley Hospital, that’s an extreme prescription for a patient so young. “For a first medication, we would probably use Risperdal, followed by Zyprexa or Abilify,” Hunt said. “Clozapine is a very effective medication that isn’t often used until the third round of trials, but for someone who’s a teenager and who’s had already two or three trials, using Clozaril is often a good idea.” Hunt told The Verge that it would be “unusual” for someone younger than a late adolescent to be taking medications like Thorazine and Clozaril.

To some observers, Bodhi’s medical issues seemed less like schizophrenia and more like a side effect of overmedication. Chronic use of older-generation antipsychotics like Thorazine can lead to a syndrome called tardive dyskinesia, which manifests as tics that are similar to the symptoms of Tourette syndrome. Overusing antipsychotics like clozapine can also increase a person’s likelihood for seizures and leave them groggy or easily confused, symptoms that some Schofield-watchers believe they’ve spotted in Bodhi’s videos.

TrackingTracking the Schofields on social media, the children’s health and behaviors seemed to be steadily declining. Bodhi, who once appeared lively and social, started to become nonverbal. Jani’s left eye began to wander, and, despite being tested with a 146 IQ, she was unable to write in a straight line. Now in high school, she was still being taught basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Michael took note of his children’s decline from afar. He was alarmed by what was happening and his inability to do anything about it. He decided to call up Dr. Phil again, seeking an intervention.

The show aired in March, and, aside from the children’s health, it was all about YouTube.

“She’s filmed Bodhi in the shower. She’s filmed Bodhi on the toilet. She claims that she’s doing these videos as an advocate for mental health, but I don’t think she’s actually teaching anyone anything,” Michael said on the show. “I think that the purpose of these is for her to get attention and for her to make money because she makes money off the ad revenue.”

Susan disagreed, saying that she wasn’t exploiting her children, but “exploiting the mental health care system.” She continued, “Adam Lanza was diagnosed with autism and that didn’t work out great. He was clearly psychotic. They made a big mistake.”

THERE WERE NO STATUS UPDATES OF HER CHILDREN, NO VIDEOS, JUST NEWS ARTICLES SHARED ON HER FACEBOOK PAGE FOR WEEKS

Both Dr. Phil and celebrity doctor Charles Sophy agreed to help the family and their children, but only if Susan took down her channel. Dr. Phil agreed with Michael, saying that the channel was exploiting both children. Without its removal, Dr. Phil said he would refuse to offer any help for the children.

Susan didn’t like the idea of taking down the channel — she initially scoffed at Dr. Phil’s request — but after an off-stage conversation with her husband, she agreed. The channel was brought down shortly after the show was filmed and has yet to be reactivated, although Susan has suggested she would continue her “documentary” once the children received Dr. Phil’s help. Not long after the show aired, the rest of Susan’s social media presence went dark, too. There were no status updates of her children, no videos, just news articles shared on her Facebook page for weeks.

The eerie silence wasn’t just because of Dr. Phil. According to Michael, the LA County Children’s Court had placed a gag order on both parents as part of an ongoing case. After years of growing concerns, the authorities had finally gotten involved.

The children were removed from Susan’s custody the week of March 10th, 2019, although the community isn’t sure where they are now. In Facebook messages with Patheos, Michael said, “As far as I know right now, they are in a shelter,” he wrote. Michael was at home in Minnesota with his wife who was delivering a child the night his other children were taken away. “I knew it was going to happen, yes. They just did it earlier than I expected,” he said.

It’s unclear who or what exactly drove authorities to remove the children from Susan’s custody, but it occurred shortly after the latest Dr. Phil video aired. “They believe that Susan was exaggerating Bodhi’s symptoms because she believes he has schizophrenia,” Michael wrote. “As for why they took Jani too, I was told it was because she was giving Jani Thorazine and because of her negative influence on Jani.”

When prompted for further details, Michael told The Verge that he is operating under a gag order from a Los Angeles County Children’s Court judge. The current status of the case is unclear. Neither Dr. Phil nor The Jani Foundation responded to requests for comment. Dr. Sophy was unable to comment.

