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Report: Todd Herzog given vodka and Xanax before Dr. Phil appearance

By Daniel George

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 16: Runner up candidates Amanda Kimmel (L) and Courtney Yates (R) celebrate after Todd Herzog (C) won the Survivor: China Finale at CBS Television City on December 16, 2007 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 16: Runner up candidates Amanda Kimmel (L) and Courtney Yates (R) celebrate after Todd Herzog (C) won the Survivor: China Finale at CBS Television City on December 16, 2007 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) /
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Despite Dr. Phil saying there was never “a guest who was closer to death” when Todd Herzog appeared, Todd now alleges he was given the tools to his demise.

Looking back at Todd Herzog’s Dr. Phil appearance a few years ago, it’s really difficult to stomach. To see a man so torn by addiction to alcohol, bearing his soul to a televised audience who (mostly) knew not of him as a person or as a Survivor winner, just felt damn exploitative. While Dr. Phil did offer Todd treatment at a rehabilitation center, it wasn’t known until today that the reason he looked in as terrible a state as he appeared was that people from the show gave him the tools of intoxication.

A stunning STAT / Boston Globe investigation reveals an allegation, from Todd Herzog himself, that he was not intoxicated prior to taping the episode. Instead, a two-liter bottle of Smirnoff vodka was in his dressing room, and after drinking it, someone from the show’s staff gave him a Xanax to “calm his nerves.

When on the show, Todd Herzog blew a 0.263 BAC through a breathalyzer, indicating a very strong level of alcohol poisoning roughly an hour or so before going on stage. However, the combination of lots of alcohol and Xanax could have been a potentially deadly concoction. Dr. Phil says their staff does “not supply any of their guests with drugs or alcohol,” and that all guests with addiction-related issues are under medical supervision when in LA to tape the show.

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Martin Greenberg, a psychologist representing the show, may have provided the most inexcusable statement in regards to this investigation. “Addicts are notorious for lying, deflecting and trivializing. But, if they are at risk when they arrive, then they were at risk before they arrived,” he said.

The absolutely callous behavior of Dr. Phil and the show’s staff in exploiting the cruel downfall of its guests is nothing new, but the levels they have stooped in this story are absolutely deplorable. Todd Herzog (one of the greatest winners in the history of Survivor) should not be provided an item he is addicted to in his unattended dressing room, nor a drug he is not prescribed to, nor has ever taken before.

Next: Survivor Winners: Ranking All 34 Sole Survivors By Season

Todd Herzog is just the leading voice of an investigation into allegedly ongoing nefarious practices at Dr. Phil. Regardless, we wish Todd and all other victims of the alleged wrongdoing of the show all the best wishes and for continued strength in facing their addictions.

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