Oprah Faces Social Media Backlash For Dr. Phil & Dr. Oz’s Controversial Remarks, Trends On Twitter: “They Came From Her Show!”

Oprah Faces Social Media Backlash For Dr. Phil & Dr. Oz’s Controversial Remarks, Trends On Twitter: “They Came From Her Show!”

Is Oprah Winfrey to blame for recent controversial takes on coronavirus fatalities? Apparently, some social media users seem to think so. Media mogul Oprah Winfrey is currently trending on Twitter after two of her proteges – Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil – have been slammed for unsavory comments on COVID-19 and the government-enforced quarantines resulting from it. Dr. Mehmet Oz seemingly thinks that U.S. should make an effort to “get back to normal,” and that losing students to coronavirus-related deaths is a risk worth taking. He said this on Fox News:

“Well, at first, we need our mojo back. Let’s start with things that are really critical to the nation where we think we might be able to open without getting into a lot of trouble. I tell you, schools are a very appetizing opportunity. I just saw a nice piece in The Lancet arguing that the opening of schools may only cost us 2 to 3%, in terms of total mortality. Any, you know, any life is a life lost, but to every child back into a school where they’re safely being educated, being fed and making the most out of their lives with a theoretical risk in the backside might be a tradeoff some folks would consider. We need to get industries back, supply lines, I mean thing that we can do without putting the nation at risk.”

Meanwhile Dr. Phil was accused of downplaying the number of deaths related to the virus:

“250 people a year die from poverty. And the poverty line is getting such that more and more people are going to fall below that because the economy is crashing around us. And they’re doing that because people are dying from the coronavirus. I get that. But look, the fact that the matter is we have people dying, 45,000 people a year die from automobile accidents, 480,000 from cigarettes, 360,000 a year from swimming pools, but we don’t shut the country down for that but yet we’re doing it for this? And the fallout is going to last for years because people’s lives are being destroyed.”

Dr. Phil appears on Laura Ingraham and says we don’t shut the country down for automobile deaths, cigarette related deaths, and swimming pool deaths pic.twitter.com/q8KCgLLClY

— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) April 17, 2020

Both Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil rose to notoriety as a result of being endorsed by and featured on the “Oprah Winfrey Show.” Because of this, many social media users infer that she is responsible for their rhetoric on COVID-19. Peep some of the tweets below.

What do you think? Is Oprah to blame for irresponsible narratives on the coronavirus? Comment and let us know your thoughts!

Written by Miata Shanay