Dr. Phil’s faux pas
Incident: Teen attack pack leader sprung from jail
What did Phil do: Unless you were encased in a cone of silence last week (news broke April 8), you likely heard about eight teenage girls who viciously beat another girl and videotaped the attack. Well, the Dr. Phil show heard about it too. In hot pursuit of a ratings “get,” Dr. Phil’s production staff charged down to Florida to post bail for the alleged ringleader in the beating. The cherry on top was a Dr. Phil staffer escorting the accused out of jail, bragging to waiting media throngs that Dr. Phil had the “exclusive.”
What would Phil say: “Sometimes you’ve just gotta give yourself what you wish you were getting from someone else.”
Outcome: Show canceled. Dr. Phil’s spokeman said, “certain staff members went beyond our guidelines,” and as a result, “we have decided not to go forward with the story.” (Matt Sayles / Associated Press)
Incident: Dr. Phil has affair with 19-year-old patient
What did Phil do: According to the unauthorized biography “The Making of Dr. Phil,” the 38-year-old psychologist conducted an affair in 1988 with a 19-year-old therapy patient. He was married at the time.
What would Phil say: “I think you’re running into a lot of trouble if your idea of foreplay is, ‘Brace yourself honey, here I come!’ ”
Outcome: The Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists found him in violation of its code of ethics and assigned him one year of supervised practice and mandatory enrollment in a professional ethics course, and ordered him to undergo physical and psychological evaluations. Rather than complete the requirements, Phil gave up his practice and founded the company Courtroom Sciences. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
