The doctor is out, and he’s at war with his critics. Popular TV medical guru and bestselling author, Dr. Mehmet Oz was recently hammered by his legion of critics. The good doctor responded with a barrage of PR appearances and messages to tell his side of the story. Beginning with an essay in Time magazine, followed by a series of TV interviews, Dr. Oz refused to allow his critics to get the last work or even to control the conversation.
The battle began when a group of physicians wrote to Columbia University, asking that “Dr. Oz” be stripped of his academic credentials. Because there is no shortage of people who want to trade on the Oz brand – either in support or against him – the letter was HUGE news. Umpteen agencies picked it up and ran with it. Dr. Oz fired back.
During a recent episode of his popular TV program, Oz positioned his content as the “truth about his critics.” And he had no qualms about going for the throat. During the show, Oz challenged the credentials and integrity of his critics, saying, “It’s ironic that I am being accused of a conflict of interest by these doctors, when, as you are about to see, some of them have their own conflict of interest issues…and some integrity ones also.”
First, in that statement, Oz was able to lump all his critics together. While not all of his critics share some of the issues about which he spoke. Grouping them together like that allowed him to imply — without directly accusing — they were running with dogs who had fleas, so they must have fleas as well.
Oz then took his attack back around, using hot button terms that his fans could easily grasp. He accused his critics of having ties to big industry and of only picking on him because he is against genetically modified foods. This kind of rhetoric is exactly what his audience wanted to hear, putting them squarely on his side.
Then Oz quoted the letter regarding what it called his “baseless and relentless opposition to the genetic engineering of food crops.”
Oz responded by saying he wasn’t against GMOs. He just wanted labeling, so “you can decide on the foods to feed your family.”
That salvo was for the fence sitters and for those who treasure autonomy in their food choices. Oz ended the show by vowing not to be silenced by his critics. That’s a good thing because this exchange was only the first salvo in what will likely be a long and ongoing PR war.
