Top 30 Most Shocking Dr. Phil Guests

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Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down 30 of the most bizarre and unnerving guests to ever set foot on Dr. Phil’s set. It’s long come into question whether Dr. Phil can really help anyone, but some of these stories prove he’s far out of his depths.

#30: Sexy Vegan

He has 15 arrests, incredible dance moves, and a new name—sexy vegan. After Dr. Phil is finished lecturing Sexy Vegan’s mother for being an enabler, the man of the hour makes one of the most shocking entrances ever. He has a self-aggrandizing air, insulting the entire crowd for their inability to match his talent. It’s one of the most common “Dr. Phil” bits—he’s running up mommy’s credit card and loses his temper quickly. But Sexy Vegan’s off-the-rails temperament makes him stand out amongst a sea of spoiled brats. He’s mostly featured in vignettes, getting kicked off moments after appearing on stage. When he returns in a later episode, he apologizes for his antics and says he was fortunate enough to find help.

#29: The Human Cyborg

Orrin, an exceptionally bright young man, has built elaborate lore around his life as a cyborg from the future. He’s committed to the bit, reciting lines like he’s from the “Terminator” universe. Predictably, Orrin’s parents are concerned about his fascination, but even more so about his lack of ambition. He does his thing for the cameras, but this charade immediately split viewers. Some felt he was expressing neurodivergence in an extreme way, while others believe it was all an act for internet clout. And they might be onto something. Like fellow “Dr. Phil” alum Bhad Bhabie, Orrin has gone on to release music which has garnered a good bit of buzz. And, of course, suits his signature cyborg style.

#28: Taylor Swift’s “Soulmate”

Riley is one devoted fan Taylor may never be able to shake off. And that’s because he isn’t just deeply infatuated with her; he also believes he wrote a number of her songs. The show has seen a number of celebrity stalkers over the years, but Riley’s devotion is unrivaled. His parents are there to aid Dr. Phil’s assessment, but Riley goes off on tangents that highlight strange levels of fantasy. Eventually, Dr. Phil drags him around the stage to highlight parts of his “delusion board.” Sadly, instead of getting help, he just gets mocked on television.

#27: My Allowance Isn’t Enough

Usually a desperate parent writes in to get help with a troubled child. In this case, Nicolette, a 15-year-old used to an opulent lifestyle, asks for Dr. Phil’s assistance in convincing her mom to increase her allowance. She asserts that $1k a month isn’t enough. It seems this guest has some self awareness about being a brat, but that doesn’t stop her from having one of the most cringeworthy melt downs in the show’s history. The audience reacts as you’d expect, laughing at her tears. Whether or not the story is embellished, Dr. Phil makes sure to end the segment with a zinger.

#26: PTA Mom Wars

The internet loves to mock PTA karens and their obsession with bake sales, but this story developed in a rather sinister way. Dr. Phil sits down with two PTA rivals who both point the finger at the other for being crazy. It’s a he-said she-said tirade that seems like it’s getting nowhere. But when the dust settles, it’s clear that Jill had harassed Kelli for years over a schoolyard disagreement. Kelli, then the PTA president, even had drugs planted on her. After a 2016 civil trial, it was determined that Jill was responsible for framing Kelli for a number of crimes she hadn’t committed, including possession. Rewatching the interviews, it’s pretty easy to tell that Jill spoke with a malicious conviction.

#25: Mother-Daughter Sugar Baby Team

Most parents come on “Dr. Phil” to set their kids straight. But this mom is here to embrace her daughter’s risqué lifestyle. In fact, she says she learned everything she knows about being a sugar baby from her daughter, Rylee. Sure, they’re both adults and can consent to getting paid for dates if they want to. But after admitting to visiting clients as a mommy-daughter duo, things get a bit icky. They share their do’s and don’ts with Dr. Phil, and it’s clear they mean business. So while we tip our hats to these women getting their bills paid, it’s still a strange line of work for them to participate in together.

