In a predictable but sad twist to the “homeless to Hollywood” Golden-voiced rags-to-riches story, Ted Williams has checked himself out of rehab after only two weeks. When Williams first shot to fame he insisted he’d been clean and sober for two years. Either Williams slipped or he was lying about his sobriety, because some of his many children told Dr. Phil that he’d been drinking heavily. Ted has a history of crack addiction and has been accused of working as a pimp for his addict girlfriend, who is also now in rehab. Dr. Phil had the guy’s entire family on the show, (in a multi-part series, nach) where they confronted him about his longstanding addiction and how he abandoned their family. Now that Dr. Phil has done his part and washed his hands of the guy, he’s issued a predictable press release about how Williams is an adult and his participation in rehab is voluntary:

Ted Williams — the homeless man with the Golden Voice — has reportedly quit rehab and the man who convinced him to seek treatment for drug and alcohol abuse is speaking out exclusively to RadarOnline.com.

Dr. Phil McGraw, who had Williams agree to go to rehab in South Texas after a “lengthy one-on-one” discussion, released the following statement:

“Ted was given the chance to voluntarily enter a drug rehabilitation facility in order to help him in dealing with his dependency on drugs and alcohol. In that it is voluntary, the decision to remain in treatment, is Ted’s to make. We certainly hope that he continues his commitment to sobriety, and we will continue to help and support him in any way that we can. We wish him well.”

[From Radar Online]

Have any of you read the memoir The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls? (She used to do the MSNBC The Scoop column.) I’m not going to give away major spoilers, but there are some to follow. Walls basically tells the story of her family and growing up. The fact that her parents ended up homeless was almost entirely their own doing. There’s a scene where Walls is in a college class and tries to make the point that a lot of homeless people “choose” to be there, after which she is quickly shot down. (It’s not like she was going to admit that she had homeless family members.) I’ve never really held that belief, but after reading that book I gained the understanding that homelessness is a much more complicated issue than just people down on their luck. This case kind of proves that. Add some serious addictions in there, and there’s no easy solution like “go to rehab,” although it’s a start.

Photos are from 1/6/11, credit: Fame Pictures

Dr. Phil got his famewhore mitts on Ted Williams, the golden-voiced homeless guy who shot to fame just last week when a video shot by his local Columbus, Ohio newspaper went viral. Dr. Williams and his estranged family were on Phil’s show yesterday and from what I gather they got to the guy to admit that he’s drinking again, and that he was drunk when he attacked and threw an ice bucket at one of his daughters during that altercation they had a hotel in LA a couple of days ago. (I’ve tried to watch the show, but it’s not available online or on iTunes. You can see clips and a preview on Dr. Phil’s site.) Williams’ first version of events had him as the sober victim who didn’t fight back against his daughter.

This must be a ratings boon to Phil, because he’s had Williams on Tuesday, Wednesday, and now today, Thursday. I feel like this guy has been railroaded and used by the press, but at least Dr. Phil is helping him during these tough love pseudo counseling sessions with the family he abandoned. Williams admits to Phil that he was a crack addict and it sounds like he has a girlfriend back in Columbus who is also an addict. The advice Phil gives Williams is very practical, and he’s focused on ensuring he doesn’t throw away this “second chance” (I’m sure it’s the guy’s umpteenth chance) at escaping a life on the streets. Dr. Phil bugs me, but he’s saying the same thing we all are about how Williams needs help at managing all these opportunities, and he’s calling the guy on his bullsh*t somewhat. Here’s some of what Phil told Williams:

What do you think I mean when I say I want to help you manage this so it works long-term?” Dr. Phil asks Ted, who says he’s been sober for two and 1/2 years.

“Making sure that I stay rooted in the recovery process,” Ted answers.

“I know that drug addiction and alcoholism is a complex disease. It’s resistant to treatment and it is subject to relapse,” Dr. Phil warns. “It will kick your ass, if you let it. You know that. It’s destroyed your life.”

Ted agrees. “I’ve lost custody of my kids. I’ve lost homes. I’ve lost everything,” he reveals.

