Dr. Phil Denies Report of Giving Drugs, Booze to Addicts as ‘Errant Nonsense’

Phil McGraw has denied a report by the Boston Globe and Stat that Dr. Phil staffers provided drugs and alcohol to guests with addiction problems to help onscreen drama.

“The Stat article does not fairly or accurately describe the methods of Dr. Phil the TV show, or its mission to educate millions of viewers about drug and alcohol addiction,” a spokesperson for the show told Variety Friday. “The show does not give drugs or alcohol to its guests and any suggestions to the contrary is errant nonsense.”

On Thursday, Stat and the Boston Globe published a bombshell report about Dr. Phil‘s practices.

Todd Herzog, a former Survivor winner, claimed he was given vodka and Xanax by Dr. Phil staffers before he went on the show in 2013. TV viewers saw him being carried onto the set, but Herzog said he wasn’t drunk when he arrived at the studio.

Martin Greenberg, a psychologist who works as Dr. Phil‘s professional affairs director, denied Herzog’s claims on Thursday.

“We do not do that with this guest or any other,” Greenberg told the Globe and Stat. He called Herzog’s claims “absolutely, unequivocally untrue.”

Herzog was not the only guest Stat spoke with. One guest had the support of show staff when buying heroin, a family member told the site.

Another guest, who was pregnant at the time, said a show staffer followed her with a camera while she tried to find a drug dealer in Los Angeles.

“For the past 16 years, the Dr. Phil show has provided valuable information to viewers by telling compelling stories about people who are fighting the battle to overcome alcohol and drug addiction,” the Dr. Phil spokesperson told Variety.

“Unfortunately, addicts often lash out at the very people who are trying the hardest to help them break the cycle of addiction. Although terribly unfortunate, this is an understandable part of the behavior of addicts on their journey to recovery. Deception, dishonesty and denial are hallmarks of addiction. It tears families apart and certainly creates levels of complexities when we produce these important shows. None of this will deter the Dr. Phil show from it’s commitment to continue to educate and inform the public about the worsening epidemic of addiction.”

Photo credit: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS