The Doctors' former host Ian Smith accuses Dr. Phil's production company and ViacomCBS of racism

TheWrap

A year ago, The Doctors underwent a format revamp, tapping former co-host Dr. Ian Smith as the show's sole host. In January, Smith alleged he was fired after complaining about racially insensitive remarks and the show's toxic workplace culture. Smith made his allegations public in a newly filed complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the New York State Division of Human Rights. The complaint lists ViacomCBS, Stage 29 Productions -- Dr. Phil's production company, named after the Dr. Phil's Paramount Studios soundstage -- and executive producers Patty Ciano and Jay McGraw as respondents. Phil McGraw is executive producer of The Doctors, created by his son Jay McGraw, who isn't a doctor. Smith alleges that once he became solo host, his efforts to diversify the mostly white production staff were repeatedly rebuffed by until he was terminated in early January and replaced by a white host. Smith also accused executive producer Patty Ciano of creating a hostile work environment. “If my client didn’t complain about racism, he would still be the host of The Doctors," Smith’s attorney, Rick Ostrove, said in a statement. “His repeated complaints are a show of courage. He stuck his neck out to make the industry more inclusive and make the world a better place. We are exceptionally confident that we will prevail in this case and look forward to trial.” In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Smith added: “The Doctors show has an extremely hostile work environment. It has a tremendous disregard for diversity and it is extremely abusive to those who speak up with concerns about behavior or about the culture of inequity.” Smith's complaint also describes a January incident involving Married to Medicine star Jacqueline Walters and a Zoom hot mic that led to his termination. “Between tapings, during friendly banter, Dr. Ian told Dr. Jackie that he no longer watched her show because of ‘how it made us look.’ This was a reference to the highly publicized concerns of people in the minority community that ‘Married to Medicine’ portrays African Americans in a negative light,” the complaint states. Smith alleges he later overheard a producer and her assistants talking about the interaction over a Zoom call they were unaware was still active. One of the assistants was overheard saying, “Just because he’s Black, he can’t get away with sh*t like that. Someone needs to tell him off.” After reporting the incident to Cirano, Smith says he was fired four days later and replaced by Andrew Ordon, a white man. This is the second time this year The Doctors has been accused of having a toxic work environment. The Doctors veteran Dr. Rachael Ross told Page Six that the show's workplace is so hostile, it "makes working at Ellen look like a walk in the park.” “The whole culture is toxic," Ross told Page Six. "The executive producer (Patricia Ciano) constantly yells at people. She even cussed me out once. There was also always something about my hair. They were constantly making comments, and harassing me about my hair." A spokesperson for CBS declined to comment when contacted by the Los Angeles Times.