”We Will Not Be Silenced”: Dr. Oz Fires Back at “Quack Treatment” Critics

The TV host is responding to doctors who want him fired from Columbia University.

Celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz is firing back at criticism from some in the medical community who have accused him of promoting "quack treatments."

In a video clip that aired on the "Today" show Wednesday, Mehmet, known as Dr. Oz, blasted a group of 10 doctors who wrote a letter urging Columbia University to strip him of his faculty position. 

“I vow to you right now. We will not be silenced. We will not give in," Oz said. 

The scathing letter to the New York Ivy league university, released last week, claimed that Oz exhibits an “egregious lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain.” The letter goes on to say he has “repeatedly shown disdain for science and for evidence-based medicine.”

Oz, who is the vice chairman of Columbia’s surgery department, rejected those accusations in the video clip, saying such treatments are “something I tell you every day on this program I never do.” The full response is scheduled to air on his television program on Thursday. 

The university responded to the letter in a statement last week and said it is “committed to the principle of academic freedom and to upholding faculty members' freedom of expression for statements they make in public discussion."

This is not the first time the doctor's integrity has come under scrutiny. He was scolded by federal lawmakers last summer for promoting fake weight-loss products and ads on his syndicated TV show.

In his response, Oz said it is his “intent to engage viewers” and the products give people hope to keep trying to lose weight, something many experts say is a very difficult thing to do, NBC News reported.

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