[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Phil McGraw and CBS have been sued for negligence by a teen who claims she was sexually assaulted at a Utah treatment facility for “troubled” youth his show sent her to when she was 17.
In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, per the LA Times, Hannah Archuleta claimed she was shipped off to Turn-About Ranch in Escalante, Utah after going on Dr. Phil with her parents for mental health help in October 2019. According to The Wrap, the now-71-year-old host and other staffers allegedly made glowing recommendations about the facility to her father, Tony Archuleta, in order to convince him into sending her there while neglecting to mention the “known risks of physical and emotional harm suffered by both prior guests of the Show, and others.”
Related: Bhad Bhabie Calls Out Dr. Phil Over Alleged Utah Rehab Abuse
As you may recall, Bhad Bhabie (AKA “Cash me outside” girl) had previously detailed the abuse teens have suffered at the rehab facility, even mentioning a 2016 murder that happened while she was staying there. Later, she the rapper mentioned Hannah’s assault while calling out Dr. Phil for recommending the ranch to youth in an eight-minute YouTube video.
In the suit documents, Archuleta said she “was sexually assaulted twice by a male Staff member, and then physically and psychologically abused by Ranch staff in retaliation for reporting her assailant.” Following the assault, she wrote letters to her family in Colorado for help, per the LA Times. Her father then came to Utah, removed her from the program, and filed a report with the local sheriff’s office.
A spokesman for McGraw and the Dr. Phil show, Jerry Sharell, issued a statement to The Wrap on Thursday regarding the allegations, saying:
“After Hannah Archuleta’s appearance on ‘Dr. Phil’ in 2019, her parents chose to seek treatment at Turn-About Ranch. None of the defendants in this case had anything to do with her program at that facility, as documents signed by the Archuletas reflect. We understand that she subsequently sued Turn-About Ranch but that case was dismissed and recently refiled. This case will be vigorously contested.”
Elsewhere in the lawsuit, led by sexual misconduct attorney Gloria Allred, Hannah insinuated that McGraw, the show, and his production company, Stage 29 Productions, may have a financial arrangement with Turn-About Ranch:
“On information and belief, one or more Defendants receive some form of consideration for recommending and sending the show’s minor guests to Turn-About Ranch.”
However, Sharell denied the accusation to TheWrap:
“There are not and never have been financial ties to Turn-About Ranch.”
Archuleta is currently seeking a jury trial and damages for “physical sickness, emotional distress, humiliation,” and lost wages. Reactions to the allegations being made against Dr. Phil, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments (below).
[Image via Dr. Phil/YouTube]
The post Dr. Phil Sued After Teen Was Allegedly Sexually Assaulted At The Utah Treatment Center He Recommended appeared first on Perez Hilton.
