'Conversion Therapy' Segments Deleted from Dr. Oz Website
Talk show host Dr. Oz gave air time to advocates of the debunked and dangerous practice of "conversion therapy" in 2012. But the website for the talk show host-turned-GOP Senate candidate no longer shows those segments, according to Jezebel.
"As of Monday afternoon, the Dr. Oz Show's website appears to have scrubbed all of its 2012 segments about gay conversion therapy, including a three-part interview with an anti-LGBTQ 'reparative therapy' advocate, subsequent interviews with advocates at GLAAD and GLSEN rebutting the pro-conversion therapy segments, and a blog post from Oz about the 'debate' around conversion therapy," the site said.
The segments are referenced in Dr. Oz's blog, which, at the time of this post, can still be found here.
Jezebel called the apparent deletions "the latest in the Republican Senate candidate's long history of obscuring his own previous work and positions."
Noting that Dr. Oz — whose real name is Mehmet Cengiz Öz — is a "New Jersey resident" even though he's running for a Senatorial seat representing Pennsylvania, Jezebel said that Oz "is hardly an LGBTQ rights supporter, speaking out against trans athletes and backing bills mimicking Florida's dehumanizing 'don't say gay' legislation."
"If the removal of the gay conversion therapy segments from his website was deliberate, it's unclear to whom, exactly, Oz is pandering," the site went on to say, having noted that Dr. Oz eventually came down against so-called "conversion therapy."
"One thing we do know is that Oz has a long history of flip-flopping, particularly on issues like LGBTQ rights and abortion, to appeal to his right-wing base," Jezebel added.
The site recalled past instances of Dr. Oz supporting trans youth and reproductive rights for women. Those positions have evidently changed with his political ambitions. Dr. Oz has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, and seemingly indicated last spring that he bought into Trump's lies about the 2020 election.
That narrative seemed to shift in September, when Oz, asked whether the election was legitimate, replied, "There's lots more information we have to gather in order to determine that and I'd be very desirous of gathering some."
Numerous audits and investigations have confirmed that Joe Biden won the 2020 election, and no widespread election fraud has been uncovered.
"More recently," Jezebel added, "Oz and his surrogates in conservative (and even mainstream) media have launched vicious, ableist attacks on" his Democratic opponent, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a stroke survivor.