Dr. Oz Allegedly Removed Conversion Therapy Episode from His Website

Dr. Oz seems to have recently removed an episode of his show from his website. The episode, which featured conversion therapy as its main focus, retains its preview on the website, but when play is pressed, an error message stating, “This video is currently unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working to resolve the issue,” is shown, and the video does not play. Unsurprisingly, the counter to conversion therapy made by GLAAD, PFLAG, and GLSEN also displays the same error and will not play. However, the blog post connected to the episode is still available to read.

The former cardiothoracic surgeon describes himself as a conservative and is transphobic, speaking out on how “brave” J.K. Rowling is for her transphobia, his beliefs that trans women and girls should not compete with other women in sports, and his support of various Don’t Say Gay laws.

Despite all this, his final takeaway from the episode was middling, at best. In his blog post, Oz says, “Trying to change who you are instead of loving who you are leads to broken spirits and broken hearts. Encouraging self-acceptance is the only way to help alleviate the shame experienced by those who are struggling with their sexuality—and help them reach a place where who they are matches who they want to be.”

Although that is a nice sentiment at surface level, it still vaguely implies that “reparative therapy,” as he calls it, is still an option for LGBTQ people to correct their shame. Shame should not be correlated with our community. That’s why we have Pride.

This is not the first time that Dr. Oz has endorsed pseudoscience for “healing,” going so far as to enthusiastically speak on homeopathy, saying, “The essence of the medication, oh, let’s say the spirit of the medication, is imbibed, and it sends a message to the body to heal itself.”