Dr. Phil says that he’s rooting for Ted to succeed but warns him about the pitfalls of sudden fame. “That 15 minutes is going to come to an end. In two or three months, the cameras are going to go away, the lights are going to go away, all the buzz is going to go away, and you’re going to be left with a life to manage,” he says. He implores Ted to come clean about his past before any negative elements are dug up and brought to light. “You know your life has been anything but angelic.”

“True. I’ve never tried to hide that aspect,” Ted says…

“You know that you’re going to get back to the microphone, and you know you’re going to have some opportunities,” Dr. Phil says. “The question is: Why will there be a different outcome this time? The last time you had success, the last time you had a job, the last time you had it going on, you got into drugs and alcohol, and you wound up homeless on the streets.”

[From Dr. Phil.com]

That’s from the show that aired on Tuesday. Later in that show, Dr. Phil asks Ted why he didn’t support his ex wife, who is legally blind and raised two of his kids along with at least one other kid he had with another woman. (Who was a drug addict, like Ted.) He offered the very lame excuse that “Patti was a very independent mother, and she never made me feel that there was a sense of urgency to help her,” and lamely added “Patti never called me or threatened me for child support, never garnished any wages.” Are you kidding me? He also denied a story that he was annoying a local storeowner by stealing from cars in the parking lot and peeing in public. Dr. Phil didn’t ask him about the story that Ted was also pimping out his girlfriend there.

When Williams met up with his family, he kept offering them money and told his daughter not to worry because he’d buy her a Louis Vuitton purse. She answered “That won’t make up for the lost times, Daddy. I don’t care how much money you give me.”

Anyway this guy is going to rehab, I guess Dr. Phil convinced him, and that’s the best place for him for now. The more we learn about this guy, the worse he’s looking. He abandoned his family, he lies repeatedly, and he’s a criminal. I want this story to have a happy ending, though, if only for all the people that he’s disappointed all his life. Plus it’s clear that he’s kind of scared and almost helpless now that his life has changed so dramatically overnight.

This probably sounds terrible, but I keep thinking of that crack addict that Dave Chappelle played. Like this intervention on The Dr. Phil show is just a variation of this episode of Chappelle’s show LMAO at that episode. We need Chappelle to come back.

Photo credit: Fame Pictures and WENN.com

Dr. Phil is being sued but a woman who claims he brainwashed and groped her. There are a couple of ways to handle this story. We could try the tabloid, National Enquirer way (“Dr. Phil Sex Shocker”) or we try the we-always-side-with-celebrities way, like People Magazine (“Dr. Phil Slapped with Bizarre Brainwashing Lawsuit”). Let’s try to take Dr. Phil’s side for a brief moment, and go along with People that the woman is a wingnut. People makes a good case for it:

A woman has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Dr. Phil McGraw, two producers and another doctor in what she alleges is a case of false imprisonment, practicing without a license, indecent exposure, battery, fraud and more.

Shirley Rae Dieu, 56, of Irvine, Calif., claims she was seeking therapy from Dr. Phil in his Hollywood office in 2007 when she allegedly was held captive and “forced to be in the same room with a completely live naked man while he exposed his entire naked body, genitals and all,” according to her filing.

Dieu further alleges she was deprived of sleep and food, “brainwashed” and “subjected to edited tapings depicting her as a different personality other than her own.” On Oct. 9, 2007, she claims Dr. Phil touched her left breast during a therapy session.

Representatives for McGraw did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“[Dr. Phil] is nothing like what he’s like on TV,” Dieu told PEOPLE by phone, adding that another woman will be joining her suit. “You have no idea what I and this other woman went through.”

It’s unclear how much she is seeking in damages but Dieu – who filed a malpractice suit against an Orange County hospital in 2002 and sued a car dealership in 2007 – is acting as her own attorney, and her filing is filled with misspellings and grammatical errors. Records also show she filed for bankruptcy in May 2008.

This is not the first time someone has tried to haul Dr. Phil, 59, into court. In 2006, he was sued by two men who claimed he implied they were suspects in the Natalee Holloway case. In 2005, he was sued by three consumers of a diet pill he endorsed.

