Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Dr. Phil Under Fire For Questioning U.S Lockdown Efforts By Comparing Virus Deaths To Swimming Pool Accidents

Dr. Phil Under Fire For Questioning U.S Lockdown Efforts By Comparing Virus Deaths To Swimming Pool Accidents
Albert L. Ortega / Contributor / Getty Images

Dr. Phil McGraw—who has a PhD in psychology but is not licensed to practice in any state and is certainly not a medical doctor—is receiving major backlash online for comments he made during a Fox News interview.


During that interview, he incorrectly quoted statistics about annual causes of death in the United States in an attempt to argue stay-at-home orders are unnecessary and may be causing more harm than good.

McGraw told Laura Ingraham he was worried the isolation is seriously effecting Americans' mental health, which is certainly true.

But then he asserted the isolation itself might cause more deaths than the virus.

"The longer this lockdown goes on, the more vulnerable people get. It's like there's a tipping point where people start having enough problems in lockdown that it will actually create more destruction and actually more deaths across time than the actual virus will itself.

He also quoted false statistics in support of his argument.

"We have 45,000 people a year die from automobile accidents, 480,000 from cigarettes, 360,000 a year from swimming pools but we don't shut the country down for that. But yet we're doing it for this? And the fall out is going to last for years because people's lives are being destroyed."

Ignoring the fact the country isn't shut down for swimming pool or automobile deaths because those aren't caused by a highly contagious pathogen—making quarantine and social distancing ineffective at combating them—the CDC says there were only around 3,600 pool deaths on average per year from 2005-2014. The number of yearly deaths due to car accidents was only 32,000.

And those were spread over 12 months, not just 3-4 months.

Dr. Frank Ulrich Montgomery, Chair of Council of the World Medical Association, told Newsweek:

"It is cynical to weigh up one source of death against another. If there is a chance of prevention and treatment you have to take it—in the interest of humanity."

And he cautioned against that cynicism in decision making.

"We have to weigh up the consequences for health care against sociopsychological factors and the detrimental effects of lockdowns to economy. And we have to be aware that we cannot afford a backlash. A 'second wave' would be a terrible disaster, economically, for health and for society, "

Folks on Twitter were also quick to point out the ridiculousness of McGraw's comparisons.

Many pointed out car crash and pool deaths led to sensible regulations to decrease them, just like stay-at-home orders are doing to decrease virus inclfection and death.




Many also brought up McGraw's lack of qualifications to speak on the issue at all.

He is not a medical doctor and has not even been licensed to practice clinical psychology in over a decade.




Some people also pointed out the vastly inaccurate statistics McGraw used to make his point.

The health organizations of the world made the recommendation for social distancing, stay-at-home orders, lockdowns and quarantines for good reason.

Slowing the spread of the disease by avoiding unnecessary human contact is our best chance to keep the most people alive and not overwhelm the healthcare system.

The book Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything is available here.

More from Trending

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images

RFK Jr. Just Admitted What We're All Thinking About His 'Medical Advice' In Epic Self-Own

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was criticized after he pushed back on Americans taking "medical advice" from him when questioned about his anti-vaxxer beliefs—quite the statement from someone who is currently the nation's leading public health official.

During a House Appropriations Committee hearing, Kennedy faced renewed scrutiny over his history of vaccine misinformation, with Wisconsin Democratic Representative Mark Pocan among those pressing him on the issue.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ashley Tisdale
@ashleytisdale/TikTok; Disney

Ashley Tisdale Hilariously Reveals How Her 'High School Musical'-Obsessed Toddler Lets People Know She's Sharpay's Daughter

For many Millennials and Gen Z'ers, the High School Musical films were appointment viewing, and the character of Sharpay played by Ashley Tisdale was one of the franchise's icons.

She was kind of the Cher Horowitz-meets-Regina George of her day, and with Tisdale's roster of other Disney hits like The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Phineas and Ferb, she's basically Disney royalty.

Keep ReadingShow less
Seven-time Grammy winner and entertainer, Toni Braxton
Christopher Polk/Variety/Getty Images

Toni Braxton's Controversial Graduation Look

Toni Braxton celebrated her son’s graduation from Howard University in a risqué outfit that made fans and fashion critics blush.

The Grammy-winning R&B singer posted a video of her son, 22-year-old Diezel Ky Braxton-Lewis, as he emotionally received his degree in film from the HBCU’s prestigious Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts.

Keep ReadingShow less
Zendaya at the 2025 Met Gala; Law Roach with Entertainment Tonight; Anna Sawai at the 2025 Met Gala
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images; @entertainmenttonight/TikTok; Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Stylist Reveals Zendaya's Sweet Gesture After She And 'Shogun' Star Accidentally Wore Matching Met Gala Looks

Every year, the Met Gala asks their guests to dress to a particular theme. For 2025, the theme was "Tailored for You," which inspired entertainers to show up in looks that best modeled their figures or in some way emulated their greatest inspiration.

Zendaya showed up in an eye-catching white suit with a fitted jacket, vest, and embellished, crystal buttons, and well-tailored pants. To top it all off, she wore a fabulous, floppy white hat. She was styled by Law Roach, her suit was designed by Louis Vuitton, and her inspiration was Diana Ross and Bianca Jagger.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hasan Piker
Gerardo Mora/Getty Images for Real Good Touring

Liberal Commentator Alarmingly Grilled By Customs Over His Views On Trump While Returning From France

Hasan Piker—progressive political commentator, YouTuber, and Twitch streamer—revealed he was detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents for almost two hours at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Sunday as he returned to the United States from France.

Piker—a U.S. citizen born to Turkish parents in New Brunswick, New Jersey—said the CBP agents' goal was to intimidate him as they questioned him about his opinions on MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, Houthi rebels, Hamas, his bans from Twitch, and Israel. Piker has routinely spoken about the genocide in Gaza, advocated for Palestinian rights, and criticized the Israeli government.

Keep ReadingShow less