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00:06Five months into our reporting about fraud and addiction, we got probably the weirdest tip
00:14that I've ever gotten in my career.
00:18This tipster, a minor celebrity, had read our stories and said they really needed to talk
00:26to us. The tipster was really emphatic. It was so unexpected. They said, you should investigate
00:36Dr. Phil. We were like, what the is that? I mean, like, that's ridiculous. We're serious
00:42people and we are not going to investigate Dr. Phil because that is not a serious thing
00:45to investigate. We were wrong.
00:55We haven't asked you to do this anonymously. This is at your request. Is that correct?
01:02Yes.
01:03I hear the ratings are huge. So you must be like, yeah, I'm the man.
01:09Well, if you're going to do it, do it right, I suppose. But really, I'm proud of what we've
01:12done. I truly think that it's the highest and best use of television.
01:21I would like for people to have a real idea about Dr. Phil.
01:28They are there to get you in and out so fast. Have a taxi cab literally sitting out there.
01:33I bawled my eyes out in that cab.
01:38They're set up to fail. They're manipulated.
01:43We had to do absolutely everything that we could to get them there.
01:48I had no say in anything at all the entire time we were there.
01:53My traumatic experiences were seen as entertainment.
01:58Fear is permanent every day.
02:02It was a cult. You feel like you're working for the devil.
02:06Technically, he's not a real doctor, but, like, he's Dr. Phil. That's his whole brand.
02:12He is no stranger to controversy, and television's Dr. Phil is under fire once again today.
02:18He's the most successful guy on television. What happens to this guy? Who can touch him?
02:22I'm never surprised now when somebody comes out and says that Dr. Phil exploited them.
02:40When it comes to talk shows in the sort of 90s, how was America engaging in its problems on national
02:48TV, would you say?
02:49Wow. Okay.
02:52Throughout the 80s, the talk show began to become a bigger and bigger thing, where it would be a family
02:58in crisis, and the host would talk to them, and maybe they'd bring out an expert, and Oprah Winfrey very
03:05quickly became the queen of daytime television.
03:14She brought a whole bunch of people on at the same time, Susie Orman, financial wellness guru, Dr. Oz, who
03:22is now working for the federal government, and then Dr. Phil.
03:24My next guest is here to help lead you in the right direction. I've chosen him because he is the
03:30person who helped me the most getting through my trial.
03:33Oprah got to know Dr. Phil from using the business that he had built before he became a TV shrink.
03:40Opening statements are set for today in the Texas Cattlemen's lawsuit against Oprah Winfrey.
03:45Oprah and her production company knew they needed help, so they called Dr. Phil McGraw at Courtroom Sciences.
03:52When you get on the witness stand, it can rock you back on your heels, and you can be less
03:57effective than you might be otherwise.
03:58Oprah really liked his manner, so she started bringing him on.
04:03Dr. Phil is here. He's definitely all wound up and ready for action.
04:07He was speaking kind of truth in a way that felt good and felt kind of emotionally satisfying.
04:13You can't be romantic enough for her to want to have sex three times a day, okay?
04:19Dr. Phil was a breakout star. Dr. Phil went from being an occasional guest on the show to being a
04:24regular guest on the show to being a fixture on the show.
04:27Now to a man known to tens of millions of television viewers as simply Dr. Phil.
04:32He's emerged as a top contender for the eyes and ears of advice-starved Americans.
04:36Within a couple years, they gave him his own show, and immediately, like, his face was suddenly everywhere.
04:42Man, are you making a splash. Your show is what? The number two daytime show after Oprah.
04:48He became like Oprah in that you don't need a last name.
04:52And then when she left, he was on top.
05:02I'm Evan Allen, investigative reporter at the Boston Globe.
05:08In 2017, I was working with another reporter on a series of stories about the addiction treatment industry.
05:17We were starting to get a lot of tips, and it was sort of through that that we got the
05:23tip about the Dr. Phil show.
05:26Ain't life just grand? It's lots of hard work. It truly is.
