To be honest, I have little or no interest in the Manti Te'o story. It is not that it is not juicy, but it is a story still being written. I prefer my stories that have are finished and the 'facts' coming out of this one are all bound to change many times before the final chapter is written.
The reason I was prompted to write about it today was not really directly about Manti Te'o but more my annoyance with Catfishing and Dr. Phil. I saw the documentary CatFish a couple of years ago. It was mildly interesting, but Nev Schulman's overly dramatic presentation, not to mention love of himself, turned me off a little. Catfishing is now EVERYWHERE, every tv new show, talk show and magazine. It is not that I doubt the issue, but it has become the 'topic de jour' with every media outlet jumping on the issue to cash in on the story.
Dr. Phil must have been seething that Manti Te'o had a connection to Katie Couric and ended up on her show. He wasted no time however in finding someone else connected to the story to exploit. Dr. Phil shoved Ronaiah Tuiasosopo into the spotlight, promoting his series of shows with teasers about his being gay, molested as a child, and a couple of voice detector experts lined up as if they were on a game show. It sickens me that Dr. Phil is the most highly rated daytime talk show. I cannot believe people can't see how totally repulsive and exploitative he is. Dr. Phil is an ambulance chaser, running after anyone in trouble, looking to shove a camera in their face to raise his ratings and pad his pocket.
It shocks me he has not lost his licence for the inappropriate way he conducts himself. Any ethical doctor or psychologist would never push someone as emotionally raw as Ronaiah Tuiasosopo in front of a camera to deal with his issues. There is no helping going on, only harm. People in crisis, struggling with mental health issues, need someone they can trust. Putting them out in front of the world has ramifications most are not emotionally ready for. If Dr. Phil truly cared, he would see them in an office, not a tv studio, but then no one would see what he was doing and Dr. Phil rarely does anything that cannot be filmed, edited and most importantly, sold.
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