Shelley Duvall has come forward five years after her controversial 2016 appearance on “Dr. Phil.”
The actress has been living a private life in Texas for nearly three decades. Her last film credit was the 2002 independent film “Manna from Heaven.” The 71-year-old told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on Thursday that she was initially contacted by a producer from the daytime talk show.
The appearance was slammed by critics for being exploitative of her mental health struggles.
“I found out the kind of person he is the hard way,” Duvall admitted.” “My mother didn’t like him either.”
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Duvall revealed that “a lot of people” told her afterward that she “shouldn’t have done it.”
Shelley Duvall’s last film credit was in the 2002 film ‘Manna from Heaven.’
(Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
According to Duvall, host Phil McGraw tried repeatedly tried to get in touch with her mother even after the show.
“He started calling my mother,” said Duvall. “She told him, ‘Don’t call my daughter anymore.’ But he started calling my mother all the time trying to get her to let me talk to him again.”
In a statement to the outlet, a spokesperson for “Dr. Phil” said, “We view every Dr. Phil episode, including Miss Duvall and her struggle with mental illness, as an opportunity to share relatable, useful information and perspective with our audience.”
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“We don’t attach the stigma associated with mental illness which many do,” the statement continued. “With no one else offering help, our goal was to document the struggle and bring amazing resources to change her trajectory as we have for so many over 19 years.
Dr. Phil McGraw was widely criticized for exploiting Shelley Duvall’s mental health struggles.
(Getty)
“Unfortunately, she declined our initial offer for inpatient treatment that would have included full physical and mental evaluations, giving her a chance to privately manage her challenges. After many months of follow-up, in collaboration with her mother, she ultimately refused assistance. We were of course very disappointed, but those offers for help remain open today.”
THR writer Seth Abramovitch shared that although Duvall’s “mood ebbed and flowed throughout the day” her memory was “sharp.” She also appeared “visibly distressed” when McGraw’s name was mentioned.
“It didn’t feel right for McGraw’s insensitive sideshow to be the final word on her legacy,” he wrote.
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One of the many people who criticized McGraw, 70, for airing Duvall’s appearance at the time was Vivian Kubrick, the daughter of “The Shining” director Stanley Kubrick.
American actors Jack Nicholson (right), Danny Lloyd and Shelley Duvall on the set of ‘The Shining,’ based on the novel by Stephen King, and directed by Stanley Kubrick.
(Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
“You are putting Shelly Duvall ‘on show’ while she is suffering from a pitiable state of ill health,” Kubrick tweeted. “Unquestionably, this is purely a form of lurid and exploitive entertainment – it’s appallingly cruel.”
“Shelley Duvall was a movie star … whatever dignity a mere unfortunate creature might have in this world, is denied her by your displaying her in this way,” the 60-year-old continued. “I recoil in complete disgust. I hope others will join me in boycotting your utterly heartless form of entertainment, because it has nothing to do with compassionate healing. Sincerely disgusted.”