Celebrity Justice
TMZ to Dr. Phil: Show Me The Money!

We have exclusivity -- WTF does that mean?!? Check out video of Dr. Phil's so-called "producer," shot by FOX in Tampa, as one of the teens charged with allegedly videotaping a brutal beating was released from jail.


While this guy claims "exclusivity," TMZ has learned that collateral for this chick's five figure bail was backed -- in full -- by something equal to that amount. We're told this is usually done in cash, a mortgage on a house, land or cars. So who put up that scratch? This dude?? We doubt it.

Dr. Phil's statement suggests some sort of rogue producer went down to Florida and went "beyond their guidelines." We're not buying it.

Here's how it works ...

We're told the bail was $33,000. In order to bail the teen out, the bondsman or woman would get 10% in cash, and the rest must be guaranteed by collateral. That's a lot of dough! So who approved the money? We're told some higher up -- Terry Wood (the big boss at CBS/Paramount TV) or even Dr. Phil himself -- would have to OK that kind of cash ... not some freelancer who "went beyond the guidelines."

Here's the rub: there's a gag order on all involved in the case -- including the Polk County Sheriff's Office. So all that cash spent -- and Dr. Phil can't get squat out of anybody involved. Oops.

A rep for the show told us "Please reread the statement we gave you. Nothing you are imagining it says or implies is true."

Tags: dr phil, DrPhil

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(Page 5 of 11) Previous 15 Comments | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

61. OMG.....I am from Texas, and I am beyond disgusted in Dr. Phil. He is a power-hungry, egotistic, greedy JACKASS. What a lunatic. Those violent teens who tortured that girl do not deserve bail. This is the last straw with Dr. Jackass. I will NEVER watch any shows of his...ever...never. I am done. I wish he would quit telling people he is from Texas, we do NOT let people get away with that crap down here...siding with a batterer...bailing them out, etc... He can stay his ass in California because if he comes back....we may have to whoop HIS ass....lol. He is not a good representation of Texas. So, on behalf of Texas....DR. PHIL SUX. p.s. hey Chuy & Chelsea ! We luve ya down here:)

Posted at 9:12AM on Apr 13th 2008 by Laney

62. WOW!! Not only the moral majority but now all the geniuses have joined the TMZ boards!!! Ya know WHY someone like Dr. Phil works....because most people have NO common sense what so ever. NONE. I work as a health care professional.... some of the things people believe, are insane.The things they DONT know, are elementary basics that no person should function without knowing. Gossip pages happen to be my vice. Which is why I am here. I think that "Producers" can absolutely get ahold of the checking accounts and bail someone out. WHY THE HELL would you think a PRODUCER could not?What is WRONG with the readers on here....anyway the point is that as evil and cruel as those girls that did this crime are, the POSSIBILITY of preventing that from happening to even one other child in the future, and the IDEA OF REHABBING these criminals so that they dont KILL someone in the future... IS NOT A BAD IDEA!!!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL THAT YOU CANNOT SEE THAT? ARE YOU ALL VOTING FOR MCCAIN TOO???

Posted at 8:57AM on Apr 13th 2008 by losing the faith in humanity

63. Dr. Phil has proven, once again, he has "boundary" issues. What professional would bail out young woman who is the "worst of the worst" in beating the victim? My guess was right that the kids involved were from dysfunctional families and physically hit and/or abused as punishment themselves to treat another this way.

Dr. Phil has become shameful and needs to stay away from this story, and let the Judge executive her professional and public duties. These kids needs to be punished under the State of Florida laws. If they are let off, they will be repeat offenders and/or commit other crimes as adults.

Hopefully, the Judge will go after the white trash parents, too, for violating the Court's gag order! The parents are responsible for the way their children have turned out as teenagers.

Posted at 8:59AM on Apr 13th 2008 by timeforpunishment

64. Whether it was authorized by Dr. Phil or one of his producers, what excuse could that girl share with an audience that would explain away what they did to that girl????? Bottom line, it's all about ratings and money. How pathetic. Forget about integrity. What irks me that not that long ago I'm flipping the channels and I see Oprah sitting beside Phil, not sure if it was a celebration on him achieving x number of shows, and she's singing his praises. Obviously as long as he makes money for her, she's going to support him no matter what. Her standards were compromised a long time ago by fame and the almighty dollar. TMZ keep on this story and keep the pressure on that know-it-all ugly ass Phil. He should be off the air, living in a trailer park and only allowed to give advice to nature's game and fowl.

Posted at 9:09AM on Apr 13th 2008 by likethenews

65. Thanks Oprah for unleashing the a_ _hole Dr Phil on us. It appears you can't take slum out of the girl.

Posted at 9:07AM on Apr 13th 2008 by TBA

66. To #52 - you're a health care professional but you sign yourself as losing faith in humanity? Is that not a contradiction: you want to help but...why bother. I'm a Liberal first off and I get that these girls wanted fame (hence they taped what they did) and you want to turn around and have this girl on TV = more fame? I get that there's a lot of people who don't have common sense but I also believe a lot of the people who appear on Dr. Phil's show are narcissistic. They like the attention, the sound of their own voice. I don't believe his show changes anything. If you didn't have common sense to begin with, you're not going to have common sense after watching his show. Ingrained destructive behaviour requires intense therapy. One show would have no rehabilitative benefit as far as I am concerned. It's stricly entertainment. And that's coming from someone who has bundles of common sense.

