Take a look at this video. Be warned, it is ***VERY * ** disturbing. If you are sesnsible to disturbing images and violence, DO NOT watch this video.
At the end, when Dr.Phil does what he does, do you think it was all an act in order to increase his popularity and “moral person” image?
Regardless, what this man does is awful. He should rot in hell. How come he isn’t in jail? I find no excuse for this type of awful behavior. This is amazing, how this is allowed in America today.
As for Dr. Phil…I am not sure if he is as innocent as he looks.
This video is about a man who films Bum fights to put on-line or his website bumfights.com. Not only does he film Bum fights, he also does HORRIBLE things to them. However, I don’t want to spoil the specifics. I believe this will be more shocking and will spark more debate it you watch it without knowing too much in terms of what actualy happens.
I saw it once and was outraged. But it is interesting as to why the man who films this isn’t in jail. However, I will not watch it again.
That was really fucking weird (for the record, it’s not seriously graphic like the Daniel Pearl video or Saddam’s hanging. More like a very unfunny Jackass).
First off, what was this video? It was posted by CBS. It says “All New Dr. Phil, December 12” across the video as if it’s a promo. But it’s not a promo…
The whole thing seems VERY Springer to me.
Show clips of this dude’s controversial video wherein he beats up bums and has them do stupid things for money. Show the dude talking about the video as if it’s some normal thing and he is doing a service to the community. After the video, show the dude sitting on the stage.
Not just sitting on the stage - sitting on the stage in a suit, with a moustache, and his hair CLEARLY shaved so as to look more like Dr Phil (dude shaved the top of his head bald and left it regular on the sides, to pattern Phil’s hair).
The video seems to be over anyway, but Phil dramatically says “stop, cut the tape” and the tape “cuts out” (really looks planned).
Then he just goes off on the dude saying “how can we have a conversation about this?” and other stuff about how he can’t take the guy seriously. The guy says “why not?” Dr Phil tells him to leave. A couple of suits hop up from the audience and gently take the dude away.
Dr. Phil says how awesome he is for not having this guy on the show.
The video is about the “Bum Fights” dude. They show clips of an interview with him where he’s basically a total asshole, some clips from his program featuring homeless people being harmed, or harming themselves for small amounts of money, etc.
It cut’s to Dr Phil. Bum Fight dude is dressed as Dr. Phil and has shaved the top of his head so he looks like Phil. Phil kicks him off the show and refuses to speak to him. He winds up being escorted out by security.
I’m confused because Dr. Phil implies that he only sees the footage right then, when BF Dude is on stage. I would have thought that he would have reviewed the tapes earlier so he would have appropriate questions to ask the guy. You wonder if he had him on just to make him look like an asshole, which, in my opinion:
a) he did
b) was totally justified given what a shit stain the guy is.
YMMV and all that. I do kinda dig Dr. Phil - I find him kind of amusing.
I love Dr. Phil’s comment that he’s showing this because “I want people to be aware what’s floating around out there and what our kids have access to [on the Internet]”.
Yeah, homeless/very poor people/addicts being forced to endure incredible pain for $20 is arguably bad in and of itself, but the worst part is… “the children…”.
I love Dr. Phil’s holy “I REFUSE to publicize this man” rant. After, of course, publicizing him enough to get the audience worked up to applaud for him…uh… refusing to publicize him.
As for the clip, it’s of an absolute amoral scumbag exploiting poor people for money by filming their pain. Then he brings on a guest and shows footage of a guy who makes poor people fight and hurt themselves and then throws him off the show.
The worst part of the video is (spoilers describe a graphic act that, if you’re squeamish, you may want to be prewarned, and I’m serious-
the “bums” being paid to pull out their teeth with plyers.
Looked to me like a total act by “Dr.” Phil. He was acting like that was the first time he’d seen the thing. Does anybody really believe he’s going to invite this guy on the show and play that footage without having watched it first? Puh-leeze.
Now, the Bumfights thing is totally stupid, and the guy’s comments “I’m helping them blah blah blah” are ridiculous. He’s only doing it because it’s making him wealthy. He IS despicable.
But it also seems clear that Phil only invited him on the show to kick him off and try to make a big moral statement. I found this comment amusing:
Um… riiiiiiight. You just DID publicize it, Dr. Idiot, by showing the footage on your show in the first place. That fact apparently slipped by you…
If real, its Phil being a drama queen- like he didn’t know what the guy did- his producers sandbagged him? Yeah right. I think the guy mocking his appearance by dressing up to look *exactly like him * pissed him off as well.
Did this actually air? If Phil refused to air this semi-segment, then maybe he’s being truthful about not wanting to publicize this dirtbag. If it actually did air, then he’s just grandstanding, and all he wanted to do was show what a swell talkshow host he is.
Well, what can he be charged with? I mean, I guess you could charge the *homeless guy *with practicing dentistry without a license, but that seems a little weak, y’know?
I am not a big Dr Phil fan, but I am willing to give him credit on this one. I think he had saw the footage, reluctantly agreed to do this show, and then when they started it for real and he saw the footage re-edited for this intro, he changed his mind (that and the douchebag mocking him by dressing up like him didn’t help).
He did have a good point, could the actually talk for an hour?
Phil: “You are a douchbag”
BF Guy: “No, I’m helping these people”
So how did Dr. Phil fill the rest of the show? Was there another segment that just happened to be there already and capable of being stretched to cover the bumfights segment?
If nothing else, one of this guy’s videos has him encouraging an obviously deranged homeless person to take a steel pole and beat on the first car that passes by- surely he should have been arrested for that, even retroactively. I can’t think of a crime covering paying a guy 20 bucks to eat a maggot ridden dead frog, though, unfortunatley.
IIRC they tried to bring up felony charges against the original Bumfights creator, but couldn’t make them stick. The main guy just got six months for a misdemeanor, “staging an illegal fight”, and his crew plead guilty to conspiracy charges of some kind.
ETA: Just Googled it, the original charges were battery, illegal fight promotion, conspiracy and soliciting an assault with deadly force. They plead down.
Under our laws it would probably qualify as usury. Our legal concept of usury is fairly general and the highest court of appeals confirmed that it applies to all forms of business transactions, including wages. Basically if you take advantage of someone’s predicament (or lack of judgment etc.) in order to close a deal where there is a gross disproportion between the benefits for both parties, you commit a crime. I don’t know whether there is anything similar under US law. In addition to that the victims’ consent (in the civil law sense) is almost certainly void which would mean that the footage can’t be used.
