This post may be a little biased, because I have beef with Dr. Phil. I understand that “tough love” is his shtick, but he tends to venture into schoolyard-bully territory. (Example: “When did you decide to give up and be the fat girl?”) It’s good for ratings, but not so good for someone who’s already dealing with shaky self-esteem. Which brings me to my other issue: Dr. Phil is no Adonis.

In fact, he’s reportedly up to 250 pounds. He was slimmer while promoting The Ultimate Weight Solution, but now that he doesn’t have to be a walking advertisement for weight loss, he’s let himself go a bit. Well, a lot, actually. At 6-foot-4, his BMI would be 30.4, which puts him in the “obese” category. Now, this is the guy who says “obesity is a disease of choice.” So if he’s choosing to gain an unhealthy amount of weight, is it appropriate for him to market himself as a weight loss guru?

He’s not the only one—Sarah Ferguson and Kirstie Alley have both taken heat for gaining weight while promoting diet plans (Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, respectively). What do you think—is it okay to have an overweight celeb spokesperson? I think it’s 100% fine when the celeb is speaking as a client, like in Fergie and Kirstie’s cases. But when you start speaking as an expert—and taunting your clients for being fat—you’d better walk the walk.

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written by Nonny, January 25, 2008

Apparently his "ultimate" weight solution will have you "ultimately" putting the weight back on...

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written by Andrea, October 30, 2007

Common sense should tell any weight loss company that having a fat spokesperson is really, really lousy advertising! Boy, it sure goes to show you the effectiveness of their programs, doesn't it?

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written by Lisa, October 29, 2007

Oh yea ! Finally someone who sees Phil for what he is.......a gimmik ! He is way to big to tell me I'm fat !