REVIEWING OZ’S WEEK OF BAD PRESS

From being anti-health care to pro-incest, we review a week of terrible stories for the millionaire scam artist

PENNSYLVANIA – Even by Oz’ standards, this week saw an impressive amount of negative stories hitting the out-of-touch millionaire scam artist. 

In just one week, Oz had to deal with reporting that highlighted comments he made about uninsured Americans having no “right to health”, his ownership of a company that supplied hydroxychloroquine while he pushed it as a Covid treatment, his purchase of his Palm Beach mansion with the help of a man embroiled in an immigration fraud scheme, and his defense of incest.

That’s a lot. Read more below:

HuffPost: Dr. Oz Said Uninsured Americans Have No ‘Right To Health’ In Resurfaced Clip

By David Moye

  • TV doctor-turned-Senate candidate Mehmet Oz once said uninsured Americans don’t have a “right to health,” according to a recently resurfaced video from 2013.
  • He explained his apparent belief that “health” is only a right for those who can afford insurance.
  • The Independent was confused by Oz’s comments, noting that “it’s unclear how” he reconciles saying Americans don’t have a “right to health” with the notion that they do have a right to “access” health care.
  • “If a doctor were to find a person had an ailment, it would still leave the individual without options — other than taking on massive medical debt — for seeking treatment, and with the burden of knowing they’re sick,” the paper’s Graig Graziosi wrote.

CNBC: Dr. Oz owns shares of companies that supply hydroxychloroquine, a drug he has backed as a Covid treatment

By Brian Schwartz

  • Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz has financial ties to at least two pharmaceutical companies that supply hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug that he has floated as a possible Covid-19 treatment.
  • [Oz] owns along with his wife at least $615,000 in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific, according to his financial disclosure. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s website lists hydroxychloroquine sulfate as one of its available products.
  • Oz and his wife also own between $15,001 and $50,000 in McKesson Corporation stock, according to the disclosure. The company labels and distributes hydroxychloroquine sulfate, according to the FDA.
  • Oz’s financial ties to a producer and distributor of the drug, and his promotion of it as a potential Covid treatment, raise questions about what he stood to gain from its wider use during the pandemic.
  • The FDA has… warned [hydroxychloroquine] has “not been shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19.”

Business Insider: Dr. Oz owns stock in companies that supply hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug he pushed the White House to use as unproven COVID treatment

By Kelsey Vlamis

  • Oz owns shares of two companies that supply hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug that he urged the White House to push as a treatment for COVID-19 despite a lack of evidence showing its efficacy.
  • The document showed Oz and his wife owned at least a $615,000 stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific, a supplier that lists hydroxychloroquine as one of its products.
  • The disclosures also showed Oz and his wife owned between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of shares in McKesson Corporation, which labels and distributes hydroxychloroquine.
  • [Oz] sent emails to senior White House advisers in the early days of the pandemic promoting hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19. 

CBS News: Dr. Oz bought Palm Beach mega-mansion with help of man embroiled in immigration fraud scheme

By Graham Kates 

  • Among Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz’s 18 known real estate investments, none is larger or more valuable than Louwana, a 10-bedroom historic beachfront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida.
  • Oz’s campaign has sought to move past questions about his residency and real estate, but the Palm Beach mansion brings with it a unique set of political concerns for Oz as he tries to rebuff allegations that he’s “sort of parachuting into Pennsylvania,” said Penn State Harrisburg political science professor Daniel Mallinson.
  • Oz purchased the mansion in 2015 with the help of Florida attorney Leslie Evans, whom the deed describes as a trustee for the property.
  • The year before, Evans was involved in the purchase of a foreclosed Connecticut mansion. It was a transaction that became central to federal fraud cases filed in 2018 that saw four other people plead guilty to bilking investors out of millions.
  • As Evans dealt with a lawsuit, a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, and ultimately a federal indictment, he continued on as trustee for the mansion, documents show.
  • On Feb. 22 of this year, Evans signed a document related to the $60,000 local tax exemption for the mansion. The tax exemption was first reported by the Miami Herald.

    The celebrity doctor has struggled for months to give a clear accounting of his wide-ranging property holdings. In August, a person… approached Oz at a campaign event and asked him how many houses he owns. A video shows Oz replying, “Well I, legitimately, I own two houses. But, uh, one of them we’re building on; the other ones I rent.”
  • The Daily Beast reported later that month that he actually owns 10 houses, including the Palm Beach mansion.
  • Fetterman has sought to portray Oz as an out-of-stater. And according to Mallinson, the Florida mansion plays into that portrayal.
  • “Fetterman has been painting Oz as somebody who’s not from Pennsylvania and is an outsider. And so more properties in other states just reinforces that same narrative,” Mallinson said.

Jezebel: Dr. Oz on Incest: More Than First Cousin? ‘Not a Big Problem.’

By Caitlin Cruz

  • In an interview with morning radio show The Breakfast Club in February 2014, host Angela Yee asked Oz to weigh in on a question sent in by a listener about someone struggling with an incestuous relationship.
  • “I’m going to ask you this and you tell me if this is safe for this person, okay?” Yee prompted Oz. “Well, he said, ‘Yee, I can’t stop smashing my cousin.’ That means sleeping with.” (Thank you, Yee.)
  • Oz: If you’re more than a first cousin away, it’s not a big problem.
  • I just… I just don’t know what made this man think he should run for office.