05:30But really, it is pretty damn glamorous and exciting.
05:35First, we just started watching the show.
05:37Like, we watched a lot of Dr. Phil.
05:42In the early days of Dr. Phil, the segments are funnier. They're lighter.
05:47No running water in the bathroom?
05:49Whoa, whoa!
05:50I shook y'all's hands when you came up here.
05:53The next clip shows he was a straight-talking Texas guy cutting through the bullshit because he cares about you,
06:01and he's going to tell you the truth.
06:02And it's like a truth that you need to hear.
06:04You teach people how to treat you, okay?
06:08You need to stand your ground and start the negotiation over because you got some help now.
06:13You got me. All right?
06:17Later, there was a turning point where the tone really shifted.
06:25With every step of investigation that we did, the picture got bigger and darker.
06:33This was the first time that I had ever watched the Dr. Phil show with my full attention and with
06:39any critical thought.
06:41In the first four years of the show, he still was a licensed psychologist.
06:47Because I feel like I've been given a very powerful platform, and I need to be a good steward of
06:54that influence.
06:55And so I weigh very carefully what I say before I say it, because I know millions of people the
07:00world over are watching him.
07:02But then we found that in 2006, he let his license lapse, which means that he's not a licensed doctor.
07:12After that, you can see yourself.
07:15The show became more sensational, more disturbing.
07:19She claims her father is a violent, dangerous psychopath.
07:23It goes from, like, mom's on the edge to my daughter thinks she's pregnant with baby Jesus.
07:29What will the ultrasound show?
07:31I am pregnant.
07:34And it is Jesus.
07:35It is so outrageous.
07:38He presents himself as this trustworthy, straight-talking doctor.
07:45That's his whole brand.
07:46And in 200 markets in a...
07:48But the reality is so at odds with the thing they are pretending to be.
07:56I just don't understand why people go on the show.
08:15I was 16 in high school.
08:19That's when I wound up finding out that I was pregnant.
08:24Me and my boyfriend broke up about a month into the pregnancy.
08:32I didn't really feel comfortable with, like, abortion.
08:35I felt that it was the right choice to take care of it and hold myself responsible.
08:43Everybody was very conflicted.
08:45My stepfather did not feel confident in my decision.
08:50My mom just wanted to support me.
08:53Her and my stepfather were fighting nonstop.
08:56She was just desperate.
08:57She didn't want to have to choose between her husband and her child.
09:03So, she wrote in to the Dr. Phil show.
09:12The night before flying out, I said to my mom,
09:15please don't make me go on the show.
09:17And that is when she had told me that, you know,
09:20if you care about your family, then you're going to go on the show.
09:24And despite not wanting to go, I went.
09:40When I first talked to the Dr. Phil show, I was reached out to.
09:43I didn't ask for help.
09:45Investigators say Cassandra Taruga wanted to kill a pregnant friend
09:49and then steal her baby by performing a C-section.
09:53In 2011, I was 18 and pregnant when my friend asked to come over to my house.
09:58According to court paperwork, Taruga came over with two large butcher knives and a pair of scissors.
10:04She told me that there was this gift that she wanted to give me.
10:09She told me to turn around and close my eyes.
10:11She just says, one, two.
10:14And right when she says three, I felt like there was a knife to my back.
10:20I stood up as fast as I could, ran and turned the light on.
10:24911 was called.
10:25The cops were there.
10:26They could all see two large butcher knives.
10:30They also found scissors, disinfectant, a baby onesie, a newborn blanket.
10:35That's when I started to realize she had plotted to kill me
10:38and perform a C-section on my body to take my unborn child.
10:45The next day, I had every news station sitting outside my house.
10:51Everybody wanted to have an interview with me, but they wanted to change my story
10:55to make their own narrative of what had happened.
10:59So I declined everybody.
11:04Until I received an email from a producer from The Dr. Phil Show.
11:11They were just kind of different.
11:14They wanted to give me that platform to tell my story,
11:17and they would be honored to be able to do this.
11:21They said that specifically.
11:22Specifically.