WithWith the accounts dark, the Schofields’ story will probably disappear from YouTube. But YouTube’s broader problems with family channels are hard to escape. For years, the FamilyOFive channel found both success and controversy from its outlandish videos, which sometimes seemed to show the parents physically harming their children. The channel was terminated last July, and two children were removed from the parents’ custody. Last month, the host of the Fantastic Adventures channel was accused of physical abuse after allegedly forcing her seven children to take ice baths and, in a separate incident, allegedly pepper-spraying their genitals. Unlike the Schofields, the host’s alleged abuse occurred off-camera.

Taken together, those incidents paint a troubling picture of family vlogging, which was once seen as the most advertiser-friendly kind of content on the platform. In each case, something about the intense competition of YouTube and the immediate rewards for shocking content seem to have pushed parents to do the unthinkable.

In a statement to The Verge, a spokesperson for YouTube said, “We work closely with leading child safety organizations and others in our industry to protect young people. Additionally, we have robust privacy guidelines to protect the privacy of all our users. In the event a parent or legal guardian feels the privacy of a child has been violated, they can file a privacy complaint and we will quickly remove content which violates our guidelines.”

There is no course of action for children whose parents are the ones violating their privacy, and children with disabilities, like Bodhi, are far more vulnerable to this form of abuse.

For now, the Schofields seem to have escaped that cycle. Neither Susan nor Michael have been charged with any crimes, and it’s unclear where Jani and Bodhi are living as of publication. Susan’s channel is gone, and many of the Schofield Lie montages have been delisted out of concern for the family’s privacy. Since the children were removed, they no longer serve a purpose.

Updated 4/2/2019: Updated to clarify Dr. Hunt’s affiliation

Updated 4/3/2019 4:05PM: Updated to clarify amount of money the Jani Foundation brought in.

A couple of quotes from the article regarding the Dr. Phil family:

Quote

Michael took note of his children’s decline from afar. He was alarmed by what was happening and his inability to do anything about it. He decided to call up Dr. Phil again, seeking an intervention.

The show aired in March, and, aside from the children’s health, it was all about YouTube.

Quote

Both Dr. Phil and celebrity doctor Charles Sophy agreed to help the family and their children, but only if Susan took down her channel. Dr. Phil agreed with Michael, saying that the channel was exploiting both children. Without its removal, Dr. Phil said he would refuse to offer any help for the children.

Susan didn’t like the idea of taking down the channel — she initially scoffed at Dr. Phil’s request — but after an off-stage conversation with her husband, she agreed. The channel was brought down shortly after the show was filmed and has yet to be reactivated, although Susan has suggested she would continue her “documentary” once the children received Dr. Phil’s help. Not long after the show aired, the rest of Susan’s social media presence went dark, too. There were no status updates of her children, no videos, just news articles shared on her Facebook page for weeks.

Quote

The eerie silence wasn’t just because of Dr. Phil. According to Michael, the LA County Children’s Court had placed a gag order on both parents as part of an ongoing case. After years of growing concerns, the authorities had finally gotten involved.

Quote

It’s unclear who or what exactly drove authorities to remove the children from Susan’s custody, but it occurred shortly after the latest Dr. Phil video aired. “They believe that Susan was exaggerating Bodhi’s symptoms because she believes he has schizophrenia,” Michael wrote. “As for why they took Jani too, I was told it was because she was giving Jani Thorazine and because of her negative influence on Jani.”

As I recall, there had been many calls to CPS about this family from people watching the YouTube channel, but since the kids were being treated by doctors, they never went anywhere. I may be wrong, but I'm actually giving mandated reporter Dr. Phil and head of the largest CPS agency in the country, Dr. Sophy, full credit for forcing DCFS' hand in this case. The fact it happened after the episode aired is the only thing that makes me question it, because I would have expected them to raise hell as soon as they saw the videos, and it would have taken some time to edit the film for airing. It feels like it's been years since I've thought Dr. Phil did something great, and I want to give him props for being the squeaky wheel here.

