Former staff of The Dr. Phil show are accusing the media personality of creating a toxic working environment.
Workers accuse senior-level employees of being verbally abusive them on the set and they also say that guests were mistreated on the show. The investigation was led by a Buzzfeed reporter who was also behind the investigation into The Ellen Show.
The report says five employees accused senior producers made fun of guests on the show, specifically people of color, “mimicking the way Black and Latino guests spoke.” The workers also said the show producers discouraged booking people who appeared “like trailer trash,” but preferred an upper-middle-class look and discouraged booking people of color.
Only one former Dr. Phil employee would go on the record in the story as other workers said they “fear retaliation and retribution.”
A spokesperson for the show said the story contained “verifiably and objectively false characterizations” and called the “unsubstantiated, anonymous claims relating to the show and its staff” in the story false.
[social_warfare]