Dr. Mehmet Oz already faced critics on Capitol Hill and America’s most popular TV doctor is fighting critics in his own profession. A week after 10 doctors signed an open letter to Columbia University, asking that the Ivy League school fire him, Oz is vowing to fight.
Last week, 10 doctors, none of whom are connected to Columbia, asked that the university kick him out of the faculty. “Dr. Oz has repeatedly shown disdain for science and for evidence-based medicine,” the letter begins.
As CNN Money notes, the letter also called out Oz’s “baseless and relentless opposition to the genetic engineering of food crops,” as Oz has pushed for labeling of foods with GMOs.
During a taping of his show Dr. Oz on Tuesday, Oz vowed to fight. A clip of his statement aired on the Today Show this morning and will air in full on Thursday.
“I vow to you right here and right now: We will not be silenced. We will not give in,” Oz said. “These doctors are criticizing me for promoting treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain, something I tell you every day on this program I never do.”
Oz is currently vice chairman of Columbia’s surgery department and is a cardiothoracic surgeon. Columbia responded to the open letter by saying that it is committed to “upholding faculty members' freedom of expression for statements they make in public discussion.”
In addition to Oz’s response airing Thursday, he will also give Today an interview on Friday.
image courtesy of Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com