11:23They wanted to give me a platform.
11:26I just trusted what the producers were saying.
11:30The Dr. Phil Show was like royalty.
11:32There was nothing but good things that anybody said about him.
11:37That's what it seemed like.
11:47I grew up watching Dr. Phil.
11:50And I was happy to be there.
11:53At the start.
11:56There was no standards around the content that we would produce.
12:01It was never about how can we help this person.
12:06I think I would describe Dr. Phil as something of a manipulative egomaniac.
12:13The guests don't realize how personal they're going to get,
12:16and how bad it makes them look.
12:21We had to do absolutely everything that we could to get them there.
12:27We were told to tell them that it's going to be life-changing,
12:29that he's going to help them,
12:31that they're going to get resources that they would never otherwise get.
12:34I would tell many, many other lies.
12:38Everybody believed that he was a real doctor,
12:40and that, you know, he had the best of intentions for that.
12:43It really wasn't until they actually, like, got on stage
12:46that it all sort of started to fall apart.
12:49I mean, it was really brutal.
12:59They flew me out there.
13:01The producers were super nice.
13:03They sent a cab to come get me and my baby.
13:06They even bought a car seat for him.
13:09I was actually really excited for the whole thing.
13:15I was told to make sure that they were taken care of.
13:19That was my job as a travel coordinator,
13:21to make sure that it was flawless from door to door.
13:25Your hotel's going to be paid for, your meals.
13:28You'll take care of all of it.
13:31Was that the brief that you were told
13:33to make them feel like sort of stars?
13:36Yeah.
13:39We did get picked up by a very large limo.
13:44They gave us a five-star hotel.
13:49The hotel room was very, very nice.
13:52We got $150 of room service a day.
13:56Having somebody come and get me things,
13:58especially being a mom, I was like, wow, this is nice.
14:04You're in the glitz of Hollywood.
14:07There's a sedan picking you up and taking them to the studio,
14:11right into the iconic entrance to Paramount Pictures.
14:17I mean, your head is spinning.
14:20So there was a lot of love bombing, basically.
14:23Yes.
14:25By the people working to get these people on the show.
14:33When you were in it, did you enjoy it?
14:38No.
14:40No.
14:43It was an open area called the bullpen
14:46where all the producers and APs and PAs all sat.
14:53The anxiety just was everywhere in that office.
15:02What was Phil like?
15:07He was an intimidating person.
15:11He was a very tall, big guy.
15:14It's this sort of direct, booming voice coming at you.
15:19And the way Dr. Phil treated the producers created an environment of fear.
15:27You don't want to end up in a room with Dr. Phil being screamed at.
15:33Fear is permanent anxiety every day.
15:40The producers were high-strung and erotic.
15:43Like, they didn't seem like broken people.
15:46They were just awful people.
15:55I never felt I could go to someone about what was going on.
16:01It's a place of control.
16:05The audience, they don't know the true man behind the persona and the name.
16:12That's all made up.
16:13It's a lie.
16:28I was only 17 when my mom wrote the show.
16:35Our family was very broken.
16:39My brother had molested me when we were younger, twice.
16:44He was taken out of the home by family services,
16:48and my mom signed away her parental rights to him.
16:53But when he was in the custody of the state,
16:55he never actually finished any kind of sexual offender program.
17:00When he turned 18, they let him go, and he moved in with my dad.
17:05He was doing whatever he wanted.
17:09He was just really messed up.
17:15My mom was scared that he was going to re-offend.
17:19She knew he still needed that help.
17:23That's why she wrote the show.
17:27My mom was like, a Dr. Phil show answered me,
17:29and, you know, we're going to get help.
17:32I had been in therapy for years,
17:34but my mom didn't want me to be re-traumatized.
17:39But the Dr. Phil producers said that either I went,
17:42or they weren't going to do it at all.
17:46You know, he was still my brother.
17:49I thought it would be good for everybody.
17:58When we first got to the studio,
18:01the producer that I had been working with from day one
18:03was like, hi, Angelique.
