Bob

truth. As the not-so-affable doctor was also known to say – “I’m not buying it.”

Consider this: If you were having problems which led you to a see a psychologist, would you be willing to let your personal problems be hung out on television like a load of dirty laundry and then get paid handsomely for it?

While I won’t shed any tears over the good doctor’s departure from daytime TV, I know many will. To all of you “Phil-istines,” don’t fret, because it’s far from the last we have seen of Dr. McGraw. In LeBronspeak, Dr. Phil is merely taking his talent to Prime Time. If anything, he’s planning to up his game so to speak.

We can thank Oprah for introducing us to Phil in 1998. He got his own show in 2002, which went on to dominate the ratings and garnered 31 Emmy nominations and won five PRISM Awards.

In recognition of Phil’s lengthy tenure on the tube, here are some of the more memorable guests that have appeared on the show:

• In 2016 a teenage girl named Haley appeared on the show and was adamant that she was nine months pregnant, despite pregnancy tests and doctors telling her otherwise. She claimed she was giving birth to baby Jesus. Dr. Phil arranged for Haley to get an ultrasound, which revealed that she was not with child. Of course, that didn't stop Haley from still believing she was pregnant.

Haley also claimed rapper Eminem was her father and that she'd been a contestant on American Idol. Her family, not surprisingly, refuted both statements.

• Marianne was shocked when her husband confessed he'd gone to an adult club on a couple of occasions 15 years earlier. Since the confession, Marianne became obsessed not only with her own looks, but those of her 19-year-old daughter, Miranda, as well. Miranda took her mom on the Dr. Phil show because Marianne started doing everything she could to look like a stripper and encouraged the same from Miranda.

Marianne got breast implants and a large tattoo on her back, and she installed a pole in her house. She also talked Miranda into getting breast implants. The mother explained to her daughter that men are into large breasts and they don't care about a woman’s education.

• Jessica was a guest on Dr. Phil who was desperate to know why her mother Patricia was lying to people about having cancer. While

Patricia did have brain surgery at one time, she'd never had cancer. She made local TV appearances stating she had stage-three brain cancer. She also claimed to have survived at least 17 strokes, which was also untrue. She used her fake illnesses to scam people out of money in fundraisers.

• The guest of all guest, however, has to be the obnoxious teenager Danielle Bregoli. She was rude and argumentative, not only with Dr, Phil, but also with audience members. At one point during a verbal confrontation with an audience member, the 13-yearold shouted, “Catch me outside. How about that?” To the television audience, it sounded more like “Cash Me Ousside. How Bow Dah?” The phrase quickly hit the Internet and went viral.

Bregoli, now 20, would cash in on her Dr. Phil appearance. Using the stage name “Bhad Bhabie,” she became a rapper and had a top 10 hit with the song “These Heaux” in 2017. Her estimated net worth in 2022 was $29 million.

We have so much for which to thank Dr. Phil. If you sense a bit of sarcasm, you are correct. There’s no telling what we’ll see from him in Prime Time.

Contact Editor Bob Sloan at editor@florence newsjournal.com.