A representative for the "Dr. Phil" talk show denied it gave drugs to guests who were addicts.The claims were leveled by multiple former guests in an investigative report by STAT and The Boston Globe.One alcoholic guest said he arrived to the show sober, then drank a bottle of vodka he found in his dressing room and was offered a Xanax pill before taping.The representative for the show said addicts often lash out at people trying to help them.Dr. Phil's show denied that it gave drugs to guests who were addicts following an explosive investigative article published by STAT and the Boston Globe."The show does not give drugs or alcohol to its guests and any suggestions to the contrary is errant nonsense,"Martin Greenberg, the show's Director of Professional Affairs, said in a statement.The allegations first emerged in the investigative article on Thursday. In the article, numerous former guests on "Dr. Phil," who were battling alcoholism or some other drug addiction said they were enabled by the show to take drugs."Survivor" winner Todd Herzog, for example, appeared on "Dr. Phil" in the midst of his battle with alcoholism in 2013. He claims he was drunk.Herzog told told the Boston Globe that he was sober when he arrived at the studio, but found a bottle ofSmirnoff vodka in his dressing room and drank it all. Then he said someone gave him a Xanax pill and told him it would "calm his nerves."The show's statement put the blame squarely on the addicts featured on "Dr. Phil.""Unfortunately, addicts often lash out at the very people who are trying the hardest to help them break the cycle of addiction," Greenberg's statement reads. "Although terribly unfortunate, this is an understandable part of the behavior of addicts on their journey to recovery. Deception, dishonesty, and denial are hallmarks of addiction."Some of the show's guests interviewed for the investigative article said "Dr. Phil" saved their lives.Niki Dietrich was eight months pregnant, addicted to heroin, and living in an abandoned house and prostituting herself for drug money when she appeared on an episode last year. Now, she's sober and working to regain custody of her daughter, according to STAT."That was like a miracle," Dietrich said. "They hooked it up, for sure. The 'Dr. Phil' show, I have nothing bad to say about that experience."Phillip McGraw, the host of "Dr. Phil," hasn't publicly commented on the matter. CBS Television, which distributes the show, didn't immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment.Sign uphereto getINSIDER's favorite stories straight to your inbox.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Here's why some Hong Kong skyscrapers have gaping holes
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