18:05Like, it's so nice to see you.
18:07They start treating you like royalty,
18:09making you feel like you're important.
18:10Like, everything about you is amazing.
18:13And it gives you that little bit of trust,
18:15but you're just like, man, like, I'm so excited for this.
18:20You know, I'm so excited for this.
18:22So we started to reach out to guests
18:24who had been on the show.
18:25We started to hear the same story again and again.
18:29People described sort of feeling pressure
18:32from the producers, a little bit entrapped almost,
18:36like they didn't know how to get out anymore.
18:38And that was when some people described feeling like,
18:43maybe I don't want to do this.
18:46We drove to Paramount.
18:50We went to this little area with a bush,
18:53kind of hidden.
18:54It was like a little door.
18:55And in there was all of the interview rooms.
19:00They were very passionate in saying,
19:03he wants to help you guys so much.
19:04Like, it's going to be this life-changing thing.
19:07And my parents believed this.
19:11So despite going, I was very vocal to the staff
19:14that I didn't want to be there.
19:16And they told me that I was being a difficult child
19:18and that I just had to do what I was told.
19:22It actually got to a point where they attempted
19:25to coerce me into doing it by telling me
19:28that maybe, you know, if you record your interviews,
19:32maybe we can have Dr. Phil help you get your boyfriend back.
19:40When we went to do the interviews,
19:43they separated my mom and I.
19:47Once we started filming,
19:49one of the producers wanted me to talk in detail
19:53about my brother molesting me
19:56for about four hours.
19:59They wanted specific details
20:02said in certain ways.
20:06I was kind of forced into that.
20:08And I realized, I want to go home.
20:12When I told the producer,
20:14I don't want to do this,
20:15she looked directly at me and she said,
20:17if you don't film this episode tomorrow,
20:20we won't pay for your way home.
20:25We were a low-income family.
20:28We didn't have the money
20:29to pay for a plane ride back
20:30for all four of us.
20:33So there wasn't really anything
20:35we could do about it.
20:37Did you feel in any way in control,
20:42like you had agency?
20:43Oh, no, I had no say in anything at all.
20:48I was only 17.
20:51I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
20:56I was just a kid.
20:58A very naive, you know, kid.
21:06If you step back
21:07and look at the experiences
21:09of these guests sort of broadly,
21:12they really do mirror the arc
21:14of, like, an abusive relationship.
21:19Drawing you in,
21:21making you dependent,
21:22making it so you can't leave,
21:24and get them to do what you want.
21:28And I do think that that is power.
21:34I mean, one of the guests
21:36told us that they risked his life for ratings.
21:45Most of the guests,
21:47they're set up to fail,
21:49essentially.
21:51When they arrive to the studio,
21:54they're manipulated.
21:58Say you have someone who has an alcohol problem.
22:03Let's just casually put vodka in the green room
22:07to then come out intoxicated.
22:12Did that happen?
22:15Yeah.
22:16Yeah.
22:17That was after my time,
22:19but I knew about it.
22:24Alcohol in a guest's room,
22:26if that would create some drama,
22:28was absolutely something that they would do.
22:30The producers would want to set people up.
22:40Todd Herzog, one survivor at 22,
22:43he was addicted to alcohol,
22:45which is an extremely dangerous type of addiction.
22:51He said that when he went into his dressing room,
22:54he found full bottles of vodka,
22:57and he drank one.
23:00When you watch the episode,
23:02Dr. Phil is like,
23:03well, we have to get Todd out here.
23:06Well, I'm asked Debbie and Brandon
23:07to bring Todd out right now,
23:09and that's going to be a bit of a chore,
23:12but we'll do what we can here.
23:14Okay, come on.
23:14Shoot.
23:16Dr. Phil and one of the interventionists
23:19each take an arm.
23:21Everyone is quiet,
23:22and all you can hear is just Todd crying quietly.
23:29I'm sorry I'm crying
23:31because I just can't believe this is happening.
23:36Dr. Phil is like,
23:37I want to see how drunk you are.