[From People]

Well, when they put it that way, how could I not think the woman is a wingnut? But let’s hear the wingnut out! The Enquirer has a few more details on just what Shirley Rae Dieu is alleging. Dieu is also claiming that Dr. Phil held her “captive” and that when she tried to escape, she “was blocked by the staff to prevent her from leaving.” And that’s about it. It’s a weird lawsuit, and I bet it’s bullsh-t for the most part. I hate that I’m taking Dr. Phil’s side, though. I think that man’s an asshat, and I wouldn’t past him to sexually harass, grope, fondle or act inappropriately with his patients or his coworkers. He looks like that kind of guy.

Here’s Dr. Phil with wife Robin attending ‘A Night of Honour’ which benefits The Iraq Star Foundation in Universal City, California on Sunday. Images thanks to WENN.com .

A woman who was sexually abused by Dr. Phil in 1984 while working as an intern in his office is speaking out. We heard about these allegations last year when The National Enquirer ran a piece about Dr. Phil’s fraudulent health club business in Kansas in the 1970s, in which he had people sign up for expensive contracts, sold the contracts for cash to a financial institution, and then ditched town and closed the club. They also covered Phil’s abuse of a 19 year-old female intern and former patient he hired to work in his lab. The woman alleges that Phil regularly fondled her on the job. She filed a complaint against him in 1998. Phil was issued a reprimand by the Texas State Board in 1999 and his practice was put on probation for 12 months. He left the practice less than a year later and moved to Dallas.

Now Sara Morrison, Dr. Phil’s alleged victim, is going on the record with her claims. She gives an account of a scheming psychologist who manipulated her as a teen patient and then hired her to work for him, just so he could take advantage of her:

“Dr. Phil is a monster!” Those are the angry words of a former patient of Dr. Phil McGraw, who is revealing the shocking story of the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of the TV shrink!

Sara Morrison is speaking out in a world-exclusive ENQUIRER interview – divulging sickening details of how talk-show titan Oprah Winfrey’s former protege repeatedly fondled her, sexually abusing her while she was being treated by him.

The 44-year-old mother of one also reveals authorities were called in to investigate the abuse, threatening Dr. Phil’s career as a psychologist and his marriage to wife Robin, who was outraged by the charges.

“Not a single day has gone by when I haven’t been affected by what Phil McGraw did to me,” Sara told The ENQUIRER.

“He profoundly affected the course of my life. The world should know this man is a predator and a bully. He shouldn’t be telling Americans how to live their lives, how to improve themselves.”

Sara was a college sophomore home for the summer when she sought treatment from Dr. Phil in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1984.

“I suffered from low self-esteem, and Iwas depressed, lonely and suicidal,” recalled Sara. “Phil was extremely insistent that I call him all the time, and he would call me.

“He wanted to see me three or four times a week – as a patient.”

While treating her that summer, Dr. Phil did nothing improper, she says. But his attitude changed completely the following summer when, in a highly unethical move, he paid Sara to work as his intern, while charging her as a patient at the same time.

“The first day I showed up for work, Phil had his hands all over me,” she recalled.

At the time, the then 34-year-old psychologist and his second wife Robin had been married for eight years, but that didn’t stop his sexually aggressive behavior, Sara said.

“Phil would pull me down to sit in his lap while he talked on the phone to patients, other doctors, even his wife! He’d be running his hand up and down the inside of my thigh all the way up to my panties.”

[From The National Enquirer]

Dr. Phil is definitely a scumbag, and if this woman’s claims are true it’s pretty clear he took advantage of her. I don’t understand why his show is even still on the air, but people like to watch families that are so screwed up that our own dysfunction looks absolutely normal in comparison. Dr. Phil adds a sense of legitimacy to his trashy show, with his fancy title and hoakey advice. It looks like he has a lot of experience with the type of behavior he would chew out one of his guests for and you have to wonder if he ever really changed.

Here’s Dr. Phil McGraw and his wife Robin at an American Red Cross of Santa benefit on March 28th. Images thanks to WENN.com .