#24: Bailey With No Boundaries

It’s a love story of the modern age. Bailey is in love with Jasmine, only they’ve never actually met. And Jasmine is most certainly not in love with Bailey. The two exchanged a number of messages over social media, and Jasmine lets her know the relationship isn’t real. But Bailey reads into her tweets, evening driving out to see her. Dr. Phil is clearly enraged with this guest, checking her for implying he’d rigged the segment against her—going as far to bring out a producer to take his side. Ultimately, he shuts the segment down when she becomes too melodramatic, despite that seemingly being the whole purpose of his series.

#23: Dick Masterson

A man who truly lives up to his name, Dick is an over-the-top, chauvinistic, misogynist. It’s unclear why he was afforded a platform on Dr. Phil, but his vignette is full of insults against women, comparisons of females to dogs, and even references to Hitler. Unsurprisingly, he’s shredded by the audience. It’s a shocking segment, likely ragebait on the producers’ part. Worst of all, this kind of incel has always existed and still exists in spades today. It’s clear Dick believes what he’s saying—or so it seems. On a 2023 podcast, he claims he was just trolling, but it’s obvious he takes pride in being the Andrew Tate blueprint. So even if no harm was meant, harm was certainly done.

#22: The Infamous OctomomNadya Suleman gained international notoriety in 2009 when she gave birth to the first surviving set of octuplets. Adding 8 children to a family of 6 was scrutinized by doctors and everyday people alike, who felt these IVF treatments were unethical. She was a single mom with no steady income, but took to multiple shows, including “Dr. Phil,” to clear her name. Dr. Phil was all over this story, even calling medical professionals to the stage to debate whether Octomom or her doctors were acting in good faith. Years later, Nadya came back to the show to admit that she should have never become pregnant with 8 kids, and insists she didn’t even mean to. But the menacing music under her monologue indicates that the producers aren’t quite buying her story.#21: Mother God Herself

If we accept that a number of Dr. Phil segments feature over-acting guests only looking for national attention, then this case is the furthest from that. The Love Has Won cult’s leader actually Skyped into “Dr. Phil” in 2020. Amy Carlson, who referred to herself as Mother God, defended the actions of her new religious movement, insisting she had supernatural insights beyond our understanding. In a bizarre move, her family had actually summoned her there to have Dr. Phil de-program her. But it was obvious she was too far gone. In 2021, police investigated the cult for the abuse of its members. Instead, they found Amy’s mummified corpse. After taking colloidal silver as a cure-all for various ailments, Amy quite literally turned blue and passed away. Her story was the subject of an HBO documentary, and remains one of the darkest Dr. Phil segments of all time.

#20: Amy & Samy from “Kitchen Nightmares”

Let’s begin with a nice crossover between “Dr. Phil” and “Kitchen Nightmares.” Amy and Samy first appeared on the latter series and were met with fierce backlash regarding the way they handled criticism. It was also the first time that Gordon walked away from a restaurant, realizing that there was nothing he could do to change the attitude of its owners. Amy and Samy later appeared on “Dr. Phil” to defend themselves, but it mostly boiled down to Samy yelling at people, and the couple basically saying they weren’t the only restaurant owners who act in a belligerent fashion. We think they were trying to clear their names... but they only made the situation worse.

#19: Pastor Thom & His 19-Year-Old Pregnant Girlfriend

Thom is a 61-year-old pastor who’s married to two women, one of whom - Reba - is 19 years old, pregnant and has known Thom since she was a child. Thom’s other wife, Belinda, claims that she and Thom had wanted a polygamous marriage for a long time and that she was elated when Reba was married into the family. She also states that she doesn’t intrude on their relationship and that Thom alternates his nights with Reba and Belinda. While the situation seems to be working for this throuple, Phil doesn’t hold back, saying that their sexual relationship “creeps a lot of people out.” We’ll let you decide for yourselves.

#18: The Digital Kidnapper

April and Nathan are parents of 4-year-old twins confronting a woman named Ashley who stole photos of their daughters off Facebook and passed them off as her own children online. Taking the deception even further, Ashley has concocted an elaborate story regarding her “children,” has framed photos of the girls in her house, and has a fabricated story to go along with every single stolen picture. Ashley, of course, denies everything, despite very clear evidence to the contrary.