Since it's been a year now that they have been removed from their mother's home, I tried to find an update. Michael was posting under a fake name on a website, even though he was under a gag order, and it looks like as soon as he was revealed, the updates stopped. It appears that Jani was never schizophrenic, both kids are on the autism spectrum, and the mom and stepdad deny the mom has any mental health condition that would cause Munchhausen by Proxy. I can't figure out what is happening with bio dad, Michael.

There are photos of the kids five months after being removed from their mom and detoxed from the drugs, which was about seven months ago in this Reddit post. Everything else I've found has been comments and a lot of negative posts about the parents, which I agree with but they don't add anything to the conversation. 

TL:DR - Dr. Phil and Dr. Sophy may have saved two kids from being poisoned by their mother. 

[parrotfeathers]

7 hours ago, Christina said:

There are photos of the kids five months after being removed from their mom and detoxed from the drugs, which was about seven months ago in this Reddit post. Everything else I've found has been comments and a lot of negative posts about the parents, which I agree with but they don't add anything to the conversation. 

Didn't quote your entire post, but I definitely remember this case.  I do remember they divorced.  I definitely believe this woman was either severely disturbed herself or just didn't have the knowledge/ability/whatever to properly care for her not normal children.  I absolutely agree the girl was so drugged she could barely function.  Thanks for the update.

[iHateAmpersands]

Today's episode reveals that a certain life coach has their own podcast.

The Coach Mike Podcast

Quote

Host and life coach, Mike Bayer sits down with thought leaders, trail blazers and innovators to discuss their struggles, successes, and decisions they’ve made in their businesses as well as their lives. Coach Mike believes all of us are constantly evolving, and each week there’s a different guest that brings wisdom and solutions that could help you enhance your life.

As for today's topic:

Guest #1 was a mathematically-challenged airhead who was clearly there to get herself out there.

Guest #2 is an idiot for quitting a decent-paying job when others can barely get work.

Guest #3 was just another male Kardashian wanna-be with the fillers and (future) butt lift.

[Burning Rubber]

22 hours ago, iHateAmpersands said:

Today's episode reveals that a certain life coach has their own podcast.

The Coach Mike Podcast

As for today's topic:

Guest #1 was a mathematically-challenged airhead who was clearly there to get herself out there.

Guest #2 is an idiot for quitting a decent-paying job when others can barely get work.

Guest #3 was just another male Kardashian wanna-be with the fillers and (future) butt lift.

Coach Mike choppy word salad was all they deserved.

[iHateAmpersands]

Next week is all repeats:

Quote

3/23: My Mom Is Homeless and Believes She Is Engaged to Putin

Originally aired on November 11th, 2019

3/24: Former Anchorwoman and Beauty Queen Wife: Is She Addicted?

Originally aired on  November 1st, 2019

3/25: We've Lost Control of Our Raging, Possibly Pregnant, Teen

Originally aired on November 22th, 2019

3/26: After Barricading Her Mom in the Car, Rae Makes It to Stage

Originally aired on November 25th, 2019

3/27: DNA Drama: Fertility Doctors' Secret Children

Originally aired on December 9th, 2019

 

[AZChristian]

We have old episodes running in the background in the morning while catching up on our computer stuff (Solitaire Challenge!).

The episode on right now is the spoiled rotten kids who make me think this country is in more danger from idiots and selfishness than from a virus . . . but I digress.

There's a young man on there right now who wants to be a youtube star (don't they all?).  His shtick is pranking people who actually have jobs in stores and restaurants.  In other words, he thinks it's funny to waste other people's time for his own amusement.  So they showed a video of him running into store counters and displays while pretending to be blind.

After they showed the video, they had him on set with Dr. Phil.  Dr. Phil looked him in the eye and said, "Just in case you never thought about it, do you UNDERSTAND how offensive 'pretending to be blind' might be to people who actually ARE blind?"

The young man had the decency to look slightly embarrassed and acknowledged that making fun of blind people wasn't nice.  

