var addthis_config = {“data_track_addressbar”:true};
Leading gay activist and “ex-gay therapy” expert Wayne Besen is accusing Dr. Oz of creating “a pulpit for quacks to bully gay kids,” after yesterday’s episode that intentionally suggested ex-gay therapy might possibly be legitimate treatment.
On Dr. Oz’s website, the episode’s description reveals, of course, an attempt to gin up controversy:
Is there a gay cure? Dr. Oz investigates reparative therapy. Recently banned in California for minors, experts on both sides speak out. Watch the heated debate!
Besen, the Founder and Executive Director of Truth Wins Out (TWO) is the man real news makers and reporters call — he’s appeared on Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, and other news networks — when so-called “ex-gay therapy” is on the menu.
READ: Dr. Oz Used ‘Ex-Gay Therapy’ To Spike Ratings — His Own Blog Proves It
And in fact, Besen says that producers for the Dr. Oz show did call him — but rescinded their interest when he agreed to appear in today’s episode after he told them he could actually make the show, well, factual.
READ: Dr. Oz Condemned By Top LGBT Organizations For ‘Ex-Gay Therapy’ Episode
“For the record, Truth Wins Out was contacted by a producer for the show, Besen writes. “We offered to provide myself as a guest to give a broad perspective on these groups. Additionally, we offered to provide America’s top scientists who deal with sexual orientation — you know, real researchers who actually use test tubes and microscopes and actually know something about the issue. The producers arrogantly declined our assistance and the result, as I vividly warned, is that Dr. Oz is being condemned today.”
Besen, in a lengthy analysis of today’s Dr. Oz show, concludes:
Dr. Oz failed to do any meaningful homework and enthusiastically gave a pulpit for quacks to bully gay kids. This was a professional disgrace of epic proportions and Dr. Oz should feel deeply ashamed for broadcasting this monstrosity of a show. That he distanced himself from reparative therapy in a statement released after the show was an essentially meaningless act that won’t undo the damage he caused by abusing the airwaves to promote child abuse disguised as therapy.
For more, visit Besen’s analysis, GLAAD’s examination, and, for clips from the show, Dr. Oz’s website.
 Image of Wayne Besen by Michael Murphy