The Most Horrible Advice Given By TV Experts

If you are like most people, you are probably addicted to reality TV and all of its train wrecks. Part of reality TV includes TV personalities and “experts” who offer up their advice on a variety of things like finances, relationships and life decisions. But will all of the horrible advice given by these people, you have to wonder, how could expert advice be so bad?

Mystery from VH1’sThe Pickup Artist

Erik Von Markovik, known by his stage name,Mystery, is a Canadianpickup artist.He famously developed a system of attracting women called The Mystery Method. This method gained him popularity in thePUA community and led to him getting aVH1show calledThe Pickup Artist where he was the star.

Mystery has dedicated his career to teaching men how to seduce women through seminars and boot camps. He hosts these training classes all around the world. Mystery promotes the concept of “peacocking” or wearing outrageous clothes to attract attention from girls. He firmly believes that the “all attention is good attention” school of thought works for men looking to meet women.

It’s a Mystery

Mystery thinks he is known for his style and attitude, and he is, but not in the way he thinks. Mystery prides his outfits on their depth and sophistication, but it’s precisely his lack of emotional depth that sells out his desperation. If you watch Mystery, you have to wonder: how much does he himself buy into his own advice?

He is fooling everyone. He tells men to paint their nails black and initiate conversations with women by insulting them. Think about it: These desperate lonely types watch his show and then embarrass themselves even further when they break the ice by asking a woman if her hair is real. We don’t know about you, but that sounds like horribly bad advice to get a woman to be interested in a man.

Dr. Laura Schlessinger

Dr. Laura Schlessinger wears many hats. She is an Americantalk radiohost, asocially conservativecommentator,and an author, among other things.Her radio program consists of requests for personal advice from callers and she offers advice on a whim. Sometimes she also has monologues on social and political topics. According to her website, she “preaches, teaches, and nags about morals, values and ethics.”

So does it come to a surprise that she has come under fire for making homophobic and racist comments? Maybe, maybe not. As a professional, it is a bit shocking since she is supposedly accredited to treat people, and that means all people. But her conservative platform makes this a lot less shocking.

The Fire Storm – “Don’t NAACP Me”

Schlessinger ignited a firestorm of criticism after Media Matters posted audio from a conversation Schlessinger had with a black female caller. The caller was complaining about her white husband’s friends and their use of the N-word. In response, Schlessinger said, “Black guys use it all the time. Turn on HBO and listen to a black comic, and all you hear is [n-word] [n-word] [n-word] I don’t get it. If anybody without enough melanin says it, it’s a horrible thing. But when black people say it, it’s affectionate. It’s very confusing.”

When the caller said she was appalled by Schlessinger’s use of the N-word, the radio host tried to walk back her comments and clear it up with who else but the black president. She said to the caller, “My dear, the point I am trying to make … we’ve got a black man as president and we’ve got more complaining about racism than ever. I think that’s hilarious.” Their exchange heated up after and then Schlessinger then criticized the caller, saying “Don’t take things out of context. Don’t NAACP me.” Their conversation ended there. Schlessinger offered an additional thought to her audience: “If you’re that hypersensitive about color and don’t have a sense of humor, don’t marry outside of your race.” It’s not the first time Schlessinger has offended masses of people: in 2000, she referred to homosexuality as a “biological error” and criticizing gays for “deviant” behavior. She later apologized for those comments.

Dr. Mehmet Oz

Dr. Mehmet Oz is better known asDr. Oz. He is acardiothoracic surgeonand professor atColumbia University, but many criticize him as a pseudosciencepromoter. He is supportive ofalternative medicineand has received a lot of criticism by physicians, government officials, and publications for giving non-scientific advice. He is also an authorandtelevision personality.

Oz made several appearances onThe Oprah Winfrey Showbeginning in 2004, which is where he came into fame. He later appeared onLarry King Liveand other TV programs. In 2009, he got his own showThe Dr. Oz Show. His show has been a popular daily television program focusing on medical issues and personal health. Oprah Winfrey launched his program.

No Evidence to Support His Findings

Sorry Dr. Oz fans – you may need to find a new TV physician. A number of the health recommendations that appeared on The Dr. Oz Show have been debunked. Researchers found evidence to support 46 percent of his recommendations, meaning that 46 percent of the time the show gave solid advice.

But there have been striking findings about the remaining 54 percent of his show. 15 percent of the time, the advice directly contradicted best available evidence and a whopping 39 percent of the time, the researchers found no evidence to support the advice! That is very difficult to believe since he is a registered physician and surgeon. It has to make you wonder where he is getting his information.