23:41This is a breathalyzer.
23:43I want you to blow into it really hard
23:45for five seconds when I tell you.
23:47Okay.
23:49Todd felt like the Dr. Phil show
23:51had left the alcohol in his room.
23:56I don't believe they just have breathalyzers
23:58hanging around.
24:00It just suggests a level of premeditation.
24:04So then Todd blows a 0.26,
24:06which is very high,
24:07and Dr. Phil puts up on his screen
24:11the effects of alcohol at that blood alcohol level.
24:15At 0.25, just so all of you know,
24:19all mental, physical, and sensory functions
24:21are severely impaired,
24:23emotionally and physically numb,
24:25and possible loss of consciousness.
24:28And Dr. Phil says,
24:29I've never spoken to anyone closer to death.
24:33I can take him to the hospital.
24:35What are you doing?
24:40It was a very weird experience
24:42to feel upset at something
24:45that everyone else sees
24:46and nobody thinks there's anything wrong with it.
24:49The hypocrisy is so rank.
24:53Once you understand
24:55that what it actually is,
24:57is a ritualistic humiliation
25:01of people who have come to you for help,
25:05you can't watch it
25:06and think it's funny or meaningless anymore.
25:08It's just sad.
25:16Phil is not doing this to help this person.
25:20These people are objects to bring onto stage,
25:23bring in ratings,
25:24and then get them off.
25:28It's all about the bottom line.
25:33It was dysfunctional
25:35and probably amoral and terrible,
25:37but it worked well enough
25:39to be the top syndicated show.
25:42I think it's hard to tell people
25:44to not watch that train wreck,
25:46especially if watching that train wreck
25:48makes you feel better about your life.
25:50I don't think that's good for people,
25:52but it never stopped the next family
25:53from wanting to come in.
25:58If it's a question of like ethics versus ratings,
26:03we may talk a better game now.
26:06It's, I mean, it's all bullshit.
26:08Like everyone wants to make, you know,
26:10something that'll be shared by a bajillion people
26:12on social media.
26:16Ratings always are going to win.
26:22Guests that we spoke to,
26:23they described producers telling them
26:26how amazing this was going to be
26:27and how Dr. Phil chose them
26:28because their story was important.
26:31But I think he saw people
26:34as things to be manipulated
26:36for ratings.
26:39And then they would get out on stage
26:41and it would be
26:43just humiliation.
26:50Right after you're done with hair and makeup,
26:52they put you in like this room.
26:54It was just for my son and I.
26:56Me and my mom weren't even together.
26:59Before getting on the stage,
27:00they had us sign stuff.
27:03Did you tell your mom again
27:04that you really didn't want to be there?
27:05Yes, I did.
27:06However, my mom told me that
27:08since we were already there,
27:09that it was too late.
27:12At 16, I wasn't comfortable with that.
27:16From my point of view,
27:17I did not really have a choice.
27:20I repeated to everybody in the room,
27:23the producers,
27:24hair and makeup people,
27:25told everybody,
27:26is there any way
27:27we can back out of this?
27:28And they told me no.
27:32I was terrified.
27:38So this is the release.
27:40Dr. Phil does not and will not
27:42administer individual, group,
27:44or medical therapy.
27:44You have to agree that you will not sue
27:49for invasion of privacy,
27:51defamation,
27:52infliction of emotional distress.
27:54I mean, you give up all your rights
27:56to go on the show
27:57before you go on it.
27:59And then you go on the show
28:01and you're horrifically humiliated
28:03in front of America.
28:04And then you're like,
28:05oh, I signed away the rights
28:07to do anything about this.
28:08I can't even talk about it.
28:13Somebody comes and goes,
28:14okay, it's time for you to go on.
28:17You just head out to the stage
28:20and all you see
28:20is bright lights everywhere.
28:29I remember going up on the stage
28:31in front of this live audience.
28:35Physically, I was shaking.
28:36I could hardly speak.
