It seems that Dr. Mehmet Oz’s transformation from respected surgeon to deplorable pseudoscience advocate is complete. He recently slandered Dr. Fauci as a “petty tyrant” and then called him “cowardly” for not taking the bait to get into a “doctor-to-doctor debate” with the surgeon-turned TV snake oil salesman-turned politician. Oz may once have been a very competent physician, but he is way, way out of his depth when it comes to immunology, virology and epidemiology. He is just not in Dr. Fauci’s league.
Dr. Oz has championed “energy medicine,” for which he received the James Randi Foundation’s “Pigasus Award” that recognizes achievements in pseudoscience. He has hyped diet pills devoid of any evidence, has given credence to talking to the dead, and hit bottom with marketing “Dr. Oz’s homeopathic starter kit.” Homeopathy, based on non-existent molecules treating existing disease, is the most absurd of all the “alternative” therapies.
If Oz didn’t quite hit the bottom with his promotion of homeopathy, he surely did so now, jumping into bed with the nutcases at Fox to gain support for his preposterous Senate candidacy. This is a man who was eviscerated at a Senate committee hearing when questioned about his shameless plugging of baseless dietary supplements, and a man who was the subject of a study in the prestigious British Medical Journal that found 15% of his recommendations on the “Dr. Oz Show” were contradicted by evidence and another 40% had no evidence to back up the claims made.
Oz may bluster about challenging Dr. Fauci to a debate, but for Fauci, that would be like having a battle with an unarmed man. Oz can’t hold a candle to Fauci’s accomplishments, expertise or class.
It is actually sad to see Dr. Oz degenerate into a pseudoscience-promoting political hack trying to gain favour with right-wing conspiracy theorists. He could have done so much good from the pulpit gifted him by Oprah.
At least so far he hasn’t promoted the hair dye he uses.
