It may absolutely shock you to hear this, but famed television doctor, Dr. Phil, might not take that whole Hippocratic oath thing so seriously. Now, before you get all up in the comments section to tell me that the Hippocratic oath is more so for medical doctors, not psychologists, just chill the fuck out and let me make my fucking point.
Doctor’s are supposed to follow this oath, which I won’t be posting in full because it’s mega long, which basically says they’ll do the right thing by their patients, do no harm, adequately care for those who are sick, etc etc. Luckily for Dr. Phil, the line ‘thou shall not exploit the ill’ isn’t in there, because that’s exactly what he’s doing to Shelley Duvall.
Famed actress of the 70s and 80s Duvall did an interview with Dr. Phil which is set to air tomorrow. From the snippets aired, the interview goes from Duvall discussing her battle with mental illness, to displaying that she’s still suffering terribly.
Duvall claims that her late Popeye costar, Robin Williams, isn’t actually dead and that he’s actually become a shape-shifter who is being threatened by the Sheriff of Nottingham; you know, the bad guy from Robin Hood? She also thinks that there’s a disc implanted in her skin.
You would think, as a psychologist, Dr. Phil would start this interview, see that Ms. Duvall was very ill, and not feel the need to exploit her and her delusions for ratings because that would just be horrifically unethical, right? WRONG. The interview is still airing tomorrow and Dr. Phil is going to sit back while those sweet ratings roll in as people watch the mental demise of Shelley Duvall.
I’m not the only person who thinks Dr. Phil is being mega slimey. Vivian Kubrick, daughter of the late Stanley Kubrick who directed Duvall in The Shining took to Twitter to condemn Dr. Phil, stating:
You are putting Shelly Duvall ‘on show’ while she is suffering from a pitiable state of ill health. Unquestionably, this is purely a form of lurid and exploitative entertainment — it’s appallingly cruel.
I’m sure Kubrick’s comments won’t phase Dr. Phil at all and the interview will still air because, let’s be real, Dr. Phil is just a southern hustler trying to make a dollar, so we probably shouldn’t expect much better from him anyway, but I seriously feel bad for Shelley Duvall.