Dr. Oz’s ‘Jeopardy!’ Stint fragmented on social media: he is ‘dangerous’

Since “Jeopardy!” tried to bolster Dr. Mehmet Oz’s upcoming guest hosting tinge on the show, social media users have criticized the TV star for “dangerous“And shilling”medical misinformation for profit

Oz, a former health expert on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” has long been a controversial figure in the medical world. In addition to repeatedly peddling weight loss scam products and providing a platform to “ discuss ” the benefits of conversion therapy, a 2014 British Medical Journal study stated that half of its medical advice was “ baseless or false. ” In 2015, a group of fellow physicians even wrote to the Columbia Dean of Physicians saying the school’s collaboration with him was “unacceptable.”

More recently, Oz – who was appointed to the Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition by Donald Trump in 2018 – suggested that schools reopen during the coronavirus pandemic because “only” 2% to 3% more people could die.

Oz’s selection as a “Jeopardy!” guest host is part of the show’s larger effort to have different hosts act as stand-ins until a more permanent host takes over from Alex Trebek, the much-loved longtime host who died of pancreatic cancer last year.

In February, “Jeopardy!” released a press release announcing Oz would host for a while, praising him as the winner of 10 Daytime Emmy Awards for “The Dr. Oz Show,” and bragging about his role as a treating physician at NewYork Presbyterian-Columbia Medical Center and as an author of ‘more than 400 original publications, book chapters and medical books’.

The announcement sparked an initial wave of concern, prompting The Ringer with the former “Jeopardy!” participants last month on the decision to use Oz for Trebek.

Lindsey Shultz, a 2019 four-game winner who works as a public health analyst, told The Ringer, “If you’ve made a career in the popular media by putting your faith in unproven remedies at best – and at worst case implicit your audience to question the process the rest of us are living through and a full calendar year has been desperate to defend – I’m not sure a fact-based show is the best place for you. ”

Later, more than 500 former “Jeopardy!” Participants signed a letter published on Medium to oppose Oz’s selection as a guest host.

“Dr. Oz represents what has become a dubious trend in America: the raising of the recognized talking head at the expense of academic rigor and consensus,” reads the letter, which later calls his nomination a “slap in the face to everyone involved”.

When the “Jeopardy!” Twitter account shared Oz’s introduction for his first performance on Monday, critics responded by giving him a “dangerous, self-enriching fraud “ and a “charlatan huckster of pseudo-science. “

Actor LeVar Burton’s name even started to change on Twitter when people shared that they wanted the ‘Reading Rainbow’ host to guest host on ‘Jeopardy! instead of Oz.

“Danger!” and LeVar Burton did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

Prior to Oz’s guest appearance, Katie Couric hosted for two weeks and raised $ 230,504 in donations for Stand Up To Cancer. The cumulative gains made during Oz’s performance go to HealthCorps, “a national non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating health inequalities in at-risk communities by educating and empowering students by providing them with tools to improve their physical health. and improve mental health. ”