This past week has been rather embarrassing for celebrity health guru Mehmet Oz — or just Dr. Oz to fans. He was taken to task in front of Senate for selling, in his own words, a “magic weight loss cure for every body type.” Oz’s testimony was mainly a whirlwind of self-contradiction, telling Senators that there was no such magical cure after all.
Watch John Oliver absolutely destroy Dr. Oz
Alex Abad-Santos is a senior correspondent who explains what society obsesses over, from Marvel and movies to fitness and skin care. He came to Vox in 2014. Prior to that, he worked at The Atlantic.
Last night, John Oliver walked through the highlights of the proceedings, adding, “If you want to keep spouting this bullshit, that’s fine, but don’t call your show Dr. Oz. Call it Check his Shit Out with some Guy Named Mehmet.”
But Oliver’s main complaint here isn’t with the weight loss-peddling doctor. It’s with the organizations, lawmakers, lobbyists and the powerful dietary supplement industry that allow him to do that. “Dr. Oz is just a symptom of the problem,” he said, explaining the relative and terrifying freedom that supplement companies have when it comes to giving us things like Dr. Oz’s snake oil.
Related reading: Why Dr. Oz can say anything and keep his medical license.
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