Dr. Phil McGraw

Who doesn’t know about Dr. Phil nowadays? He is an American television personality, author, and psychologist, who like Dr. Oz, made many appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show before getting his own show, Dr. Phil. His show first debuted in 2002.In 2015,Forbesranked him the 15th highest earning celebrity in the world, listing his earnings at $70 million for the previous 12 months.

Dr. Phil is still one of the most popular talk shows to date but people don’t realize that the series suffers from some serious confidentiality challenges. Dr. Phil frequently yells at his guests. He promotes a very specific set of values and guests who disagree with Dr. Phil’s proclamations are lambasted and told they’re resistant to improving their own lives. Good therapy, by contrast, doesn’t force any particular value set onto someone in therapy. Therapy is meant to help people develop upon his or her own values and create a more fulfilling life.

Homophobic Advice

One piece of really bad advice from Dr. Phil came on an episode with a mother who was dealing with her five-year-old son’s homosexual tendencies. While many would tune into this episode for sound advice on how to make their child feel comfortable and loved if they think they are “different,” this was not the case on his show. Dr. Phil gave this horrible mother awful, homophobic advice. Dr. Phil tells her not to panic! She can avoid having a gay son if she actsnow.

Dr. Phil said, “This is not a precursor to your son being gay.. Direct your son in an unconfusing way. Don’t buy him Barbie dolls or girl’s clothes. You don’t want to do things that seem to support the confusion at this stage of the game…Take the girl things away, and buy him boy toys. Support him in what he’s doing, but not in the girl things.” Wow! That’s some really bad advice.

Dr. Drew Pinsky

Dr. Drew Pinsky isbest known asDr. Drew. He is an Americancelebrity doctorwho is best known for his role on theVH1showCelebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, and its spinoffsSex Rehab with Dr. Drew,Celebrity Rehab Presents Sober Houseand hostspodcastson theAdam Carollapodcast network.

Many people don’t know that he is also aboard-certifiedinternist. Dr. Drew has his experience inaddiction medicine, which has rocketed him into his media personality role. He hosts the talk showDr. Drew On CallonHLN. Basically, if you watch TV at all, you have probably seen Dr. Drew at one point or another.

Poor Treatment

There is no doubt that Dr. Drew appears to truly believe in what he does. But addiction experts say that the treatment philosophy and policies demonstrated in his show and public statements often do not reflect the best evidence-based practices – which poses serious problems. And in terms of Celebrity Rehab’s treatment diverges dramatically from the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA)Principles of Drug Treatment. This is a guide that lays out standards for the best addiction care.

And in addition to not following protocols, his shows breach massive confidentiality requirements. Dr. Drew seems to regularly reject maintenance treatments, use of punitive detox practices and humiliating therapy. His insistence that people cannot truly recover without complete abstinence through 12-step programs reflect the conventional wisdom of the 1980s, not the data of the 21st century.

Jim Cramer from CNBC’sMad Money

Jim Cramer enjoyed a long and, presumably, successful career on Wall Street as a hedge fund manager. Then he thrust himself in front of millions of viewers as host of CNBC’sMad Money, his daily stock-picking television show. If you haven’t seen the show, he discusses the finer points of a handful of stocks.

And then he throws furniture, jams buttons on a sound board, and generally looks like he is enduring an electro-shock therapy session. Although the hedge fund industry is a pretty private and secretive organization, it seems unlikely that it’s populated by thousands of Jim Cramers.

White-Collar Circus

Hedge fund managers, with millions of dollars riding on their investment positions, are essentially in the business of dealing with pressure. And that’s probably what happened; the pressure got to him. When Jim Cramer prattles off stock suggestions onMad Money, it’s almost a joke. When he shoots buckshot at a dictionary and gauges which three letters took the most damage, maybe it shouldn’t be interpreted as, “professional investment advice;” it is more like “one man’s personal descent into madness.”

It is probably the reason he left the high-flying world of hedge fund management to commit to the show. It felt like 30 minutes of road rage in front a camera every day because he’s not all that interested in picking stocks for a living anymore.

Maury Povich from NBC’sMaury

Maury Povich is an American television host best known for the tabloid talk showMaury (originally known as theMaury Povich Show). If you have seen the talk show, then you know there’s little doubt that Maury genuinely wants to help his guests. He often invites them to appear on his show multiple times.

