Archive for the ‘In The News’ Category
Larry King: The End of an Era
I first appeared on Larry King’s show on CNN over a decade ago, back when I was still appearing regularly on The Oprah Winfrey Show. He graciously would bring me on to talk about a book I had written, or have me help analyze some breaking news event or a tragic or controversial event that had taken place somewhere in the world. I was a pretty frequent guest, and last week, I had the honor — and I mean it was truly an honor — to appear on his final CNN show.
It was a star-studded lineup featuring everyone from President Barack Obama, to former President Bill Clinton to Regis Philbin. Bill Maher and Ryan Seacrest were there, as were Donald Trump, Suze Orman, Barbara Walters, and of course, CNN’s Anderson Cooper. Tony Bennett sang a tribute to Larry. The three major network anchors — Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer and Brian Williams — made a rare joint appearance to bid their farewells. And, by the way, if you want to get a look at the next great King, be sure to watch the end of the show where he introduces his kids, Chance and Cannon. I especially want you to watch Cannon, all of 10 years old, do an impersonation of his father. As I said on the show, “I’ll tell you what, we have met the talent here in the family.” (more…)
Our Ninth Season: Ending the Silence
Here we are, ready to begin our ninth season, and I’m not exaggerating when I tell you this could very well be the most exciting, inspirational, and absolutely most important season we’ve ever undertaken. Seriously, if you were in our offices right now, you would feel the surge of enthusiasm up and down the hallways as we get ready for what’s to come. We are launching two new groundbreaking series that I know you are going to find riveting. And, you’ll get your first look at them this coming week on our debut shows.
First, I want to talk about what you’re going to see on Monday’s show. We’re beginning a powerful and very dramatic season-long campaign against domestic violence. Every 15 seconds, a woman is abused in this country. At some point, one out of four women will fall victim to domestic violence. Those are shameful statistics, and little about the situation seems to be improving. Today, domestic violence remains one of the most under-reported phenomena in American society. (more…)
When Leaving Your Abuser Isn’t Enough
The following is from my good friend Loni Coombs, a legal analyst and regular contributor to the Dr. Phil show and The Doctors. She appeared on the Dr. Phil show “End the Silence on Domestic Violence: Abusive Exes,” weighing in on the legal rights of women who are allegedly threatened by violent former spouses and boyfriends.
Could you imagine, after having endured countless verbal or physical attacks from an abusive partner, finally getting up the courage and strength to leave them, only to find out that the nightmare isn’t over? In fact, just the opposite — the violence is increasing and intensifying?
This very real and extremely dangerous phenomenon is called Separation Assault. Abusers, who perceive that their victim is getting away from them, become more determined and more aggressive to make sure that “If I can’t have them, no one will!”
I recently met a very courageous woman who has been struggling to, literally, survive this separation assault cycle. Sandy came to share her story with Dr. Phil in the hope that she could save even one other woman from the hell that she is now enduring. Her allegations of abuse are some of the most harrowing that I have heard in all my years of prosecuting domestic violence. But that isn’t Sandy’s whole story. (more…)
Bullied to Death
If you think cyber bullying isn’t really that big of a deal, or just kids being kids, let me throw a few facts at you: More than 40 percent of kids in this country say they’ve been bullied on the Internet, and 35 percent say they have received online threats. According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, cyber-bullying victims are almost twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to those who have not endured such bullying. Since 2003, at least a dozen young people between the ages of 11 and 18 have killed themselves after some form of cyber bullying.
The Dr. Phil show has been inundated with letters and calls from kids desperate to escape these keyboard bullies — omnipresent, electronic stalkers who go after them day and night, destroy their reputations, if not their lives, and then log off their computers and disappear. For every sickening cyberbully incident you read about — such as the suicide of Rutgers University college student Tyler Clementi, after he learned a roommate had allegedly videotaped his sexual encounter with another young man and streamed it live online — there are at least a half dozen more that never make headlines.
Are You Raising a Bully?
What would you do if you found out that your child was a menace on the schoolyard?
Since the bullying crisis began to garner national attention a few months ago — with headlines focusing on a series of tragic teenage deaths by suicide — school districts have been frantically putting together anti-bullying policies, while politicians have been proposing one law after another to protect victims. There are new curriculums and self-help programs that teach bullied kids how to deal with their attackers. And I’m so grateful for that. We have gone too long ignoring those kids who have been singled out for torment.
What I want to know is where are the parents of the bullies? It’s their job to know what their child is doing — who they’re talking to online, who their friends are, if they’re ridiculing somebody.
On Tuesday’s show, we’re going to talk about just that. We’re shining a spotlight on one of the most shocking cases of bullying I’ve come across. Zach, a 14-year-old boy, was allegedly held against his will while four older boys from school tattooed a lewd phrase on his buttocks. Blake, the accused ringleader, was convicted of endangering the welfare of a child and was recently released from jail. He and his mother, Patti, claim there’s another version of the story that the media aren’t telling. They go so far as to suggest that Blake’s actions have been mischaracterized. I want you to watch on Tuesday and make up your own mind. (more…)
