I’ve seen my fair share of television shows. My favorites are those hosted by doctors that cut their teeth, dishing out advice from “experts”, in any and all categories one can imagine.

If you tune in this week, you might catch a glimpse of Dr. Phil, sparing with the catch me outside girl, or if you’re lucky, Dr. Phil will push it up a notch, exploiting the average family struggles for the entertainment of viewers around the world. 

It’s all for a good cause. Much of the proceeds for his reality TV show help fund an unethical 70 million in cold cash he made last year. However, he’s just a reality TV star, let him live his best cash filled life. After all, he’s not bothering anyone or giving unsolicited opinions on the coronavirus.

You see, that’s when we might have to take the influence of said reality TV star serious. Maybe he won’t go on Laura Ingraham’s program this week, downplay the pandemic and call to reopen America far too early. 

I’m sure if this were the case, a Twitter apology wouldn’t be enough for his viewers to forgive such a callous call to action. Dr. Phil is following in the footsteps of other famous TV doctors, taking their feet and shoving it down their throats. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt, he only has our interests at heart. 

All he said was, according to NBC News “the economy is crashing around us and they’re doing that because people are dying because of coronavirus,” Dr. Phil said. “I get that, but look, the fact of the matter is we have people dying –- 45,000 people a year die from automobile accidents, 480,000 from cigarettes, 360,000 from swimming pools. But we don’t shut the country down.”

“But yet, we’re doing it for this and the fallout is going to last for years because people’s lives are being destroyed,” he said.

I’ve got to admit, I agree with Dr. Phillis McGraw. If we don’t reopen very soon, he might only make 50 million dollars this year, hardly enough to buy all the products he’ll need for his mustache. 

Experts had predicted that self-isolation, stay at home orders and shutting down unessential businesses for a period of time, would be effective in stopping the curb of coronavirus.

It was also predicted, that the great work done by citizens participating in these measures, would be used by others to suggest, this entire pandemic was overblown and be used to push us back to the way things were too early.

The truth is, opening now as suggested by Dr. Phil, would surely bring with it a spike of cases and stunt all progress we’ve made stopping the spread the best we can. I’m sorry celebrities can’t stand the lack of attention the coronavirus has brought to their doorstep.

May I suggest Dr. Phil use his time, wading in a pile of his millions instead of jeopardizing more thousands of American lives, with his unthoughtful ideas.

Dr. Phil was trying his best to outdo Dr. Oz, who days prior had gone on Sean Hannity’s propaganda show, speaking in similar if not more offensive rhetoric.

According to The New York Times, Oz said, “We need our mojo back,” he told the Fox News host Sean Hannity. “Let’s start with things that are really critical to the nation where we think we might be able to open without getting into a lot of trouble. I tell you; schools are a very appetizing opportunity.” 

He continued: “I just saw a nice piece in The Lancet arguing that the opening of schools may only cost us 2 to 3 percent in terms of total mortality. You know, that’s — any life is a life lost, but to get every child back into a school where they’re safely being educated, being fed, and making the most out of their lives, with the theoretical risk on the backside, it might be a trade-off some folks would consider.”

Yes Dr., I imagine some folks would be willing to let others die if it meant going back to their normal life. However, it’s a good thing we’re listening to pandemic experts, and not Billy Bob down the road, who wants to leave the house more. 

Here’s my point, if you like either of these doctors as an entertainment option on a Thursday at 3 p.m. while you fold your laundry, I support you. If you are looking to them to lead us out of this pandemic, then I almost can’t put all the blame on Oz and Phil. It is up to us, to recognize them as nothing more than the reality TV personalities they are. 

Dr. Drew might have had the worst take out of these three.

According to CNN, “In early March when called upon to offer his professional opinion on the coronavirus, he significantly downplayed the threat and instead attacked news organizations that were taking it seriously. In appearances on Fox News in early March, Pinsky claimed the real problem was ‘due to panic, not the virus.’ And, despite data pointing to a much higher mortality rate for the coronavirus, Pinsky argued the flu was ‘vastly more consequential.’ 

We can’t just let a minor apology take the cake with these three. It’s not fair to all who listened to their words and acted upon them which put them at such high risk.  Dr. Drew had been downplaying the Coronavirus for weeks, making the dangerous argument that the flu was far more deadly. 

Once and for all, we must strip them of their credibility and influence that we have given them in the spotlight. Many celebrities find it difficult to discover their lane of expertise and stick to it. So, it is up to us to find their lane for them and stick them there ourselves. 

Fox News hosted all three of these television doctors, giving them a platform to spew their misinformation. What if Fox News, a media outlet with a less then stellar background, isn’t a reliable network Americans should be watching for important updates during this pandemic?