AP Photo/Lauren Victoria BurkeDr. Mehmet Oz may be nursing a bruised ego after a Q&A session on Twitter proved to be far from magical.
The host of the popular syndicated daytime talk show Dr. Oz, who is a cardiologist, has often been criticized and mocked for promoting unregulated weight loss and other supplements, touted as "magic" or "a miracle in a bottle," on his show.
In June, Oz was scolded at a Senate hearing about fake diet product ads. He defended himself, saying, "I have things that I think work for people. I want them to try them just to help them feel better so they can keep doing the other things we spend every single day on the show talking about."
"To not have the conversation about supplements at all...would be a disservice to the viewer," he said in a statement, adding that he would exercise "an abundance of caution in discussing promising research and products in the future."
On Tuesday, he posted a message on Twitter calling on users to ask him questions and use the hashtag #OzsInbox.
What is your biggest question for me? Reply with #OzsInbox and I'll answer my favorites on http://t.co/8kjmALRoAd.
? Dr. Mehmet Oz (@DrOz) November 11, 2014Cue the snark, which has continued throughout the week.
#OzsInbox is snake oil gluten free?
? Nathan Churney (@platypusosaurus) November 13, 2014#OzsInbox I just read that my new detox regimen might be toxic. Can you recommend a detoxification to detoxify my toxins?
? Andrew Kniss (@WyoWeeds) November 12, 2014@DrOz If I bathe exclusively in coconut and guava oil, will that remove all my toxins? Do I need to add avocado oil too? #OzsInbox
— Gavin McLean (@GMcLean0011) November 13, 2014is there a miracle cure to eliminate hashtags-i-regret-making from twitter?--asking for a friend... #OzsInbox
? Scott Varrick (@svarrick) November 13, 2014#OzsInbox Did you give Jack magic beans to help detoxify his insides?
— J (@babalonga) November 13, 2014#OzsInbox what do you recommend for cooties?
— Riceman14 (@Riceman14) November 13, 2014@DrOz is butter a carb? #OzsInbox
— Bruce/Alex (@FageMD) November 13, 2014Other recent comments were downright nasty, containing just insults. Oz has not responded to the comments. He has held Q&As on Twitter before several times but has never received as many snarky responses.
Several Twitter users cited Bill Cosby's recent meme debacle. The actor, one of America's favorite TV dads, recently asked Twitter users to post memes of him and received a slew of photo responses containing references to rape, following recent allegations made by a comedian during a show. Cosby has not responded to his remarks.
Another Twitter user, a Canadian woman named Carol who identifies herself as a public health doctor, quoted an expletive-filled remark Internet-favorite HBO satirical show host John Oliver had made about Oz's product promotions.
Weeks after the Senate hearing, in a segment featuring Game of Thrones creator George R. R. Martin and a tap-dancing Steve Buscemi that has since gone viral on YouTube, he had joked, "You're presenting it as a doctor," he said. "If you want to keep spouting this bulls--t, that's fine. But don't call...your show, Dr. Oz." (Watch the video here. Warning: Contains expletives.)