Decades after bringing Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz into her television world, Oprah Winfrey has explained why their political choices aren’t hers to answer for.
Winfrey addressed the criticism in a recent interview with Emmy Magazine, while marking the approaching 40th anniversary of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah reflected on the decisions that brought both men on her show. Dr. Phil McGraw and Dr. Mehmet Oz later became television stars in their own right, but both eventually developed prominent connections to President Donald Trump. Oz now leads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, while McGraw serves on Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission.
That evolution has put Winfrey in an unusual position. The same television platform that introduced the two men to millions of viewers is now part of the conversation surrounding their political identities. Winfrey, however, says her intentions were much simpler at the time: she believed both men had practical knowledge that could benefit her audience.
Dr. Phil First Came Into Oprah’s Life During a Crisis
Dr. Phil’s connection with Winfrey began not with politics or television ambitions, but with one of the most stressful legal battles of her life.
McGraw first appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1998, after becoming involved in Winfrey’s high-profile libel case. She recalled that he was a steady presence during the six-week trial, even riding in the car with her to court each morning.
His practical, straightforward approach made such an impression that Winfrey began thinking about how McGraw’s advice could help others. She invited him onto her program, where he became a regular guest and relationship expert.
McGraw’s popularity eventually led to Dr. Phil, which premiered in 2002 and became one of daytime television’s most recognizable programs. Winfrey’s connection to his early television career therefore came from a relationship that had developed well before either man’s later political activities.
Gayle King Introduced Oprah to Dr. Oz
Dr. Oz entered Winfrey’s orbit through another personal connection, after Gayle King introduced the television host to the cardiothoracic surgeon.
Winfrey has said she was impressed by Oz’s ability to explain complicated medical subjects in language that ordinary viewers could understand. She specifically recalled his discussions of subjects such as colon cancer and bowel movements and felt his practical explanations could help a much larger audience.
Oz began appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2004 and became a recurring guest. His television relationship with Winfrey eventually expanded into The Dr. Oz Show, which premiered in 2009 and was produced with involvement from Winfrey’s Harpo Productions.
At that point, the relationship was centered on health information and television. Viewers watching those early appearances had little reason to imagine that Oz would eventually become a Republican Senate candidate or a senior official in a Trump administration.
Dr. Oz’s Political Career Created an Unusual Twist
The clearest example of how dramatically their paths diverged came when Oz ran for the U.S. Senate with Trump’s backing.
Oz entered the 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race as a Republican and received Trump’s endorsement. Winfrey, whose television platform had helped make Oz nationally recognizable, supported his Democratic opponent, John Fetterman.
Fetterman defeated Oz in the general election, but Oz’s political career continued. Trump later appointed him administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, putting him in charge of an agency responsible for major federal health programs.
The development created an unusual full-circle moment. Oz went from explaining medical topics to daytime viewers to holding a senior government position under the president who backed his Senate campaign.
Dr. Phil’s Relationship With Trump Also Grew
McGraw followed a different route into politics, becoming increasingly visible around Trump and conservative causes.
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He appeared at a Trump campaign event in 2024 and has since taken on a more public role around issues associated with the administration. Trump later appointed him to the Religious Liberty Commission, where he serves alongside other figures the president selected. McGraw has also appeared during immigration enforcement operations, further expanding his political visibility.
Those activities have revived questions about Winfrey’s decision to give McGraw such a prominent platform. Critics can point to the enormous audience he reached through her show, while Winfrey’s explanation focuses on what she knew about him when she made that decision.
She has said she believed he was practical, down-to-earth, and capable of helping people, partly because he supported her during her legal battle.
The man Oprah once trusted for practical advice is now known for a public role that looks very different from his early television years.
Oprah Says Everyone Has Their Own Path
Winfrey is not denying that she helped introduce both men to a national audience; she is rejecting the idea that their later decisions belong to her.
“People criticize me for Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz because of their politics or their views,” Winfrey said in the Emmy Magazine interview. She explained that she originally intended to share information she believed was valuable and meaningful to viewers.
She then pointed to the passage of time and the independence of the people involved, saying that everyone has their own path in life and that their current directions have “not one thing to do with me.”
That argument is not necessarily a denial of influence. Winfrey’s show clearly played an important role in bringing both men to a national audience, and her production company was involved in their subsequent television careers. Her point is that influence at one stage of someone’s life does not amount to control over everything that follows.
In other words, Oprah is willing to acknowledge the platform without accepting ownership of the choices made after the cameras moved on.
The Real Debate Is About Influence
The controversy ultimately raises a bigger question than Oprah’s relationship with two former television personalities: when does a person’s influence end?
There is an obvious argument that a powerful platform comes with responsibility. Being introduced to millions of viewers by one of television’s most influential hosts can change a person’s career permanently, and both McGraw and Oz benefited enormously from that exposure.
But there is another side. Both men spent years building independent careers, audiences, and public identities after their early appearances on Winfrey’s show. Their political decisions came much later, shaped by circumstances and choices that developed long after their television beginnings.
That makes the situation more complicated than simply blaming or absolving Winfrey. She helped create opportunities that mattered, but the people who received those opportunities ultimately made their own decisions about what to do with them.
Decades later, the most interesting part of the story may not be where Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz ended up, but how differently three people who once shared the same television world now see America’s political landscape.
Do you think Oprah is right to separate herself from Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz’s later political careers, or does giving someone a powerful national platform create a responsibility that can follow them long after they leave your show?
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