Crystal claims that she was brainwashed,  was forced into the room with the naked man and in her own words claims that she "was blocked by the staff to prevent her from leaving."

This follows the lawsuit filed by a woman named Shirley Dieu, who sought help from Phil in 2007, and alleges basically the same thing, except Shirley claims that Dr. Phil touched her left breast. Of course, Dr. Phil and his people are denying it all.

Earlier this month, a statement was released and a rep for Phil said of the lawsuit, “All of Shirley Rae Dieu’s claims are without merit. As with all of the occupants of the DR. PHIL House, Ms. Dieu participated voluntarily, having submitted her personal story with the hope that she could confront, and overcome, her individual issues.”

My goodness. This is quite and interesting situation for Dr. Phil here. Is it possible that both women are lying, or has Dr. Phil really crossed the line?

Image: Newscom

Post from: Daytime Talk

I definitely have thought about what might have happened if they had sought marital counseling and without knowing all of the details, I assumed that they never even tried.

Jon Gosselin, however, says that he did want them to see a therapist but it’s not something he could do alone. 

During an interview on ABC’s primetime special, Family Secrets, he said that he suggested marriage counseling but his wife, Kate, would only talk to Dr. Phil.  "I was very hesitant," Jon says. "I was like, ‘What the heck is this?’"

"I have a $22,000 therapy bill," he says. "I mean, I tried to have marriage counseling. I did it myself. She refused to go."

Instead of focusing on the problems in their marriage, Jon felt that the session was all about their public imagine.  "We talked about the brand and corporate things and making the brand work," he says. "I felt it was weird. I was like, ‘Why am I here? I could be snowboarding.’ It wasn’t helping."

D. Phil released the following statement: "I respect the Gosselins’ privacy, I have no comment on their marriage."

image: Zuma Press

Post from: Daytime Talk

According to the magazine, Dr. Phil has fired 30 staff members abruptly in his latest backstage meltdown.  Apparently, the show began with 250 staffers and is now down to around 100. 

First of all, I’m not sure how that could be true since I’d imagine it takes more than 100 people to produce this show. 

The article goes on to say that the ratings for The Dr. Phil Show continue to drop drastically – in 2005 he was pulling in 7.2 million viewers and now it’s just about 2.5 million. 

Again, I have no idea how accurate all of this is but I can actually see how that would make sense.  I used to find Dr. Phil harsh but a lot of his advice was actually useful. 

Now, it just seems like he rakes people over the coals for sheer entertainment for his audience and I think it has turned people off.  I liked feeling like he was being hard on a couple/individual/family because he wanted to help them and now it just looks like he does it for ratings. 

What do you think?  Have you stopped watch the show?  If so, why?

image: Zuma Press

Post from: Daytime Talk

The Ellen DeGeneres Show has by far taken the crown for the most amount of nominations this year with over six of them! Rachael Ray and Dr. Phil got a good amount as well. Who are you rooting for? I have no idea who’s going to win for Outstanding Talk Show. It’s quite a close match, so it should be interesting to see who takes it!

This year Vanessa Williams will be hosting the awards show! Make sure to catch the event on August 30th at 8 pm E.T on the CW Network!

OUTSTANDING MORNING PROGRAM

• “Good Morning America”
• “The Early Show”
• “The Today Show”
  

OUTSTANDING TALK SHOW / ENTERTAINMENT

• “Live With Regis and Kelly”
• “Rachael Ray”
• “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”

More after the jump!

OUTSTANDING TALK SHOW / INFORMATIVE

• “Dr. Phil”
• “The Doctors”
• “The Tyra Banks Show

OUTSTANDING TALK SHOW HOST

• “Live With Regis and Kelly” – Regis Philbin & Kelly Ripa
• “Rachael Ray” – Rachael Ray
• “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” - Ellen DeGeneres
• “The View” -  Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Sherri Shepherd, Barbara Walters

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING IN A TALK SHOW / MORNING PROGRAM

• “Rachael Ray”
• “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”
• “The View”

OUTSTANDING LIFESTYLE PROGRAM

• “Clean House”
• “Peter Perfect”
• “The Martha Stewart Show”
• “This Old House

OUTSTANDING PROMOTIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT – EPISODIC

• “2008 Video Music Awards Host Campaign”
• “All My Children”
• “Dr. Phil”
• “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”
  

OUTSTANDING PROMOTIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT – INSTITUTIONAL

• Comedy Campaign
• International Election
• Noggin Parent Directed Image Spots
• “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”
• “Tu Pride”

OUTSTANDING GAME SHOW HOST

• “Cash Cab” - Ben Bailey, HOST
• “Deal Or No Deal” - Howie  Mandel, HOST
• “Jeopardy!” – Alex Trebek, HOST
• “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” – Meredith Vieira, HOST

OUTSTANDING LIFESTYLE / CULINARY HOST

• “30 Minute Meals With Rachael Ray”
• “Barefoot Contessa”
• “Grill It! With Bobby Flay
• “Peter Perfect”
• “Simply Ming”

Image: Newscom

Post from: Daytime Talk

The event honored individuals who have shown courage and a lack of selfishness.  Amazingly, Jay was recognized for his efforts as the executive producer of the new show The Doctors because the show “it inspires, motivates, and educates people everywhere not just once a week, but every single week day.”

Post from: Daytime Talk

Apparently, the couple have been named in a $4 million lawsuit stemming from when Robin allegedly promised Miracle Hydrate skin company that she’d feature their creams and lotions on Dr. Phil but, obviously, that never happened.

