Rothman says she was called into work on her day off for the mandatory meeting in a room without enough seating for the 300 workers, forcing her and others to stand as McGraw entered the room and demanded two security guards lock the doors.
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Dr. Phil McGraw is being accused of false imprisonment in a lawsuit filed by an ex-employee.
Rothman alleges that McGraw said he had contacted federal authorities, because the information had crossed state lines. “If you f- with me, I’ll f- with you”, he allegedly said, according to the lawsuit, which added he seemed to enjoy intimidating his staff. The worst part?
Opal Thompson, 109, of Pittsburg, Calif., meets Dr. Phil during a taping of “The Dr. Phil Show”.
Rothman says she began “experiencing emotional distress from the verbal assault of Dr. Phil, which was magnified by the confined space”.
McGraw allegedly even read from cue cards during the heated meeting – leading Rothman to believe he had planned the confrontation for a while.
She says Phil and the other brass already knew the source of the leak, but they wanted to make a point. However, she says, “Defendants continued to convey the message that Dr. Phil was their cash cow and that they needed him and his show on the CBS network”.
Rothman says it amounted to false imprisonment.
Rothman goes on to say the whole thing made her a nervous wreck and she had to quit… and now claims it was “constructive termination”.
Dr. Phil may be having a resurgence in quality thanks to high-profile interviews with Kim Richards, Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s Nicholas Brendon, and several people involved in the Jared Fogle sex crimes case, but that doesn’t mean everything is as smooth behind the scenes.
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A spokesperson for the “Dr. Phil” show declined to comment.
