You can check out the news here... http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/10/04/dr.phil/

Have any of you heard about this and know any more about this?

I just can't believe it. There are tons of people that have lost significant amounts of weight thanks to his plan, and I am sure not all of them used the suppliments and so forth

I've wondered what happened to that...not heard a peep about it on the show or the website, and no more shows about weight issues at all...hmmm...

These people are obviously just in this for the money. Even if you don't take these herbal medications, if you eat a low-calorie diet and excercise, you will lose weight, and just because it didn't work on these people, probably because they only took the pills, and didn't follow through with the rest of the plan, doesn't meant that they are entitled to sue.

I don't know anything about this particular plan or the supplements. I wouldn't believe anyone who told me that I could lose weight without changing the way I eat and exercising. I'm kind of surprised that Dr. Phil was involved with supplements and stuff like that. I always figured he was about losing weight with a common sense approach.

I saw the supplements in a Walgreen's store before I read his book. And after reading the claims on the supplement boxes, I thought his diet plan must be a bunch of hooey (outrageously expensive, and complicated - with different supplements for different body types and other far-fetched diet theory). And, if I do remember correctly, the print on the box did make it sound like the pills alone would have miraculous results, as I do remember thinking that the claims on the box seemed outrageous. I was horrified that a lot of people would toss their common sense out the window and believe this garbage because Dr. Phil's picture and name are on the box.

When my mother gave me his books, I was surprised that they were pretty decent. Nothing new or revolutionary, but balanced, common-sense advice. I wondered if Dr. Phil had had much personal input in these supplements, or whether he had sold his name to some supplement company.

I'm torn between wanting some accountability for weight loss merchandiser's outrageous claims, and expecting people to use common sense before plunking down their hard-earned cash.


Colleen

I think when people feel desperate their common sense goes out the window. We all know that people will do just about anything when they are desperate regardless of the circumstances. Manufacturers and advertisers know this and so I think they should be held accountable. I can't believe that Dr. Phil had anything to do with supplements because from his books and what he's said on tv he preaches that weight loss is something that is a life style change and not something that is a quick fix. It's too bad that he can't make some sort of a statement about what has happened but I imagine his lawyers wouldn't let him do that.

It does seem a very odd decision on his part, that's for sure.

A lot of celebrities authorize their business manager/team to make licensing agreements, etc. without their involvement, which might have been the case here. So it is very possible that he may not have been personally aware of the whole program, but again, not very smart on his part to allow his name to be put on something he didn't fully review, as that does make him accountable to some degree.

If Dr. Phil wasn't fully aware of the supplements, and their marketing, I think Dr. Phil should either fire or sue his business manager (if he hasn't already), or whoever was responsible for the fiasco. Also, if there is a judgement, I hope it doesn't exceed a refund of the purchase price. I think punitive damages or even court costs would be ridiculous.

the book S.H.A.M. talks about this. apparently he had some biz partner who organised it. they did it as a joint venture

having said that the guy is greedy!!! i wish he'd stick to what he knows. The 7 diet principles were good but diet supplements sound bad news

This was discussed awhile back (sort of) when someone asked about the Dr. Phil Protein Bars, which were part of that whole deal as well.

Check this thread...

From what I heard from the get-go, Dr. Phil was donating all of his share of the proceeds to charity to begin with, so it's not like he was doing it for more money. I'm sure that the truth will out - I saw snippets of this on CNN, and my take from the emails going back and forth between Dr. Phil and the company's representatives were that he wasn't thrilled with the deal to begin with. I watched every single one of the Weight Loss Challenge shows that season, and he never ONCE mentioned the products on the air, nor did he allow any commercials for the products to air when his show was on.

I also think that the plaintiff's attorney is acting like a money-chasing slimeball, judging from what I saw of him on CNN and his comments in this article from the Associated Press: Dr. Phil had concerns about diet pill ads

If this case goes to court (my guess is that the plaintiff attorney is just making a big fuss hoping that Dr. Phil settles out of court for a big $$ amount) it should be interesting what transpires. IMO, Dr. Phil made a mistake by endorsing these diet products and he knew that almost as soon as he signed the contract (apparently it sounds like he did it as a favor for an old friend or ex-associate) - but he's human and makes judgement errors, just like the rest of us.

If he was truly "greedy" then not only would he have encouraged the company to run ads for the products during his program, he would have given the stuff to the WLC contestants to use, with on-air endorsements, they would have been mentioned in the book, etc. He didn't do any of this stuff - so cut the guy a break