While the Shelley Duvall interview from 2016 was one of the more controversial moments of Dr. Phil, Phil McGraw himself doesn’t regret a thing about it. As Duvall had been living a reclusive life, it was the first many fans had seen from her in a long time. The interview revealed that the Popeye star was struggling with mental illness, and this led to criticism that Dr. Phil was “exploiting” Duvall at a vulnerable time in her life. Stanley Kubrick’s daughter Vivian Kubrick and actress Mia Farrow were among those who publicly blasted Dr. Phil over the episode.
In a new interview for Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? on CNN, McGraw addressed the infamous interview. While the show is now over and McGraw has had time to do some reflection, he says he feels no regret over how the Duvall episode was handled. In response to the accusations that he exploited Duvall’s condition, the TV host admits that the way the episode was promoted could’ve been done differently. With that said, he says he feels no regrets, noting how he had been putting in great effort to help Duvall off-camera, suggesting viewers didn’t know the whole story.
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“I don’t regret what I did, I regret that it was promoted in a way that people thought as unbecoming,” McGraw explains. “There are parts of that story that I haven’t talked about, and won’t talk about in specific, but I can say generally that we worked with her family. We worked with her for over a year off-camera, after that fact, and providing her opportuniites for in-patient and out-patient psychiatric care. I can’t tell you the extent that we went to.”
He added, “The people that were critical of it, nobody ever asked them what they ever did to try and help her. And the answer is, not a damn thing.”
Related: Shelley Duvall’s Worst Actress Razzie Nomination for The Shining Has Been Rescinded
Shelley Duvall Returned to Acting
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In 2021, Duvall herself would address the Dr. Phil situation in a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter. When asked about the ordeal, the actress grew visibly “distressed,” going on to share how she feels about McGraw upon reflection of that controversy.
“I found out the kind of person he is the hard way,” Duvall noted. “My mother didn’t like him, either… He started calling my mother. She told him, ‘Don’t call my daughter anymore.’ But he started calling my mother all the time trying to get her to let me talk to him again.”
In response, a spokesperson for Dr. Phil stated, “We view every Dr. Phil episode, including Miss Duvall and her struggle with mental illness, as an opportunity to share relatable, useful information and perspective with our audiences. We don’t attach the stigma associated with mental illness which many do. With no one else offering help, our goal was to document the struggle and bring amazing resources to change her trajectory as we have for so many over 19 years.”
Duvall has also since returned to acting. Last year, it was reported that Duvall had joined the cast of the indie horror film The Forest Hills. The movie was released last Halloween.
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