Dr. Phil does not regret controversial interview with Shelley Duvall in 2016

Celebrities

By Jack Hobbs

June 4, 2023 | 10:51am

Dr. Phil is giving haters a taste of their own medicine

Talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw responded to backlash Friday about a controversial interview he did in 2016 with actress Shelley Duvall, 73.

“I don’t regret what I did,” said McGraw, 72, during an interview with Chris Wallace on CNN’s “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace.”

“I regret that it was promoted in a way that people thought was unbecoming,” continued the talk show host saying that he couldn’t go into further detail.

“There are parts of that story that I haven’t talked about and won’t talk about in specific, but I can say generally that we worked with her family [and] with her for over a year off camera, after the fact, providing her opportunities for inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care. I can’t tell you the extent we went through,” said McGraw.

In the hour-long 2016 interview, “The Shining” actress, who struggled to form a coherent sentence, was baited by the host with various questions.

In one clip released by the show before the interview, Duvall claimed that her “Popeye” co-star Robin Robin William — who died in 2014 — was still alive as a shapeshifter.

The “Room 237” star also claimed there was a “worrying disc” inside of her.

At the end of the interview, McGraw stated that Duvall had refused medical help.

The former doctor also claimed the show was working with professionals in her home state to make sure she gets the care she needs.

During Friday’s interview, McGraw did take time to address comments that claimed he was “showboating the visibly ill.”

“The people that were critical of it, nobody ever asked them what they ever did to try and help her,” slammed McGraw. “And the answer is not a damn thing.”

The episode was condemned by fans and those close to the struggling actress.

One notable critic of the interview was Vivian Kubrick — daughter of “The Shining” director Stanley Kubrick.

“You are putting Shelley Duvall ‘on show’ while she is suffering from a pitiable state of ill health. Unquestionably, this is purely a form of lurid and exploitive entertainment,” slammed Kubrick, 62, in a statement. “It’s appallingly cruel … I recoil in complete disgust. I hope others will join me in boycotting your utterly heartless form of entertainment, because it has nothing to do with compassionate healing.”

Ronan Farrow, son of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen, also slammed the interview.

“Dr. Phil’s exploitation of the wonderful Shelley Duvall — masquerading as ‘powerful TV’ — is shameful. She’s a treasure. She deserves respect,” he tweeted.

In 2021, Duvall told The Hollywood Reporter that she personally agreed to the interview with McGraw and found out what kind of person he is “the hard way.”

Duvall said that both her partner and mother disapproved of the interview and that McGraw attempted to follow up with her on several occasions.

“He started calling my mother,” she said. “She told him, ‘Don’t call my daughter anymore.’ But he started calling my mother all the time trying to get her to let me talk to him again.”

According to a spokesperson for McGraw’s show, “The goal was to document the struggle and bring amazing resources to change her trajectory as we have for so many over 19 years.”

“Unfortunately, she declined our initial offer for inpatient treatment that would have included full physical and mental evaluations, giving her a chance to privately manage her challenges,” continued the statement. “After many months of follow-up, in collaboration with her mother, she ultimately refused assistance. We were of course very disappointed, but those offers for help remain open today.”

Duvall is expected to make a reappearance on the silver screen in the upcoming horror film “The Forest HIlls.”