28:42When the cameras began to roll,
28:46immediately Dr. Phil brought up
28:49how teen pregnancy was over-glorified
28:51and introduced me
28:53as sort of like Exhibit A.
28:55Were you having unprotected sex?
28:59Yeah, I was having unprotected sex
29:01and I was on birth control.
29:03We were all told that
29:05it was about bringing
29:06the family together,
29:07but I was very, like, shocked
29:10and scared to see him picking a side.
29:12Did you get pregnant on purpose?
29:14No, I did not get pregnant on purpose.
29:16Did you want to get pregnant?
29:17No.
29:18And you want to keep the baby?
29:21I'd like to keep the baby.
29:23And raise the baby.
29:26But what you really mean
29:27is you want to keep the baby
29:29so your family can raise the baby, right?
29:32No.
29:33Immediately, this was about
29:35stupid, dumbass Emily
29:37who does not know what she's doing.
29:40Who out of everybody involved
29:42is least equipped to make this decision?
29:45I haven't even met this man
29:46and this is what he'd already determined
29:49about my entire life
29:51and all of my capabilities.
29:53She's a child having a child.
29:55But part of growing up
29:56is to realize
29:57when you choose the behavior,
29:58you choose the consequences.
30:00And she chose a behavior here
30:01with a consequence
30:02that affects a human being
30:04for the rest of their life.
30:08Dr. Phil did not ever address
30:10that it was my choice.
30:11In fact, I did feel at the time
30:13that Dr. Phil was depriving me
30:15of that choice.
30:21I felt absolutely humiliated.
30:31There wasn't any kind of conversation
30:33with Dr. Phil
30:34before we actually started.
30:38Dr. Phil walks out
30:39and the whole audience claps.
30:42And then I went out on the stage
30:43and, you know, sat in the chair.
30:46And they changed our names
30:48to be anonymous.
30:49Well, 17-year-old Addison says
30:52her 18-year-old brother, Colin,
30:54is selfish, arrogant,
30:56and has molested multiple people,
30:59including her.
31:01Once he had talked to me
31:02for a little bit,
31:03they brought my mom out second.
31:06He talked to my mom
31:08and then he said,
31:09I just want to let you know
31:10that your brother's interview
31:11is going to be played
31:12on the screen in front of everybody.
31:14We're going to hear from him now.
31:16He does talk about
31:17some of his
31:20violation of you
31:23in somewhat graphic terms.
31:25We've edited it down
31:26as much as possible.
31:28Are you okay
31:29with us playing this?
31:30Yeah.
31:32And you had no idea
31:33that they were going to do this?
31:34I didn't.
31:36That was the first time
31:37I heard him
31:39talking about it.
31:41My sister was asleep
31:42on the couch,
31:43so I went in there
31:45and I was feeling
31:47sober her clothes.
31:48Then I reached my hand
31:50down her pants.
31:51Then I took it
31:51one step further
31:52and reached my hand
31:53down her panties.
31:55He went into detail
31:56about exactly
31:58what he had done to me.
31:59And I was reliving
32:01that trauma
32:02on a stage
32:03in front of
32:03an entire audience.
32:06They brought my brother
32:07out next.
32:09We had been
32:11separated
32:12for years.
32:14So I did confront him
32:15maybe a couple times,
32:17but I pretty much
32:18stayed quiet
32:19after that.
32:21I honestly,
32:22just sitting there
32:22on that stage,
32:23I felt like I wanted
32:24to die.
32:26And then Dr. Phil
32:27kind of leans up
32:29like he's trying
32:30to crack a joke
32:30and he goes,
32:31well...
32:32I'd like to thank
32:32all of my guests today
32:34and we'll see you
32:36next time.
32:36Mom, stop.
32:41It was like making
32:42a joke out of
32:43the whole thing.
32:45Dr. Phil walked
32:46off the stage
32:48and that was it.
32:53I just remember
32:54feeling gutted
32:54like the wind
32:56had been knocked
32:56out of me.
32:58They don't care
32:59about your mental health.
33:00They care about
33:01their show.