Dr. Phil has made a lifelong enemy of Oprah Winfrey. According to The National Enquirer, Oprah was and is royally pissed that Dr. Phil scored an exclusive interview with Nadya “OctoMom” Suleman. Oprah was mad because she and her producers were doing some wheeling and dealing behind the scenes, trying to land the exclusive interview. According to sources, she felt “like Phil stole Nadya from under their noses.”

Oprah used to produce Dr. Phil’s show, but is now just a co-owner, so I really wonder at the validity of this report. No doubt, Oprah probably really wanted to interview Nadya. But Dr. Phil got there first, and Oprah was probably happy that a show she co-owns got the exclusive. Oprah has a few bad qualities, but I do think she’s an utter professional, especially with someone like Dr. Phil, who Oprah would probably see as an employee.

The second part of The National Enquirer’s report is that Oprah is trying to “get back” at Phil. How exactly? Oprah has had enough of putting herself on the cover of O Magazine, and she’s decided to put Dr. Phil’s wife Robin on the cover – but she’s not inviting Phil to be a part of it. This might have some vague truth to it. Oprah put Michelle Obama on the cover, she’s promised Ellen DeGeneres a cover, and it would make since to put Robin McGraw on the cover. The same source tells NE, “Oprah has been looking at new ways to tweak Phil – hence the cover offer to Robin.”

A vengeful Oprah Winfrey is striking back at former protégé Dr. Phil after he snared an exclusive with Octo-Mom!

In a chess move designed to heat up their behind-the-scenes feud, she’s approached Phil’s wife Robin McGraw about appearing on the cover of O, The Oprah Magazine.

“Oprah is trying to branch out from putting herself on the cover every issue. She knew offering Robin a spot would rub Phil the wrong way!” a source told The ENQUIRER.

“When Phil heard about it, he asked Robin, ‘They want us both, right? You know, we’re a team.’” When Robin told him that Oprah wanted only her, Phil looked like somebody had just run over his puppy. Later he turned nasty and said Oprah was trying to put him down.”

Oprah launched Dr. Phil’s career by featuring him as a weekly guest on her show, and then produced his talk show starting in 2002. Sources say Oprah still owns a percentage of the Dr. Phil show, although Phil has been producing the show since they parted ways two years ago.

The two recently butted heads when Phil tried to launch his new daytime show The Doctors without telling her – while Oprah prepped her own series Dr. Oz, featuring Dr. Mehmet Oz, a heart surgeon who’s a regular on her show.

Then Phil scored exclusive interviews with Octo-Mom Nadya Suleman while Oprah’s staff was still negotiating to get her,” said the source.

“It was like Phil stole Nadya from under their noses,” said the source. “Oprah has been looking at new ways to tweak Phil – hence the cover offer to Robin.”

[From The National Enquirer]

Dr. Oz freaks me out. I can’t watch Oprah when Dr. Oz is on. It seems like his life’s mission is to make people terrified of doing anything, at any time because we’re all going to die. I really hope Dr. Oz’s show crashes and burns… fingers crossed.

Oprah also produces and owns Rachel Ray’s program, so just how many shows will have the Oprah seal of approval in two years time? I wonder why she never offered Paula Deen her own show – Deen is a superior cook to Rachel Ray, and Paula’s got a great, earthy personality. She would make a great talk show hostess, but probably wouldn’t let Oprah treat her like an employee. Maybe that’s my answer!

Images thanks to Fame Pictures and PR Photos.com.

Dr. Phil had quite the salacious episode yesterday. He’s working his Octomom gig almost as much as Radar and Gloria Allred. The T.V. doc had Linda West-Conforti, one of the fired nannies from Angels in Waiting, on the show. She detailed the group’s problems with Nadya Suleman. The overarching issue is she claims Nadya doesn’t actually care for or about the children. West-Conforti says Nadya only feeds the babies when there’s a camera nearby, she allows far too many people into the home (presumably the people from Radar and other media outlets she has deals with), and she spends most of her time shopping. Here are some snippets from People’s article about the episode.

