Oprah Winfrey built careers for a living. For 25 seasons, one seat on her couch could turn an unknown into a household name.
Two of those names have aged badly. And now, the former talk show host is making it clear she has no intention of answering for either of them.
Winfrey addressed years of criticism over Dr. Phil McGraw and Dr. Mehmet Oz in a new interview with Emmy Magazine, published by the Television Academy on Aug 11.
“Everybody has their own path in life, and it has not one thing to do with me, and I don’t have one thing to do with them,” Winfrey said.
It goes without saying that both men owe their fame almost entirely to the 72-year-old mogul.
McGraw came into her life in 1998 during one of the roughest stretches of her career, when six Texas cattlemen sued her for allegedly defaming the beef industry after a mad cow disease episode.
Her legal team hired McGraw, who at the time was trial consultant, not a TV personality. He would go on to help prepare her legal defense.
Winfrey told Emmy she found him practical, down-to-earth and real, and that they rode together to the courthouse every day for six weeks. Somewhere in that stretch, a thought hit her: “Oh, you could help a lot of people. You should come on my show.”
He became a fixture, appearing as her weekly advice expert for four years. His popularity with Winfrey’s audience led Harpo Productions to help launch “Dr. Phil” in 2002. That show ran 21 seasons with more than 3,500 episodes.
Meanwhile, Oz arrived through Gayle King, who made the introduction. Winfrey said she was struck by how plainly he could break down medical subjects such as colon cancer and bowel movements for everyday viewers.
He debuted on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2004, became a regular for five seasons and made around 55 appearances, according to Oprah.com. Harpo and Sony went on to launch “The Dr. Oz Show” in 2009, running for 13 seasons and filming over 2200 episodes.
What came afterward, however, is the part people can’t get past.
McGraw, who holds a doctorate in psychology but has not held an active license in years, per Yahoo, has drawn repeated criticism over his handling of vulnerable guests. Oz went further, mounting a failed 2022 Senate run in Pennsylvania before landing a Trump appointment to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Physicians spent years accusing him of promoting unproven remedies on daytime TV, and in 2015 a group of doctors petitioned Columbia University to cut ties with him, according to Time Magazine.
Winfrey has already weathered backlash over her connection to Oz’s political rise, a storyline trailing her since he first announced his campaign.
Her Emmy comments landed in that context, and some people did not take them quietly.
Attorney and commentator bmaz refused to accept the distance. “No, Oprah, you platformed these obviously quack idiots onto the world,” he wrote. “Every bit of their hell on the country is on you. And f–k you for denying it.”
Under the official X account for TMZ, which also posted the story, another user questioned the pattern. “Seems that Oprah is doing a lot of ‘defending herself’ these days,” wrote one user, pointing back to the backlash from her 2021 Meghan Markle interview.
A third kept it shorter and sharper: “Her school in Africa? Did she distanced herself from that too?”
But the defenders showed up in equal number, and their argument was just as strong: Oprah shouldn’t be held accountable for other people’s actions.
“I firmly agree with Oprah,” wrote one user. “Introducing someone to the world doesn’t require them to not support who they desire or to adopt certain beliefs. People have the undeniable right to support and act based on their own choices.”
Another commenter split the difference, describing herself as a longtime viewer and former teacher who once valued both men. “I appreciated both Phil and Oz – especially Phil, as a therapist/life coach. UNTIL … time changes everything. In this day and age – toxic. Not her fault.”
Winfrey framed her original intent as straightforward. She said she put both men on television because she believed they “would be helpful to many other people.”
That was the formula for 25 years. Finding someone useful, hand them the country. It built Suze Orman, Rachael Ray, Iyanla Vanzant and a shelf of bestselling authors.
It also built two men she now says have nothing to do with her.