And then DR. PHIL HIMSELF said, "The only good thing about showing that video is that blind people couldn't actually SEE what you were doing."

IMO, what DR PHIL said was even more offensive to blind people.  He was going for a cheap laugh at the expense of the very people he claimed to be defending.

Sheesh.

[iHateAmpersands]

The rest of this week's set of repeat episodes have been replaced by new Coronavirus-themed shows:

Quote

3/24: Coronavirus: Parenting Under Quarantine

Dr. Phil speaks with parents and teens from around the country, answering crucial questions about living and parenting under quarantine.

3/25: Coronavirus Fears: My Anxiety Is Crippling

Dr. Phil offers advice on how to overcome stress and anxiety about the coronavirus pandemic and develop a healthier and fact-based perspective.

3/26: Coronavirus Naysayers: We're Still Going to Live Our Lives

[Former guest] Ava goes viral on TikTok for licking a toilet seat on an airplane as she heads to spring break festivities; pastor Tony Spell violates an emergency order banning groups of more than 50 people by having more than 1,100 people at a Sunday service.

3/27: Coronavirus: How to Stay Safe

People who have never given thought to purchasing guns are buying them during the coronavirus panic; Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva tells how the largest sheriff's department in the country is handling this pandemic.

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by iHateAmpersands

[Sam Spayaid]

And now....live from Dr. Phil's.....kitchen!!!! Is that the room that Robin has never been able to find?

Phil talks to a stunned Millenial about the virus and she is one clueless idiot! She brags about licking a toilet seat!!! 

But it was on her sugar daddy's plane. And she had a song.....going viral so she's a regular little Taylor Swift as well.

[Lady Iris]

I am filled with such an absolute rage over this moronic selfish ugly horrid ignorant beast! My mouth is on the floor at the things coming out of her mouth. I’m literally dumbstruck. I’m seriously seeing red. 

[Keywestclubkid]

Isn’t this the 3rd time this chick has been on this show? The only thing new this time is her baboon ass looking lips. This is so beyond fake she is hitting every stereotype.. 

Edited March 26, 2020 by Keywestclubkid

[Keywestclubkid]

When she said she wasn’t hygienic when she was in Miami did she know how skanky gross that would come across? I 100 % think it was all completely fake to get people to talk about it but good god 

[iHateAmpersands]

Next week:
 

Quote

3/30: Coronavirus: Couples in Crisis

A spike in divorce filings in China, where self-quarantining has been in effect for longer than in America; a couple who run a marriage ministry fear that self-quarantining could lead them to the brink of divorce; relationship advice.

3/31: Quarantine: Mental Health Checkup

Dr. Daniel Amen talks about maintaining good mental hygiene during times of great stress, such as self-quarantining; Kaila and Isaac are extremely worried because their baby's life-altering heart surgery was postponed due to the pandemic.

4/1: Coronavirus: Signs and Symptoms

Dr. Phil's guests are people who are battling COVID-19 and say it is nothing like they expected; the shocking symptoms and the hard truth; a nurse who is sick after treating patients tells what is happening in hospitals and why it is a broken system.

4/2: Coronavirus: Coping With Isolation and Depression

Donna says her depression, from isolation, has gotten so bad that she's not eating, sleeping or showering; a disaster mental-health specialist tells why some people trap themselves at home while others foolishly flock to crowded beaches and parties.

4/3: DNA Drama: Fertility Doctors' Secret Children

Originally aired on December 9th, 2019

 

Edited March 27, 2020 by iHateAmpersands

[parrotfeathers]

These people “coping” with isolation are nuts.  I live on a farm and may not leave for a couple of weeks at a time.  Find something useful to do!

I’m not watching any of his virus episodes.  Rather see reruns.