“This woman does not care for these kids,” Linda West-Conforti said on the talk show. “She is in [it] for the paparazzi, the media. That is my opinion. I’ve been there for a week. I’m the eyes, the ears and the mouth of these little children.” The fired nanny said Suleman was often unreachable – or out shopping – and showed no level of interest in learning how to care for her children.

“Nadya only fed her babies … when a film crew was in her house,” West-Conforti said. “That’s the only time that woman ever volunteered to feed a child. And I tell you what happened: During one episode she was done feeding … she picked up the child [and] gave it to me on my chest. She didn’t burp it; she didn’t change the diaper; [she] walked out of that room and [didn't see] her for another 12 hours.”

More incendiary, West-Conforti says Suleman’s blasé attitude was only the start of the problems in the house. One major cause for concern: Nannies that Suleman hired who were potential health risks to her children. “I was supposed to be there to train nannies, to train Nadya,” West-Conforti said on the show. “What I get is Hispanic-speaking ladies that are showing up, showing positive for TB.”

West-Conforti was referring to an incident in which she says she saw what appeared to be a “a huge, raised induration” on the arm of one of Suleman’s private nannies – an indication, said West-Conforti, that the woman had taken a skin test for tuberculosis and received a positive result. (A reaction to the skin test does not necessarily indicate the presence of active tuberculosis; further testing is usually required.)

Suleman maintained she is a fit and caring mother – and repeated earlier assertions that the AIW, who reported her state child welfare authorities on three occasions, were acting as “spies.”… “I felt extremely uncomfortable in my own home,” Suleman told Dr. Phil by phone. “I felt like a stranger in my own home. I felt ostracized. In addition to that, there was such poor communication … [and] incessant negative energy.”

[From People]

I think a lot of people feel uncomfortable in their own home when they first hire outside help. If you multiply that by how many nannies Angels in Waiting graciously offered to Suleman, it’s natural to feel outnumbered and like an outsider. But frankly, her comfort isn’t of paramount importance. Proper care for the children is what matters. I’m assuming West-Conforti wasn’t trying to be derogatory when she described the nannies Nadya hired as “Hispanic-speaking ladies.” Presumably the problem was that they didn’t speak English, which would obviously be a huge problem in terms of training and caring for the children.

All of these allegations are what people have been saying about Nadya from the start. That she doesn’t care about her children and is just in it for the fame. I agree with Celebitchy that when Nadya is photographed and filmed with the kids, she seems to truly love them. Maybe that’s an act, or maybe she just loves shopping more. Yesterday TMZ reported that Nadya spent $1,500 at a Bebe clothing store. And just to be clear, that’s not a kids store – it’s a pricey women’s shop. And let’s not forget the $1,000 she blew on MAC makeup a little over a week ago.

Nadya’s hired her own nannies with her own money, and this seems to make her more comfortable. But here’s my question: what’s she going to do when the money runs out? Angels in Waiting offered her completely free care for all of her children for years. Nadya’s blowing through her cash, seemingly assuming people will always be interested and therefore she can always make money. I really don’t think she’s going to have an audience in five, let alone ten years. Who’s going to help with her 14 kids then?

Here’s Nadya shopping at JC Penny’s and Target last Wednesday. Images thanks to Pacific Coast News.

Dr. Phil has sure seen his success dwindle in the last few years. He went from a semi-respected spawn of Oprah into a cheesy, tabloid, “Dr. Phil House” promoting goofball. We won’t even mention the whole Britney Spears debacle. It’s been pretty evident for a while that the guy doesn’t have a whole lot of common sense, and now a substantial lawsuit is trying to prove it.

Dr. Phil is facing a lawsuit for fraud, defamation of character… and some shifty editing. Thomas Riccio, the man who recorded O.J. Simpson’s recent illegal activities, claims Dr. Phil aired ads depicting Riccio nodding in response to accusations he vehemently denied in the actual interview. Check out the legal documents, exclusively on TMZ.

In the lawsuit, Riccio claims that Dr. Phil’s practice of “splicing in answers to different questions implies that [Riccio] is agreeing with McGraw’s statements which he never does in the interview.” He says that during the show, McGraw claimed that Riccio “set O.J. Simpson up and told people to bring guns into the room.” Riccio’s denial was allegedly edited out and replaced with a shot of him nodding, apparently in agreement.

