Dirty Rotten Scandals unpacked various allegations against Dr. Phil McGraw and The Dr. Phil Show — but what went into pulling the docuseries together?
“The most compelling thing about the film was just how impacted the people that were in the doc were about their experiences on the show. As filmmakers, we were in quite a strange position in the sense that we were making a doc about TV,” director Marcus Plowright exclusively told Us Weekly of the challenges associated with digging up past allegations against Dr. Phil to bring the docuseries to life .
“We were trying to get people to open up to us as documentary producers who had already been burned by another show,” he added.
In order to build “that trust up with people” that allows them to feel comfortable discussing such sensitive topics. Plowright and his team had to put in the work.
“What I found most compelling was when they did open up and when they spoke about the experience, just how brave they were,” he continued. “Many of the people that we spoke to, they’d spent years feeling humiliated because of what happened to them on the show and on stage.”
He continued, “For them to come forward on camera, engage with us and talk about their experience again — knowing what had happened before when they trusted another film crew with that previously — was a huge deal for them. It took a lot of courage. I think that was the most surprising thing was just how deeply that experience of the show had impacted them.”
While reflecting on the experience, Plowright recalled letting the interview subjects “set the pace,” when it came to interviews.
“Everyone that we spoke to, we were like, ‘What do you want to say? This is an opportunity for you to tell us and share your experience with us,’” he said. “How people wanted to do that was very much up to them.”
The docuseries had to adapt to various unforeseen changes, including interviewing former crew members who wouldn’t speak on the record.
“The people that worked on the show, they chose to speak anonymously on their own terms. We didn’t ask them to hide, they asked us,” he noted. “The last thing that we wanted as producers and as filmmakers was for anyone in our film feeling exploited in a similar way to what they went through before. We had to earn the trust and that took time. We didn’t rush anyone or pressure anyone. We had to be the absolute polar opposite of what they previously experienced.”
There was also an effort to contact Dr. Phil regarding the various allegations that have been leveled against him.
“We’ve approached this with absolute fairness and absolute accuracy. Any allegations that were made in the series we gave Dr. Phil and The Dr. Phil Show and the team an opportunity to respond,” Plowright noted. “They issued their statements and we included them.”
“Dr. McGraw categorically denies the allegations referenced in this film. These claims are not new and have previously been raised, thoroughly addressed, and refuted,” the statement from Dr. Phil’s attorneys reads. “They are false, misleading, and lack factual foundation.”
The statement continued, “Any implication that Dr. McGraw or the production of the program engaged in improper, unethical, or unlawful conduct is inaccurate … the program operated with established standards and with the intent of providing resources, information, and support to participants and audiences.”
Looking ahead, Plowright has hope that others will feel comfortable coming out with their experiences.
“Dr. Phil positioned himself as something fundamentally different. He was authentic, he was trusted. America trusted him with their problems and we heard stories from people whose experiences led them to think very differently about the show. They felt exploited and humiliated by it,” he said to Us. “When you have a man calling himself a doctor on national television, people came to him in the most vulnerable moments in their lives when they didn’t have any other options. There was something very wholesome and warm about it but that changed as the years went on.”
Plowright continued “I’d love more conversation to be had about this. The more that films like this get people talking, the better. That can only be a good thing.”
Dirty Rotten Scandals: America’s Next Top Model airs March 11 at 9 p.m. ET, with Dirty Rotten Scandals: The Price is Right premiering on March 18.