[CrazyInAlabama]

They're showing a classic Catfish episode on OWN, with a 65 year old widow who thinks her love muffin is some guy named Eric Lane, who she has not only sent almost $200K to this scammer, but sexting him pictures of her boobies.      This woman has been shown the photo is someone else, the address doesn't exist, the names is someone else, and everything else is phony, but she doesn't believe it.    I bet like 99% of the Catfish 'victims' they think it's true love, don't believe the proof they're shown that the scammer is cheating them.   The other 1% would still keep sending money but they're tapped out.      These people never admit they've been scammed. 

[AZChristian]

We just watched that catfish episode as well.  After watching a few of those, we talked to our daughter (who can view our financial info) and told her that if one of us dies, she needs to keep an eye on the bank/retirement accounts to make sure the other doesn't do something this STUPID.

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 3/28/2020 at 10:02 AM, AZChristian said:

We just watched that catfish episode as well.  After watching a few of those, we talked to our daughter (who can view our financial info) and told her that if one of us dies, she needs to keep an eye on the bank/retirement accounts to make sure the other doesn't do something this STUPID.

And they should do a thorough background and credit check on the new friend too.   I know so many (pre-internet) that were widowed, and a new person moved in very quickly, and the widow or widower, lost everything to these people.  

I caught another OWN rerun, with the man who has impoverished himself sending money to his girlfriend, who claims to be a Kennedy family heiress (so why did she need the money?).       This woman supposedly died in a horrific car accident, but then called him after this, and he sent her more money.   

Edited March 30, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Gam2]

I can only tolerate about 30 minutes of the news (all corona all the time) when I get up in the morning. And I SURELY do not want to hear Shill and Plastica pontificate every afternoon on this subject. Neither one is Dr. Fauci who’s the only one I listen to at this point. Shill needs to go to reruns until next September! Dear God, that man is insufferable.

[chenoa333]

On 3/26/2020 at 11:31 AM, Sam Spayaid said:

And now....live from Dr. Phil's.....kitchen!!!! 

I'm shocked and appalled at Robin's choice of old school white kitchen cabinets.

[hoosier80]

Saw a repeat of the  toilet licker on OWN today.  Clearly did it for attention, but she's an obnoxious twit.   Only old people get it, it's fake news, cancelling my graduation (graduating from Rutgers??).  She said no one in Miami had it anyhow.  Yeah, Miami, as of last evening, has the majority of cases in FL.  Read that a huge spring break party is one area where the stuff spread like wildfire.

So many people who were vocal in saying oh it's nothing, I won't get it, yeah tested positive weeks later.  Karma, she does come calling.

Good luck Toilet Princess.   

[Sam Spayaid]

16 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

I'm shocked and appalled at Robin's choice of old school white kitchen cabinets.

Yeah. I was kinda surprised at their kitchen - what you can see of it anyway - that it's not more some super-duper-WOW gorgeous thing out of Architectural Digest. 

These at-home videos are giving us a tiny glimpse into how our TV personalities live. Some are surprisingly humble.

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, Sam Spayaid said:

Yeah. I was kinda surprised at their kitchen - what you can see of it anyway - that it's not more some super-duper-WOW gorgeous thing out of Architectural Digest. 

These at-home videos are giving us a tiny glimpse into how our TV personalities live. Some are surprisingly humble.

Or that's not really his Robin's primary kitchen.  Could be a mother-in-law apartment in the basement, or the live-in help's kitchen over the garage.

This guy has a HUGE house in Beverly Hills with a swimming pool and a private tennis court.  The house his guitar-playing son lives in (owned by the family trust) was recently listed for about $5,000,000.

I just don't see Phil and Robin living in a place where the kitchen has a dark corner and the countertop is full of appliances.

ETA:  Google tells me that the house Phil and Robin live in was bought in 2011 for $29,000,000 THEN.  They have a two-story guest house that looks like it would be larger than most of us live in.  I suspect the shows are being filmed there.

Edited March 31, 2020 by AZChristian

[parrotfeathers]

18 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Or that's not really his Robin's primary kitchen.  Could be a mother-in-law apartment in the basement, or the live-in help's kitchen over the garage.

This guy has a HUGE house in Beverly Hills with a swimming pool and a private tennis court.  The house his guitar-playing son lives in (owned by the family trust) was recently listed for about $5,000,000.