“Had plaintiff been aware of defendants’ intent and their intended actions, he would not have agreed to do the interview,” the lawsuit stated.

Riccio is also suing for defamation of character, saying that Dr. Phil called him a “shady deal maker,” “a puppet master who would sell his soul for a coin,” and “the ring leader of this crime” during the program.

[From Pop Eater]

Considering the ridiculous shenanigans Dr. Phil has gotten himself involved in, this really isn’t anything substantial. But it is highly unethical, especially as someone who so proudly touts the “doctor” in his credentials. It makes people feel they can trust him and he’s not going to screw them over, Tyra Banks style.

Dr. Phil has definitely had his run, and it’s pretty clear he’s desperate and doing whatever he can to keep his show (and as rumor has it, his marriage) going. Oprah should can it before he does some serious harm.

In January Dr. Phil received a lot of well-deserved flack for visiting Britney Spears in the hospital when she was on a mental health hold, and planning a special on his show around her, which was ultimately canceled. Phil was lambasted in the media for revealing details of Britney’s medical condition to the press, a clear violation of patient confidentiality, and Britney’s own family said that although they did ask Phil to get involved they didn’t give him permission to make public statements about her.

Then in April Dr. Phil and his producers showed incredibly poor judgment again by bailing out the ringleader in a brutal YouTube beating in which six teen girls in Florida lured a classmate to one of their homes and beat her unconscious, recording it all and posting it online. The Dr. Phil show paid over $30,000 to free the girl in order to secure an exclusive interview with her and her family. Instead of admitting their gross error in judgment, producers at the Dr. Phil show blamed the guy they sent down to Florida with the money, saying it was all his idea and he somehow went down there on his own with a lot of cash. That special was also scrapped due to media backlash.

Phil found yet another personal tragedy to exploit – his people arranged for Mindy McCready to go to rehab in exchange for all the salacious details of her breakdown. The 32 year-old country singer has faced a string of personal problems in the past few years including an addiction to painkillers that led her to forge prescriptions, abuse by an ex boyfriend, and multiple arrests. She was jailed from September to December of last year for violating probation and most recently overdosed on Ambien and vodka in an apparent suicide attempt. But Dr. Phil planned to fix everything for McCready by paying for her to go to rehab and putting her on his show to dish out his unique brand of homespun sound bites of wisdom. Luckily that’s not going to happen, though:

Mindy McCready is going back to rehab after trying to do herself in with her favorite swiggable and pharmaceutical — vodka and Ambien — and we hear Dr. Phil’s inserting himself in the whole she-bang.

TMZ has learned the troubled McCready went off the deep end late last week after getting dumped by her boyfriend and collapsed while on the phone with her mother. She downed a bottle of vods and pills in what we’re told was a “suicide attempt.”

She’s headed to Arizona for treatment, and a source says that was all Phil’s idea. We’re told he’s taken Mindy under his wing as a “personal project.” As for whether or not she’ll be on the show, time will tell.

[From TMZ]

Like his other attempts to use stories of personal tragedy to boost ratings, Dr. Phil has backed down from putting Mindy on his show. TMZ reports that reps for the show say Mindy won’t be on and state that “Dr. Phil has not treated patients one-on-one since his show went on air. Ms. McCready’s situation is private and we respect her right to privacy in a difficult time.” It’s been a while since I saw the Dr. Phil show, but he usually treats patients in groups and by dragging their families in too. It’s likely he planned to do something like that here so the defense is pretty weak.

TMZ doesn’t pull stories out of thin air like the gossip rags and they seem to have solid sources before they run with something. I would bet this was true and that Phil’s people realized they were about to enter another PR quagmire and backed down. At least McCready got free rehab out of it.

How much longer is Dr. Phil going to stay on the air? There were all sorts of stories after the Britney debacle that he was about to get canned because he had pissed off his boss, the all mighty Oprah.

