The “Dr. Phil” show is hitting back at current and former employees’ allegations that the daytime talk show fosters an environment of volatile, toxic and even racist behavior.
The titular Phil McGraw, who isn’t licensed though he does hold a doctorate in clinical psychology, “categorically denies racist conduct and [the show’s network] CBS does not tolerate racist conduct,” the TV personality’s lawyer H. Patrick Morris told BuzzFeed News in a statement, responding to the outlet’s report Thursday.
The nearly dozen staffers, whose roles ranged from senior staff to lower-level jobs and who all asked to remain anonymous, told the outlet they’d experienced or witnessed “verbal abuse in a workplace that fosters fear, intimidation and racism” and claimed that vulnerable guests are “manipulated and treated unethically.”