I just don't see Phil and Robin living in a place where the kitchen has a dark corner and the countertop is full of appliances.

ETA:  Google tells me that the house Phil and Robin live in was bought in 2011 for $29,000,000 THEN.  They have a two-story guest house that looks like it would be larger than most of us live in.  I suspect the shows are being filmed there.

I tend to agree with you.  Before Paula Dean got the boot from Food Network she had a separate area on her place where all the episodes were filmed.   I would imagine they have a nutritionist/cook/maid.   I can tell you I sure would.  But maybe they are spending all their disposable income on their kids.

[chenoa333]

4 hours ago, parrotfeathers said:

Before Paula Dean got the boot from Food Network she had a separate area on her place where all the episodes were filmed

Yes.   And The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Gartner, had a small cottage on her property for filming her food show. 

[parrotfeathers]

3 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

Yes.   And The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Gartner, had a small cottage on her property for filming her food show. 

I like her.

8 hours ago, AZChristian said:

ETA:  Google tells me that the house Phil and Robin live in was bought in 2011 for $29,000,000 THEN.  They have a two-story guest house that looks like it would be larger than most of us live in.  I suspect the shows are being filmed there.

Wonder how long it takes Robin to pick out and put on her do rag and vacuum?

[sereion]

On 3/26/2020 at 3:15 PM, Lady Iris said:

I am filled with such an absolute rage over this moronic selfish ugly horrid ignorant beast! My mouth is on the floor at the things coming out of her mouth. I’m literally dumbstruck. I’m seriously seeing red. 

I think she's a troll trying to gain some social media clout like that 'cash me outside' fool. I don't think she believes the idiotic crap coming out of mouth.

Edited April 2, 2020 by sereion

[Toaster Strudel]

She is selling outrage. Outrage is a valuable commodity on the internet, easily converted into a revenue stream.

[iHateAmpersands]

Next week includes the best description of a Dr. Phil episode ever:

Quote

4/6: Coronavirus: From the Front Lines

Medical workers on the front lines are fighting the coronavirus and risking their own lives in the process of curbing some of the damage in this pandemic; an ICU doctor; a labor nurse; how New York nurses are doing in the eye of the virus' storm.

4/7: My Partying Sister Needs a Motherhood Master Class -- Now

Originally aired on January 15, 2020

4/8: Coronavirus: What's My Future?

An Olympic athlete questions how much longer he should sacrifice the dreams of his family for his dream; a woman fears she won't be able to leave her house for months, or even a year; a scientist fears the worst may be yet to come.

4/9: COVIDiots: Sorry, Not Sorry

Defiant fools frolic on the beach, go to parties and weddings, and hoard supplies during the pandemic; 15 seconds change a spring breaker's life forever; a restauranteur defies his governor; David Foster calms people with some new music.

4/10: Coronavirus: Sobriety in a Time of Crisis

Anne and her boyfriend broke up a few days after they began self-isolating, and she's been drinking alcohol to help heal her broken heart; Danielle and Niki share the struggles they've seen firsthand in the sober community during the pandemic.

 

[parrotfeathers]

I think I'll find something else to do next week.  At the rate he's going his ratings are going to drop faster than I don't know what.

Can't we have an online catfish episode?

[iHateAmpersands]

3 hours ago, parrotfeathers said:

I think I'll find something else to do next week.  At the rate he's going his ratings are going to drop faster than I don't know what.

Can't we have an online catfish episode?

Watching a catfish happening in real time? That'd be great!

[chenoa333]

On 4/4/2020 at 10:59 AM, parrotfeathers said:

Can't we have an online catfish episode?

Yes! Where are those scumbag, scandalous Nigerian scammers when we need them! 

[b2H]

On 4/4/2020 at 4:29 PM, iHateAmpersands said:

Watching a catfish happening in real time? That'd be great!

Even OWN is abandoning Dr. Phil.  Today (Monday), they switched over to some retreads of Oprah's show for three hours in the middle of the day.  They're doing it, looks like, all week.  Maybe this is their new programming, I don't know.