33:05Of all
33:06of the horrible stories
33:08that I have heard
33:09about the Dr. Phil show,
33:11I think Marcy Newberry's
33:12story is the worst.
33:15When you're watching
33:16that teenage boy
33:17describing in graphic
33:19detail his sexual assault
33:20of his 11-year-old
33:22sister,
33:23and then Dr. Phil
33:24makes her watch
33:25in front of a studio
33:26audience.
33:28Who are the people
33:29that are watching it
33:30and thinking like,
33:31yeah,
33:31this is good?
33:33It's like child abuse.
33:35It's like watching
33:36child abuse.
33:38But it's entertainment.
33:46Before I walked
33:47out on the stage,
33:48I thought I was
33:49going to throw up
33:51because I had a really
33:52bad feeling
33:52that something was wrong.
33:57I was prepared
33:58to tell my story
34:00and he immediately
34:01goes into,
34:02you had warning signs
34:03though.
34:04Now, you had an instinct
34:06and you ignored it,
34:07right?
34:07Yes, I did.
34:08You said you had
34:09a strange feeling
34:10about it.
34:10Yes.
34:11He was like,
34:12this happened,
34:13yet you did this.
34:14This happened,
34:15but you did that.
34:16So it rose to the level
34:18that you actually
34:19said it out loud.
34:21Yes.
34:22But yet,
34:23you stayed home alone
34:24with her when your mother
34:25took the boys
34:26to football practice.
34:27And I'm like,
34:28yeah, but that's not,
34:29and he's like,
34:29wait, hold on,
34:30but then this happened
34:31and I'm like,
34:31you're not letting me talk.
34:33How do you really
34:34ask somebody like,
34:35hey, are you trying
34:36to kill me?
34:37That's how nice you are.
34:38If the conversation
34:40has gotten to the point
34:41where that question
34:43is part of the dialogue,
34:46then it's time
34:47for them to go home.
34:51When the audience
34:52and him laughed,
34:54that broke me.
34:56I felt humiliated.
34:59I felt like
35:00he was blaming me.
35:02And then all of a sudden,
35:03he brings out this book.
35:06I wrote this book
35:07about people like you,
35:10about nice people
35:11who get taken advantage of.
35:14The book is called Life Code.
35:18I was used.
35:20Dr. Phil promoted his book
35:22and said that it's about
35:23people just like me.
35:25People that are too nice.
35:27But he used the fact
35:28that I trusted
35:29the Dr. Phil show
35:30to do it.
35:32That is what a narcissist does.
35:37And he's a master manipulator
35:39on that part.
35:43When the show ends,
35:45he doesn't even say
35:46a word to you.
35:47He just walks right past you
35:48like you're nothing.
35:49Woo!
35:50Bye!
35:52The producers are like,
35:53you did so good.
35:54You know,
35:54let's go back
35:55to your dressing room.
35:57They are there
35:57to get you in and out
35:58so fast.
36:00I bawled my eyes out
36:02in that cab.
36:05I came onto the show
36:07to take 10 steps forward.
36:11I had taken 10 steps backwards.
36:14Dr. Phil just basically stated
36:16that I was stupid.
36:17and it made me feel like
36:19I deserved what happened.
36:22That's always stuck with me.
36:23It's something that I can't
36:24get out of my head.
36:26I'm still working through it,
36:28through therapy now.
36:42I just told my mom
36:45I was scared to go home
36:47and I was afraid
36:50to face the world
36:53after kind of learning
36:54that everybody in the world
36:55was against me.
36:59My mom,
37:00she apologized.
37:02She has told me
37:03many times
37:04that it was probably
37:05the worst decision
37:07that she's ever made
37:08in her entire life
37:10and that she would do anything
37:11that she could
37:12to take it back.
37:16Because of Dr. Phil
37:17for a very long time,
37:19I was very hyper-fixated
37:21on making sure
37:22I was always doing
37:22the right thing.
37:24I suffered a lot
37:25of very bad anxiety attacks.
37:29Now I realize
37:30that I should have
37:33been protected.
