Oprah Winfrey has addressed her part in platforming the careers of pro-Trump doctors Dr. Mehmet Oz on her titular talk show. Winfrey’s The Oprah Winfrey Show show aired from 1986-2011.
She introduced McGraw — who is no longer a licensed psychologist after letting his license lapse two decades ago — as a weekly expert and relationship strategist in 1998. Oz, who holds medical and business degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, began appearing on the program as a medical expert in 2004. Both TV doctors have since become allies of President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement.
Phil, serves on Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission and promotes MAGA initiatives through his conservative cable network Merit Street Media and accompanied ICE agents to a raid in Chicago with his TV network in June 2025 for a “first-hand look at the target operations.” Oz was appointed to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in 2025, and has consistently supported Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again agenda. In a new interview with Emmy Magazine, Winfrey admitted that she faces criticism for having platformed the pair because of their current political views, but was defensive about why she chose them to join her show in the first place.
Winfrey praised McGraw for supporting her during a 1997 lawsuit, where she was sued by a group of Texas cattlemen for defaming the beef industry. She won the case in February 1998. New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial.
Plan auto-renews until cancelled. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. I thought it would be helpful to many other people.
And that is how they ended up on the show.” While Winfrey and Trump were on friendly terms before he became president, she publicly endorsed Kamala Harris during the 2024 election and delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention. Both McGraw and Oz’s medical expertise has been scrutinized by health professionals over the years. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, McGraw faced backlash for suggesting social distancing was unnecessary and sharing inaccurate statistics about non-contagious causes of death.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
