Seth MacFarlane Calls Out Oprah Winfrey For Promoting Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz and Other ‘Purveyors of Pseudoscience’
The creator of Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane, made a name for himself with comedy. However, he’s always been deeply political as well.
His shows are sprinkled with liberal jokes, but his opinions don’t stop there. A big contributor to political campaigns, McFarland likes to speak his mind to whoever will listen.
With the Coronavirus dominating news waves, MacFarlane didn’t hesitate to call out other celebrities who he felt were “purveyors of pseudoscience.”
Seth MacFarlane calls out Fox News
Despite making millions from his shows Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show, which all aired on Fox, MacFarlane isn’t afraid to call out the network for his disagreements. In fact, in 2018, he even tweeted that he was “embarrassed to work for [the] company.”
In another recent tweet, MacFarlane argued with Fox News correspondent Laura Ingraham, who claimed the Washington Post wanted the Coronavirus shutdown to last indefinitely.
“I really cannot fathom that we produce content for the same corporation,” MacFarlane wrote. “Laura, that is an insane remark. Everyone wants this to end. The sane among us are only trying to follow the lead of responsible science with regard to the timing. Please use your platform more responsibly.”
Of course, MacFarlane does admit that he’s benefited from the creative freedom that Fox allows for their shows. During an interview with Vice’s new political talk show, Seat at the Table with Anand Giridharadas, MacFarlane explained.
“Since I’ve been doing ‘Family Guy,’ I’ve never gotten anything remotely… I have never experienced anything like censorship on that level,” he said. “They’ve left us alone completely. Even when our politics were aggressively liberal.”
Seth MacFarlane calls out Oprah Winfrey
Since Fox allows its shows to have so much creative freedom, MacFarlane believes there is a responsibility to provide accurate information. Unfortunately, he doesn’t believe everyone takes that responsibility seriously.
One celebrity who he believes has failed in that regard is Oprah Winfrey. Although she wasn’t on the Fox network, she was allowed to uplift ideas that MacFarlane considers irresponsible.
“Oprah has spent her career doing a lot of altruistic things — given to a lot of charities, supported a lot of good causes, and in many ways used her platform for good,” MacFarlane said on the Vice talk show. “The exception to that is the elevation of these purveyors of pseudoscience. People like Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, all the way back to Jenny McCarthy and the anti-vaxx movement.”
In particular, MacFarlane seemed upset about comments made by Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz regarding the Coronavirus.
What did Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz say about Coronavirus?
Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz were both interviewed recently on Fox News about their opinions surrounding Coronavirus, specifically the shutdowns that have resulted from Coronavirus fears.
“Look, the fact of the matter is we have people dying — 45,000 people a year die from automobile accidents, 480,000 from cigarettes,” Dr. Phil said, “but we don’t shut the country down for that. But yet we’re doing it for this?”
Dr. Oz agreed with the idea that we should be trying to find a way to get the economy back open as soon as possible, especially schools. He argued that testing could be a way to get people back to work, and those with compromised immune systems could isolate longer. However, what seemed to upset people the most, was his pushing of the drug hydroxychloroquine for Coronavirus treatment, a stance President Trump has also been criticized for.
“If you’re a patient and you get COVID-19, it is worth asking your doctor about any of the products on this list,” Dr. Oz said.
MacFarlane used the fortune he earned from his animated shows to become one of Hollywood’s major political donors. Just like Family Guy, he’s not shy with his opinions and isn’t likely to stop calling out problems when he sees them.