If they could pull more shows from the archives, they might keep their viewership, but they often show the same episodes multiple times in a month.  In a single day, they show the same shows in the morning that they showed the previous afternoon.  I've never understood the programming - the guy is on season, what - 17??  And they can't stop themselves from repeating murder shows and Drew Peterson and cold cases and stupid stuff multiple times in a month?
 

I means really, what the heck?!?!?!??!

[Gam2]

My TV happened to be on the channel when Shill’s show came on. I burst out laughing when I spotted the tongs laying on the counter to Shill’s right side. I guess they were getting a lot of questions about where he was actually sitting for these boring shows. Ha!

[parrotfeathers]

6 hours ago, Gam2 said:

My TV happened to be on the channel when Shill’s show came on. I burst out laughing when I spotted the tongs laying on the counter to Shill’s right side. I guess they were getting a lot of questions about where he was actually sitting for these boring shows. Ha!

During what little I could watch on today's show (like, will I ever, basically, be able, like, to basically leave my house) I was trying to figure out what those contraptions were sitting on his countertops behind him.  They almost looked like mini-wine refrigerators or something. And then there was that nice bowl of tangerines sitting on the stack of books.  

[iHateAmpersands]

This week's schedule:

Quote

4/13: COVID-19: Trapped Abroad

More than 24,000 Americans remain stuck overseas due to canceled flights and closed borders throughout the world because of the coronavirus; a pair trapped in India; a couple who spent 13 days confined to a cruise ship cabin; how to get home safely.

4/14: COVID-19: Branded and Scorned

Fear and anxiety stemming from the coronavirus pandemic cause some people to lash out at those diagnosed with COVID-19 and Asian-Americans; Clare, 21, says she received resentment and scorn from friends; Valerie says she was chased down the street.

4/15: COVID-19: The Whistleblowers

Whistle-blowers say employers punish them for calling for safe working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic; nurses say they've been penalized for demanding protective masks; a man says Amazon fired him over working conditions.

4/16: Miracle Cures, Scams, and What Really Might Treat COVID-19

Americans are desperate for cures for COVID-19, and some turn to fake "miracle" products; separating fact from fiction; the information viewers need to stay ahead of the con artists; former NFL player Kyle Turley says CBD is the cure.

4/17: Coronavirus: Sobriety in a Time of Crisis [This episode was originally scheduled for last Friday, but a repeat aired instead.]

Anne and her boyfriend broke up a few days after they began self-isolating, and she's been drinking alcohol to help heal her broken heart; Danielle and Niki share the struggles they've seen firsthand in the sober community during the pandemic.

 

[parrotfeathers]

A whole week of virus stuff.  Hey Doc I think you would have more viewers if you and Robin actually cooked in your kitchen and shared recipes rather than this virus stuff that we are all sick of hearing about (even as serous as it is).

[poeticlicensed]

I discovered that my streaming provider YouTube TV, allows subscribers to access about 10 years of Shill's shows. I have no desire to watch anymore shows about coronavirus, so I searched the archives for grandma and grandpa catfish stoies and found the mother lode. It's hilarious. I pick one and have it on while I'm attempting to work

Edited April 13, 2020 by poeticlicensed

[parrotfeathers]

5 hours ago, poeticlicensed said:

I discovered that my streaming provider YouTube TV, allows subscribers to access about 10 years of Shill's shows. I have no desire to watch anymore shows about coronavirus, so I searched the archives for grandma and grandpa catfish stoies and found the mother lode. It's hilarious. I pick one and have it on while I'm attempting to work

I wonder if Pluto will ever have Dr. P reruns.

Lots to choose from in 10 years of shows!

[Gam2]

On 4/13/2020 at 2:10 PM, parrotfeathers said:

A whole week of virus stuff.  Hey Doc I think you would have more viewers if you and Robin actually cooked in your kitchen and shared recipes rather than this virus stuff that we are all sick of hearing about (even as serous as it is).