Posted at 9:33AM on Apr 13th 2008 by likethenews

67. Phil is NOT a licensed doctor. He does not have the right to that title as he let his license lapse.

Phil is a quack. Someone is going to have to bite the bullet, watch his show, and get a list of all his sponsors. Then they are going to have to list them, so people like us (who are disgusted with his antics) can email/call to complain about him and his show. Maybe his imdb.com message board would be a good place to keep on this story. Not much traffic. LOL

He needs to be taught a lesson, and stand up and do the right thing. Bailing these aggressors out of jail for a ratings? WTF phil? You're an idiot. You need to shut up and go away, you're 15 mintues are over, and take your fake botoxed wife with you.

Great morals there phil, how's that working for you.

As for the girls, let them talk on tv, why are they so shy now? They wanted to be famous!?!! Right? So, now they're famous! What? They dont' like it? Too bad, they're all over youtube. LOL Not what they envisioned. STupid kids.

Posted at 9:44AM on Apr 13th 2008 by Anonymous 5.10.08 Expect us

68. # 52 WOW!

Rehabbing the girls? LMFAO! Sure, because we know all it takes to change your life is a one hour chat with phil. then it's all better.

whatever.

stfu, really, just stfu. Must take keyboards away from idiots. Idiots must not be allowed to post. Ever.

Posted at 9:49AM on Apr 13th 2008 by Anonymous 5.10.08 Expect us

69. if ANYTHING.......he should have paid THE VICTIM to come on his show and tell her story.......NOT THE DAMN CRIMINAL TEENAGER!!!!

This girl Mercedes is OBVIOUSLY TRAILER TRASH!!! Why the heck is she living with HER GRANDMOTHER and NOT HER MOTHER???? Either there's something wrong with her mother or Mercedes has a serious problem that her mother couldn't handle so the grandmother took over.

Dr. Phil is a disgrace!!! Maybe we should rename him DR. SPRINGER since his shows are turning into another Jerry Springer.

Posted at 9:50AM on Apr 13th 2008 by DJ

70. I laughed when I read this....

"We have helped guests and potential guests in the past when they need financial assistance to come on the show -- assisting with clothing allowance, lost wages, accommodations, travel and necessities," Corigliano wrote. "In this case, certain staff members went beyond our guidelines (re the bail being paid). These staff members have been spoken to and our policies reiterated. In addition, we have decided not to go forward with the story as our guidelines have been compromised."

Way to be a man Dr. Phil....pass the buck to your staff....I don't buy it I doubt anything is done regarding your shows without your first hand knowledge. I would fire everyone of them if this were really the case. Dr. Phil you seem to be losing control or you think you have all the control you are after all a star.You are looking foolish.

Posted at 10:12AM on Apr 13th 2008 by MLR

71. Dr. Phil has crossed the line too many times and I can only hope that someone will pull the plug on his show. Where will he stop? If the jailed teens had committed murder, would he cover an even bigger bail? What about rape? Is there a pedophile who needs "exposure" and is therefore deserving of bail money? Pull his show!!

Posted at 10:27AM on Apr 13th 2008 by Nana One

72. I would love to see the Hollywood psychologist (Dr. Phil) interview the wacky celebrity craving Polk County Sheriff, Grady Judd. Judd has never seen a camera that he didn't like and spends most of his days scouring his interior Florida county for evil-doers in the hope he can appear on more national new shows. Gray Judd is one of the few Sheriffs in American that can boast of having an accurate duplication of the White House press briefing room in his modest Polk County administrative building,

For a rural county in central Florida, Grady Judd has managed to come up with an astonishing array of atypical news stories, from the teenage coed beating case to the saga of Diogi the Heroic Dog that died alongside his human deputy fighting a fleeing desperado, Grady seemed worried that time that Diogi was vastly upstaging him so he came up with a quotable quote when asked why the murderer was riddled with so many police bullets. His answer: "Well I guess that was all the bullets they had."

Yep- We need need a full hour with Dr. Phil and Sheriff Grady Judd.

Posted at 10:34AM on Apr 13th 2008 by Tom

73. To: losing the faith in humanity---

How naive you are. Do you think these animals who have lived 15-16yrs of life without being taught how to live as a human beings will spend a few hours with the magic man Dr. Phil and be all better?

Also, if Dr. Springer I (oops, I mean Dr. Phil) had true altruistic intentions, he would have offered to help Britney and this other animal privately. No self respecting "doctor" would do it to chase ratings for a TV sleesfest.

Lady, you're the one who needs to get a grip 'cause you don't know a con man when you see one.

Posted at 10:37AM on Apr 13th 2008 by Hmph

74. What Dr. Phil did was way wrong!! The girls who beat the girl wanted attention they proved this by taping the sick act for the world to see, so what does Dr.Phil do? He bails the monster out of jail!! He is rewarding her for her bad behavior what is wrong with this guy? All the girls and boys in that house that day need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law for what they did to that girl-if Mr. Phil wanted to help someone why didn't he help the girl who got beat up? Dr. Phil sickens me!

Posted at 10:38AM on Apr 13th 2008 by KELC

75. Dr. Douchebag bails out teen douchebag

Posted at 10:49AM on Apr 13th 2008 by Lips McCoy

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