Do we like Phil McGraw?
Our score: 4 out of 10. A long career and a real foundation on one side, a patchy record on trans issues, ICE coverage and a pending anti-gay discrimination claim on the other.
Phillip Calvin McGraw was born in Oklahoma in 1950 and raised there and in Texas. He was a big linebacker on a football scholarship, then got a psychology PhD and, in 1989, founded Courtroom Sciences, a trial-consulting firm. That firm put him next to Oprah Winfrey during the cattlemen's lawsuit against her, and she made him a regular on her show. His own syndicated show launched in 2002 and became a giant.
The later chapter is messier. After his CBS show ended he founded Merit Street Media, which filed for bankruptcy in July 2025. In October 2025 a federal judge converted it to a Chapter 7 liquidation, calling it an “anomaly” and criticising the case's handling, including deleted text messages. Fox 4 notes McGraw himself was not a party to the case, and his side said it would appeal.
There is older baggage too. A 2004 suit by three consumers accused him of defrauding fans through false statements about his Shape Up! diet pills. It settled in 2006 for $10.5 million, covered by insurance, and McGraw denied the allegations and admitted no wrongdoing.
Then came the ICE ride-alongs. In January 2025 he went out with immigration agents in Chicago for his network, and said they were arresting “known criminals and terrorists”. Critics, including an immigration organiser quoted in the New York Times, call it “basically a propaganda machine for ICE”. He has said “I don't think I'm qualified to talk about politics”. We found nothing from him on climate or vaccines.
The newest chapter is a lawsuit filed in August 2026 by a former publicist. It alleges wrongful termination and anti-gay discrimination, including an alleged remark by McGraw and staff being asked to sign a statement of devotion to Jesus. McGraw's lawyer says the claims are fabricated and that the suit is an attempt to dodge arbitration. No ruling has been reported, so it stays an allegation.
The good stuff is thinner than the headlines. He founded the Dr. Phil Foundation in 2003 for children's issues and went into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 2015. That is a long career with real reach, but the recent pattern of who he platforms and what he fronts makes it a close call. We'd wait on that lawsuit before getting excited.