From “Jeopardy!” Mehmet Oz tried to extend the next stage to host guests of the show, social media users have taken to the face of the TV star to be “Dangerous“I shilling”medical misinformation for benefits“.
Oz, a former health expert on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” has long been a controversial figure in the medical world. In addition to repeatedly dealing with scammed weight loss products and providing a platform to “debate” the benefits of conversion therapy, a 2014 British Medical Journal study stated that half of their medical advice was “unfounded or wrong. “. In 2015, a group of medical colleagues even wrote to the dean of Columbia medicine, saying the school’s collaboration with him was “unacceptable”.
More recently, Oz, whom Donald Trump appointed to the Sports, Fitness and Nutrition Council in 2018, suggested that schools should reopen during the coronavirus pandemic because “only” 2% to 3% more people could die.
Oz’s selection as “danger!” the guest host is part of the program’s biggest effort to get several hosts to act as substitutes until a more permanent one arrives for Alex Trebek, the beloved longtime host who died of pancreatic cancer. ‘last year.
In February, “Jeopardy!” issued a press release announcing that Oz would host a period of time, praising him as the winner of the 10 daytime Emmy Awards for “The Dr. Oz Show” and boasting of his role as an assistant physician at NewYork Presbyterian-Columbia Medical Center and as the author of “more than 400 original publications, book chapters, and medical books.”
The announcement sparked an initial wave of concern, prompting The Ringer to speak with the former “Jeopardy!” contestants last month on the decision to put Oz on Trebek.
Lindsey Shultz, a 2019 four-match winner who works as a public health analyst, told The Ringer: “When you’ve made your career in the popular media conveying confidence in unproven remedies and, at worst, implicitly causing to your audience to doubt the process the rest of us are going through and we’ve been in order to try to defend for an entire calendar year – I’m not sure a fact-based program is the best place for you. ”
Later, more than 500 ancient “Jeopardy!” contestants signed a letter published in Medium to oppose Oz’s selection as a guest host.
“Dr. Oz represents what has become a dubious trend in America: the rise of the accredited speaking head at the expense of academic rigor and consensus, “says the letter, which later calls his appointment a” slap on everyone involved. ” .
When the “danger!” The Twitter account on Monday shared Oz’s presentation for his first appearance, critics responded by calling him “a dangerous and self-enriching fraud ” and one “charlatan of pseudoscience. “
Actor LeVar Burton’s name even began to evolve on Twitter, as people said they wanted the host of “Reading Rainbow” to be a guest-guest on “Jeopardy!” instead of Oz.
“Danger!” and LeVar Burton did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Prior to the Oz concert, Katie Couric acted as host for two weeks and raised $ 230,504 in donations to Stand Up To Cancer. The accumulated profits earned during Oz’s appearance will go to HealthCorps, “a national nonprofit organization committed to eliminating health inequality in at-risk communities by educating and empowering students by giving them tools to improve their physical and mental health ”
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