What’s the big deal?  The company claims that they spent $650,000 “gearing up for the wave of sales they expected to follow” and are now demanding millions of dollars in lost profits.

What I would like to know is if they gave Robin a lifetime supply of the product or something because there seems to be something missing from this story to me.  I will keep my eyes open for updates.

image: Newscom

Post from: Daytime Talk

Dr. Phil was talking about people who put risqué pictures of themselves on the internet from those shots where people are barely dressed to those involving partying and alcohol.  He said that, as parents, we need to make sure our children understand the consequences of putting stuff like that on the internet since colleges/universities and future employers may Google their name and find these things which, of course, can prevent them from being admitted into certain schools or from getting that job.  Dr. Phil went on to explain that his two sons are now adults so he escaped having to deal with these new technology-related issues that parents are now facing.  Letterman, whose son is a preschooler, said that he doesn’t worry about it since he’ll “be dead” by the time his son is old enough to be taking those types of pictures of himself since he had his child late in life.  The audience cracked up and, for a moment, it looked like Dr. Phil was at a loss for words.  Watch the clip:

Post from: Daytime Talk

Dr. Phil and his wife, Robin, told the Ladies Home Journal that they do not consider divorce to be an option for them, dispelling rumors that the couple is on the outs.  I have to agree (and I am a remarried person so I’d like to think that I speak from some experience) that as soon as you think of divorce as a possible solution, it becomes more and more difficult to weigh the other options when things get rough. 

The lengthy interview revealed many things about their relationship (for example, she used to try pouting as a means of letting him know that something was bothering her – it didn’t work).  I found one of the things Robin said particularly helpful – she said that when she found out she was pregnant, they committed to maintaining their relationship as a couple rather than being redefined as just “parents.”  What I found so valuable was that she said that, now that her boys have grown up and moved on, all the effort they put into their marriage has paid off.  So many couples lose each other during the child-rearing years and when the kids move out, they find they suddenly have nothing in common.  It’s an important lesson.  I have tried to do this in my own relationship but, after reading this reminder, I’m going to try even harder.

Post from: Daytime Talk

Shani used to say to him “you’re going to lose me” because she started to feel like she couldn’t handle being a full-time mother and running her own business.  After she started having an affair, she even left her son’s birthday party to be with him.  She calls the other man, Greg, her “boyfriend.”

She has moved out and her boyfriend has left his wife and filed for divorce.  Shani’s sister is furious that she has done this to her family.

Jason regrets it every day that he didn’t listen to her when she said she was feeling neglected and unfulfilled.  He says that they have been together for 13 years and he doesn’t want his children to grow up in a “broken home.”

Dr Phil asks Shani how she plans to explain the reasons why their family fell apart.  He confronts her about the selfishness of her decisions and she says that she doesn’t love Jason and she doesn’t think she can keep up the facade.  Dr Phil pointed out that she had not ended the relationship with her husband and she’s comparing her husband and her regular married life to these weekend trysts at the lake which are nothing like reality.  He asks her if it’s fair and she has to acknowledge that it isn’t.

Continue reading recap and see my opinion after the jump!

Shani said that her “boyfriend’s” wife has a hot temper because she sent mean text messages and she eventually had to get a restraining order.  Uhhh… what did she think was going to happen?  I would be doing more than that!

Jason thinks the boys are having a hard time, Shani says they are doing fine and Shani’s sister, Amber, agrees with Jason and says that the kids are struggling. 

Shani also confessed that she has smoked marijuana with Greg, who joined the show via satellite.  He also said that he doesn’t believe Shani’s three children will be affected and he also thinks his own two children will emerge from this situation unscathed.  Dr Phil asked him if he thinks they have a healthy relationship considering it was borne out of deception and lies. 

Greg sounds incredibly immature and refused to even answer Dr Phil’s questions about them smoking up together.  I think he is a loser, I’m sorry, and I think he doesn’t actually care about Shani.  It seems like he is just on the line to make sure he doesn’t get forgotten while Dr Phil talks with her, her husband and her sister.  Dr Phil told him that if he has any respect for her and her children, he will take a step back and let her deal with her life first.

Greg interrupted the discussion so that he could say, again, that he doesn’t believe the children will be affected in the long run and that any stress will be short-term.  Shani is in tears and her sister Amber reiterated that she doesn’t seem to realize the effect this is having on the kids.  Shani said she felt like she was being thrown under the bus and Dr Phil asked if that was true or whether she was laying down in front of the bus (I think it’s the latter, thank you very much).  Dr Phil told her she needs to step out of this affair and that if Greg really loves her, he will still be there after she sorts things out with her husband and children.  Dr Phil pointed out that it’s pretty remarkable that her husband, Jason, is still willing to work with her. 

In the end, Shani barely agreed to not see Greg anymore until she resolved things with her marriage.  It was painful to watch and I hope that, in the end, she makes the right decision for those three boys that she has.  Hopefully, Dr Phil will do a follow-up because I’m going to wonder what happened!

• What do you think Shani should do?
• Was Shani wrong to get in the relationship with Greg?
• Do you think Jason deserved to be cheated on?
• Do you believe that children of divorce are unaffected?

image provided by Newscom

Post from: Daytime Talk

I was surprised that almost the whole interview was all about polygamy and how tax dollars go to supporting the practice.  Watch the interview:

Post from: Daytime Talk