But some situations are beyond advice; how can you help someone whose every option is awful? Sorry, but Maury Povich has no way of helping a person that has sex in exchange for cheeseburgers. The only thing he can really say is to considernot doing that again this weekend.

Just Bad All Around

What can you really say to people who appear on shows titled “Help! I don’t know who my baby’s father is!” or “My daughter is OUT OF CONTROL!” Bad advice isn’t always the result of poor judgment; sometimes, any good advice is just never going to be enough.

The guests on his show habitually make bad decisions over the course of their lives; they’re addicted to screwing up. How do you help that? While Maury’s advice to these people may be bad, the key is to remember that the advice is specifically aimed at members of the unwitting traveling freak show.

Joey Greco from G4’sCheaters

Joey Grecois an American television personality and actor. He is most well-known as the long-time host of thereality TV showCheaters. He hosted for ten seasons. Think about his job as similar to helping friends through a break-up. But then switch out friends for complete strangers who have contacted him – and he’s following their significant others to see if they are screwing around behind their back.

Greco and his crew film their loved ones cheating on them and show them the footage. This simple formula has catapulted Joey Greco’sCheatersinto popularity because honestly, you can’t help but watch the train wreck these relationships have become. The whole thing is a bit sad and devastating for these people, so as interested as you are to see how it turns out, you end up losing faith in people’s fidelity.

All Confrontation

Each show ends with a (usually violent) confrontation between cheater and cheatee and Joey Greco takes the opportunity to banter the accused into a frenzied, emotional meltdown. Greco seems to think that after all of the drama and confrontation occurs, it is time to give the poor person who was cheated on some advice.

He is usually sitting with them in some car or van telling them that they don’t deserve such treatment, which is probably true, but don’t you think it may be better for them to talk through their issues with their significant others? Joey Greco organizes shock and awe breakups, confrontations so charged and emotional that they always end in either fist-fighting or…more intimate moments.

Suze Orman from The Suze Orman Show

Suze Ormanis an American author,financial adviser, and motivational speaker, who, like Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz, began by making appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show. She is also atelevision host and has worked as a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch. Her programThe Suze Orman Showbegan airing onCNBCin 2002 andshe has written several books on the topic of personal finance.

Giving broad financial advice can be a very tricky business. You want to encourage people to put themselves in the best possible position financially but you may not know the true situation they are in. Often, we might believe that fudging a few facts here or there isn’t a big deal but when it comes to your finances, it is different.

General Advice Isn’t Good Advice

When it comes to finances, you have to be honest with yourself and take it seriously. Every financial situation is different so this poses the question: How can Suze Orman give sound advice to millions of people watching her show? All of her advice is general in nature. When it comes to any financial advice she gives, it should be taken with a grain of salt.

For instance, one thing she has said is, “Most likely, you will spend more when you’re retired … The older you get, the more medications you’ll likely need.” But the truth is, on average, the vast majority of people in retirement don’t spend more money than they did pre-retirement. The fact that Orman thinks this is the case should give us pause. Where she’s getting her information?

Jenn Mann from Couples Therapy

Jenn Mannis an Americanpsychotherapist, author, andmediafigure. She is very well-known under the name “Dr. Jenn.”If you are addicted to reality shows, you know she has acted as a relationship counselor for theVH1reality showsCouples Therapyand Family Therapy.

Dr. Jenn has worked with some serious train wrecks but one of the worst was Farrah Abraham from 16 and Pregnant and then Teen Mom. After Farrah began her spiral into pornographic films, Dr. Jenn decided to make a statement regarding where Farrah’s life was headed. Now, Farrah is someone who has received tons of criticism and flack for, well, everything. How she treats her parents and anyone she meets is absolutely atrocious.

Heartbreaking Advice

Dr. Jenn started her statement on the social networking site Instagram (accompanied by a blow-up picture of Abraham crying on Couples Therapy) by saying, “People have asked me my thoughts about Farrah’s new sex tapes. This is what I have to say. On the topic…” One part of Dr. Jenn’s statement reads, “It breaks my heart that the self-destructive choices Farrah made prior to our work together will continue to haunt her. I see how hard Farrah is working to move past these tapes, and I have complete faith that she will continue on her new healthier path and will turn her life around now that she knows that she deserves better.”

Dr. Jenn is unprofessional. Yes, having compassion makes sense in understanding her clients but it shouldn’t go as far as “breaking her heart.” Dr. Jenn has gotten visibly upset on the show and even yelled and screamed at some of the participants of Couples Therapy.