Mindy McCready is shown below at “The Queen of Hearts Team participates in the 2008 WSOP Ladies Event at the Rio Hotel and Casino” on 6/8/08. She’s also shown the day before on 6/7/08. Credit: Judy Eddy / WENN. Dr. Phil is shown on 3/20/08. Credit: WENN

Dr. Phil and his wife, Robyn, were in the front row at a George Michael concert in LA on Wednesday night when Michael took the opportunity to point him out to the crowd. He mentioned that it might be a cruel thing to do, but he went ahead and did it anyway. Michael told the crowd that Dr. Phil looked “miserable,” and people starting booing. When the TV “doctor’s” scowling face was shown on the Jumbotron the booing got louder:

About midway into the first hour of his performance, Michael took the opportunity between songs to chuckle to himself and murmur teasingly, “…No this is too mean.” He then smiled wickedly and proceeded to announce that television therapist Dr. Phil McGraw was present in the audience. After a smattering of applause some of the crowd started to boo. Only spurring the singer on, he mentioned that Dr. Phil’s wife, Robin, seemed to be having a good time but, “…in the sea of smiling faces, he’s looked miserable for the last hour.”

The house camera then managed to get an shot of Dr. Phil, indeed looking on with a scowl and more than a little bit non-plussed. The crowd proceeded to boo even louder.

With an impish look, Michael looked right at the cranky Texan and offered, “You should see someone about that!” With thunderous applause, Michael went on pleasing the rest of the ecstatic crowd for the rest of his 140-minute concert.

[From Comcast's Popcast via D-Listed]

Dr. Phil and Robyn are featured this week on the cover of my favorite gossip magazine, The National Enquirer, which declares “Dr. Phil’s wife kicks him out!” The accompanying story isn’t that explosive though, and just says they’re having problems. Robyn is said to have kicked Phil out when they had an argument about some new plastic surgery she wanted to have. She was trying to talk to Phil about her concerns about it, but all he wanted to know was how much it was going to cost him. She kicked him out supposedly, but the story doesn’t specify for how long and he’s now back at home.

Dr. Phil is desperate to save his marriage, the Enquirer claims, and has offered Robyn a producer’s credit on “The Dr. Phil Show” along with saying he’ll do whatever it takes to make things work. It sounds like that includes sitting through George Michael concerts, although D-Listed reports that Phil and Robyn left the show soon after Michael publicly called them out.

Dr. Phil and Robyn are shown below at the Academy Of Country Music Awards on 5/18/08, thanks to PRPhotos. Also shown is the cover of The National Enquirer, available on news stands now.

If Dr. Phil didn’t have an image problem after revealing confidential details of Britney Spears’ medical condition, he sure has one now. Six teen girls lured a 16 year-old classmate to a house in Florida on March 30 and beat her, recording it all on video. They wanted to post the video on YouTube and MySpace, and had two teen males serve as lookout while they put their inexplicably cruel plan in action. The victim was beaten about the head and face and lost consciousness after her head was slammed against the wall repeatedly. She woke up and was beaten and yelled at by the gang of girls again. All but one of the 8 suspects was under 18, but they are all being charged as adults.

The suspects were charged with kidnapping, felony battery, and witness tampering, and their bail was set high, at over $30,000 each, to reflect the seriousness of the crime.

The judge issued a media gag order on Thursday to make sure that details of the case were not leaked to the press, potentially hurting the suspects’ chance at a fair trial. That didn’t stop the Dr. Phil show from trying to get an exclusive story about this sensational and terribly brutal crime. They sent one of their lackeys down to Florida to bail the ringleader, Mercades Nichols, out of jail in exchange for her story.

When Dr. Phil got called out for footing bail to the tune of $33,000 for Nichols, he issued a statement blaming an employee and saying the planned show had been canceled. He said “In this case, certain staff members went beyond our guidelines (re: the bail being paid)” But the “employee” that paid for bail was just a production assistant, he didn’t have that kind of money and it’s not like he could have come up with it without top-level approval at the Dr. Phil show.

People are saying the end is near for Dr. Phil and that this is the stunt that is going to bring his show down. It will hopefully result in an awful lot of jail time for those cruel teens too.

Here’s some coverage of this story on The Today Show, thanks to Redlasso: