The “Jeopardy!” From Dr Oz! Stint shredded on social media: he’s ‘dangerous’

From “Jeopardy!” tried to amplify Dr Mehmet Oz’s upcoming stint on the show, social media users criticized the TV star for being “dangerous“And shilling”for-profit medical disinformation. “

Oz, a former health expert on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” has long been a controversial figure in the medical world. In addition to repeatedly selling fraudulent weight loss products and providing a platform to ‘debate’ the benefits of conversion therapy, a 2014 British Medical Journal study said that half of its medical advice was “unfounded or false”. In 2015, a group of fellow physicians even wrote to Columbia’s dean of medicine, saying the school’s partnership with him was “unacceptable.”

More recently, Oz – whom Donald Trump appointed to the Sport, 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 “Jeopardy!” The guest host is part of the show’s larger effort to have various hosts act as backups until a permanent plus takes over from the late beloved longtime host Alex Trebek. of pancreatic cancer last year.

In February, “Jeopardy!” issued a press release announcing that Oz would be the host for a while, congratulating him on winning 10 Daytime Emmy Awards for “The Dr. Oz Show” and bragging about his role as attending physician at the NewYork Presbyterian- Columbia Medical Center and as the author of “over 400 original publications, book chapters and medical books”.

The announcement caused an initial wave of concern, prompting The Ringer to speak to the old “Jeopardy!” contestants last month about the decision to put Oz for Trebek.

Lindsey Shultz, a 2019 four-game winner who works as a public health analyst, told The Ringer: “When you’ve made your career in popular media expressing your confidence in unproven cures at best – and at worst by implicitly provoking your audience. to doubt the process by which we live and have been breathless trying to defend for a full calendar year – I’m not sure a fact-based show is the best place for you.

Later, more than 500 old “Jeopardy!” the candidates signed a letter posted on Medium to oppose the selection of Oz as a guest host.

“Dr. Oz represents what has become a dubious trend in America: the elevation of the accredited talking head at the expense of academic rigor and consensus, “the letter read, which later called his appointment a” slap in the face. involved persons “.

When the “Jeopardy!” The Twitter account shared the introduction of Oz for his first appearance on Monday, with critics responding calling him “dangerous and self-enriching fraud ” and one “pseudo-science quack huckster.

Actor LeVar Burton’s name even started to be trending on Twitter as people shared that they wanted the “Reading Rainbow” host to be the guest host on “Jeopardy!” instead of Oz.

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

Prior to the Oz host concert, Katie Couric acted as host for two weeks and raised $ 230,504 in donations for Stand Up To Cancer. The cumulative gains from Oz’s appearance will go to HealthCorps, “a national nonprofit organization committed to eliminating health inequalities in at-risk communities by educating and empowering students by giving them tools to improve their physical and mental health. ”