Oprah and Dr. Oz’s TV Relationship: A Timeline
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Oprah Winfrey has officially turned her back on former protégé Dr. Mehmet Oz to endorse his opponent in the Pennsylvania senate race.
Despite rising to fame as a celebrity physician on Oprah’s long-running talk show, Oz has failed to win her backing in the state’s Senate race.
This week, Winfrey declared her support for Oz’s opponent, Democrat John Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, endorsing Fetterman during a get-out-the-vote event held online.
“I’ll tell you all this, if I lived in Pennsylvania, I would have already cast my vote for John Fetterman for many reasons,” Winfrey said during Thursday’s event.
Oz, who has the backing of former President Donald Trump, announced his intention to run in the Pennsylvania Senate race for the GOP last year.
Initially, Winfrey declined to get involved by endorsing any candidates in the race, telling New York magazine, “it’s up to the residents of Pennsylvania to decide who will represent them.”
Mehmet Oz vs. John Fetterman: What To Know About Pennsylvania Senate Race
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The long-standing professional relationship between Oz and Winfrey seems to be well and truly over after having worked together for the better part of this century.
Here’s a timeline of Oz’s career since he began working with Winfrey:
2003
Winfrey was one of the first guests on Oz’s Discovery show Second Opinion with Dr. Oz.
The series ran for five episodes and other guests included, Charlie Sheen, Patti LaBelle, Quincy Jones and Magic Johnson.
2006 – 2011
Oz started making regular appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
The cardiothoracic surgeon became a household name giving medical advice on Winfrey’s popular talk show.
Oz made a total of 62 appearances and was been a regular contributor to a number of Winfrey’s spin-off projects such as Oprah’s Guide to OWN, Ask Oprah’s All-Stars, O, The Oprah Magazine as well as appearing on her Sirus XM radio station.
2009
Oz got his own spinoff show off the back of his popularity on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
The Dr. Oz Show would run for 1,681 episodes over 13 years and was co-produced by Winfrey’s Harpo Productions/Harpo Studios.
The final episode aired on January 14, 2022, with Oz calling time on his TV career to focus on his bid for the Senate.
2016
Then-presidential candidate, Donald Trump, appeared as a guest on Dr. Oz which was one of the first signs of his political leanings.
Oz examined Trump’s health reports, declaring them “comprehensive” and that he was in “excellent physical health.”
But the segment was slammed by critics with media outlet Vox describing it as “disturbing.”
“The embodiment of this post-factual era, Donald Trump, met the embodiment of medical misinformation today. On TV. And the stakes aren’t just the usual Dr. Oz hijinks — misleading statements… they could influence the presidential race,” wrote Julia Belluz.
“Like a good piece of theater, this collision shouldn’t just entertain us; it should disquiet us, too.”
2018
Trump announced plans to appoint Oz to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition.
His two-year term began on December 2020, but President Joe Biden asked him to resign from the council in March 2022, a move Oz slammed as “petty.”
2020
Winfrey was called on to denounce Oz after his controversial comments during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.
He appeared on Fox News to push hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine as a cure for COVID.
Used as an antimalarial drug and for lupus treatment, there was no scientific evidence at the time to back Oz’s claims.
This led to Trump endorsing the drug as a cure for COVID and eventually causing a shortage of it for people who needed it.
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration report found 100 people in the U.S. died in the first half of 2020 taking hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine as a treatment for COVID.
November 30, 2021
Oz announced he has changed his residence from New Jersey to Pennsylvania in order to run for the Senate there.
“As a heart surgeon, I know how precious life is,” Oz said in a video announcing his candidacy.
“Pennsylvania needs a conservative who will put America first, one who can reignite our divine spark, bravely fight for freedom and tell it like it is.”
He narrowly beat David McCormick in the primary to get on the GOP ticket.
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