37:36I did not have to listen
37:37to what everybody told me.
37:40I was not being
37:41a difficult child
37:42because I didn't feel
37:44comfortable going
37:44on television.
37:46I had boundaries
37:47and those boundaries
37:49should have been respected.
37:56Despite what Dr. Phil said,
37:58I have an incredible daughter.
38:00She is 13
38:01and she is
38:02an honor roll student.
38:05An advanced orchestra,
38:07first chair,
38:08she gets straight A's.
38:09literally the most
38:12thoughtful,
38:13empathetic child.
38:15She is everything
38:17that Dr. Phil
38:17did not expect.
38:27Literally,
38:27I remember one guest
38:29out of,
38:30I mean,
38:3150 plus
38:31that left
38:32in a better space
38:34than they came in.
38:37The first text
38:38that you would get,
38:38you've ruined my life.
38:40I'm never going to
38:41live this down.
38:42I mean,
38:43the messages,
38:44just horrible.
38:45Horrible, horrible.
38:48I don't think
38:49they really cared
38:50about the guests
38:51or if they got better.
38:53I think the guests
38:55felt like they got
38:56thrown out like trash
38:57when they
38:58bared their souls
38:59on this show.
39:01We have an aftercare program
39:03where we follow up
39:04with 100%
39:06of the people
39:07that are on the show.
39:08At no expense
39:09to them,
39:10care in their own community
39:11to work out
39:13the problem.
39:14There is something
39:15that he has
39:17over people.
39:19People say that
39:20they watched his show
39:21and he seemed
39:22to help people
39:22and he sends people
39:23to the best treatment
39:24in the whole world.
39:25But I have a really
39:27hard time
39:28understanding
39:28how you can believe it.
39:31I think people
39:32went on this show
39:33expecting that it was
39:34going to fix their lives.
39:38And that's not
39:38what happened.
39:47Once we got home,
39:49everything felt different.
39:50I didn't feel okay.
39:54There was a night
39:55where my brother's interview
39:56just kept playing
39:57in my head
39:57and I decided
39:59that I didn't want
39:59to be here anymore
40:00because I knew
40:00that that was going to
40:01air on national television.
40:10I took 30 pain pills.
40:14I fell on the floor
40:15and I had a seizure
40:16and then I was taken
40:17to the hospital
40:18after that.
40:18I don't remember
40:19a lot.
40:20I was really out of it.
40:24I almost died.
40:27The family was still broken.
40:29Honestly,
40:29way more than we were
40:30before we went on the show.
40:34They throw you out there.
40:36They send you home
40:37and you never
40:38speak to them again.
40:41I was put in
40:42a psychiatric facility
40:43for a little bit.
40:45My mom declined
40:47mentally and physically.
40:50She's in a nursing home now.
40:52I don't see my dad ever
40:55and my brother
40:56is in prison.
40:58He got five years
41:00for possession
41:00of child pornography.
41:07I just hope
41:07Dr. Phil realizes
41:09what he's actually done
41:11and how deeply
41:12they hurt people.
41:16Their promise of care.
41:18I can tell you
41:19that it comes
41:21at a price.
41:23Over a decade
41:24of hell for us
41:25is just an episode
41:26number for Dr. Phil.
41:28I told the neighbors
41:30get cameras.
41:32Film it all.
41:33They're repaying them
41:33as consultants
41:34to make sure
41:35that the Dr. Phil referrals
41:36keep rolling in.
41:38What treatment providers
41:39actually go
41:40on the Dr. Phil show?
41:42Surely,
41:42Dr. Phil
41:43wouldn't be sending
41:44kids off
41:45to be abused.
41:46Dr. Phil says,
41:47I have security guards
41:49at every door.
41:50Nobody leaves.
41:51All of us
41:53have wanted
41:54to say
41:55this happened.
41:56Please stop
41:57this from happening.
41:58It's very hard
42:00to follow the money
42:01but you know
42:01the money is going somewhere.
42:11Bye.
42:13Bye.
42:15Bye.
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