gitana1
Verified Attorney
- Joined
- May 31, 2005
- Messages
- 29,385
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On one hand, the Dr. Phil show gave Karlie's face national exposure, which is good. On the other hand, the appearance made both parents & stepmom look bad. First Dr Phil embarrassed the stepmom and father by asking them why they wouldn't provide their home address, witness names, and the audio tape, and then after listening to the audio tape Dr Phil basically implied the bio mom and investigators were lying about the contents of the tape (re: asking to call 911 hypothetically versus begging to call in the moment). I thought it was pretty crummy of Dr. Phil to do that. He certainly should ask pointed questions to dig for the truth and sort out inconsistencies, but the questions he asked only raised more questions and did not really bring any clarity. For example, after dragging the stepmom and father through the mud and making them look quite suspicious, he did a 180 and said the stepmom was being truthful about the audio and that she had been very loving and calming to her stepdaughter.
He also stated that Karlie's audiotaped words pointed to the drug being laced with something like LSD. He should know that her symptoms could also simply be due to the effects of marijuana in and of itself. Instead he just throws around terms like "neocortex" and "limbic system" to try to make himself sound like an authority figure on the matter. Please. He had said in episode 1 that he could derive so much valuable information from listening to the audio, and then once he did, he barely said anything about it other than crying LSD/hallucinogens/sex trafficking. Dr. Phil exploits victims for his own agenda -- that is, drumming up extra drama for TV ratings and $$.
I don't disagree with your assessment of Dr. Phil. Sensationalism.
But I think this interview is very valuable to LE. I know they watched carefully.