Amen!!

[iHateAmpersands]

Next week's show; more of the same:

Quote

4/20: Teen Rebellion

Gina and Desi say their rebellious 14-year-old has faked COVID-19 symptoms to get released from an inpatient treatment facility; boundaries and emotional needs; Bishop T.D. Jakes shares some spiritual advice and healing for the family and viewers.

4/21: Moms Gone Mad

Mothers across the globe feel the frustrations of being stuck at home with their children 24/7 due to COVID-19; two say anxiety keeps them up at night; Dr. Phil tells all parents how not to feel like failures while parenting during the quarantine.

4/22: Searching for the Cure

As COVID-19 continues to ravage America, Dr. Phil takes an inside look at the intense search for treatments and a cure; people who are battling the problems that aren't health related, but are also dire.

4/23: Help! Overindulging Under Quarantine

Many Americans under stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus pandemic are gaining weight; Dr. Phil talks to four women who have problems with relationships to food and alcohol and tells them how to get their minds and bodies back on track.

4/24: Questions Answered

How to handle the coronavirus quarantine while managing one's marriage, family, and even sobriety; experts help Dr. Phil tackle some tough topics to get viewers the answers they need during difficult times.

 

[b2H]

As I wrote on the other thread, he has apparently done a public apology, which was probably not heard by even a quarter of the audience he spoke those lies to.

As far as I'm concerned, he's dead to me.  This show was my go-to for background noise on OWN for probably the last six or seven years when I work from home.  Not only is this show no longer on my watch list, but sadly, neither is this thread, as much as I enjoy it.  I would much rather just not acknowledge this liar's existence. 

It's been real and it's been fun, but it hasn't been real fun.  See you on the flip side.

[kicksave]

6 hours ago, b2H said:

As I wrote on the other thread, he has apparently done a public apology, which was probably not heard by even a quarter of the audience he spoke those lies to.

As far as I'm concerned, he's dead to me.  This show was my go-to for background noise on OWN for probably the last six or seven years when I work from home.  Not only is this show no longer on my watch list, but sadly, neither is this thread, as much as I enjoy it.  I would much rather just not acknowledge this liar's existence. 

It's been real and it's been fun, but it hasn't been real fun.  See you on the flip side.

Me too...I'm out. I've been watching him since day one. Usually as something to watch while folding laundry or doing other household chore. But after his irresponsible and reckless comments on Fox News, I can't watch him any longer. Especially after he has spent the last few weeks doing shows dealing with COVID-19 and the problems and issues it is presenting for people. WTF??? Comparing accidental deaths with a highly contagious infection and saying the shutdowns aren't necessary? Someone offered him $$$ to say this...and we all know he'll do anything for $$$. As it is, I was getting bored and frustrated with his show the last year or so...the constant shilling for Robin's skincare line, shilling for other products on the show and his own projects and his son's projects and the outsourcing of help for people to "Coach" Mike, PNP Center and several rehabs that he uses continuously...he must get pay out from these people because all he does now is listen to people cry or fight and then refer them one of these places/people. He needs to go and Oprah should shut his production down and Dr. Oz too.

[AZChristian]

An old favorite episode on OWN this morning.

Three adult children (two of whom are married, one of whom has three kids of her own) move back in with Mom and Dad.  None of them work, or if they do, they are not contributing to the household expenses.  ("We're saving up to get our own place.")  

Mom and Dad still have four young children at home, so there are currently 13 people living in a trailer.  And the park manager has instituted eviction procedures because they are in such flagrant violation of the number of people who can live in one trailer.

They don't do chores, buy groceries, help with utilities, etc.

After allowing the adult children to make complete fools of themselves, Dr. Phil showed them a live feed from the trailer.  Moving men were taking out all of the adult kids' belongings, and Dr. Phil was going to pay rent for them for 30 days (all in one place), getting them OUT of the trailer and allowing them to have time to find their own living arrangements.

The adult children were not amused.  One of them was REALLY pissed.  We just laughed and laughed and laughed.