#17: Eating Disorder on Full Display

“Dr. Phil” has sometimes been questioned for its ethics; is it okay to show interviews of troubled individuals to an impressionable viewer? In this episode, Jordan, who struggles with anorexia, speaks to Dr. Phil about wanting to lose more weight. Jordan admits that she loves the attention she receives from her clearly distraught parents and the shocked expressions her appearance elicits when she passes people on the street. Ultimately, it’s sad to see someone enduring such obvious mental health issues, but hopefully her struggle with an eating disorder can educate others and inspire sufferers to seek help for themselves.

#16: The Woman Who Is “1,000% Certain” of a Three-Year Pregnancy

Most pregnancies last 40 weeks. Zona’s alleged pregnancy has been going on for over 170. Or so she says. 40-year-old Zona appeared on “Dr. Phil” claiming to have been pregnant for three years and seven months, despite having her tubes tied at twenty. And, like any expectant mother, Zona has visited doctors, all of whom could not find a baby. Zona chalks this up to their ultrasounds having too many megahertz. And, despite Zona feeling movement and heartbeats, the OB-GYN “Dr. Phil” hired to study her said that Zona’s anatomy is normal and that there was nothing in her uterus. We don’t know what’s going on here, but it’s certainly not a baby.

#15: Woman Is Being ‘Poisoned’ By Her Husband

If you thought this list couldn’t get any more tragic, think again. A woman named Pat believes that her husband Mira is poisoning her to keep her sedated so he can assault their daughters. As proof, she shows “needle marks,” which are nothing more than regular skin bumps. She’s so paranoid that she sleeps on the floor of her daughters’ bedrooms, barricades the doors, and wears a softball helmet to protect herself. Mira claims that she has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and has been committed in the past. It’s a horrible story of a family being torn apart by mental illness, and it makes for devastating television.

#14: The 756-Pound Man

Because Robert hadn’t weighed himself in five years, Phil brought in an industrial scale and discovered that he weighed an unbelievable 756 pounds. Robert’s daily life was as difficult as you would expect. He desperately wanted to be active and was tired of feeling lonely and trapped. Robert was sent to Wellspring Academy and lost 260 pounds, although he had unfortunately gained it back by 2015. You can follow Robert’s renewed progress and life through his YouTube channel ragingrobert, which is still active as of May 2020.In 2021, he passed away from COVID at age 32.

#13: Racist Against Her Own Race

This segment bears a scary resemblance to the B.A.N. episode of “Atlanta,” and it’s so bizarre and surreal that it could easily be taken for satire. The guest is Treasure, and she believes that she is white. She spouts tons of disgusting racist language toward black people and has the KKK’s number on speed dial. Her ignorant attitude and racist views do not improve when we follow her onto the street, either. Shocking and strange, this interview is difficult to sit through.

#11: The Teen Who Killed Her Own Mom

It’s not often that Dr. Phil interviews somebody this troubled. For this special episode, Phil interviewed Rachel Hutson, a teenager who murdered her sick mother. Rachel explains that her mother was not well, having suffered multiple heart attacks and kidney failure, and that she wanted to end both of their lives to relieve her family of their burden. After killing her mother, she sent a photo to her disbelieving father, who repeatedly asked to speak to his wife. It’s a heavier story than “Dr. Phil’s” typical brand, and it leaves a dreadful, lasting impression.

#10: Danielle Bregoli

You have to be pretty darned memorable on this program to become a meme. Danielle Bregoli, now known as the rapper Bhad Bhabie, both stunned and entertained the world when she appeared on “Dr. Phil”; and her signature catchphrase, “cash me outside, how ‘bout dah?” instantly became a cultural sensation. But while that was funny and all, the then-13-year-old Bregoli was still a very scary and shocking guest. She openly admitted to stealing credit cards and vehicles, laughed while describing instances of physical violence towards her mother, and threatened to fight both her mother and the audience. In June 2020, at the age of 17, Danielle successfully completed a 30-day rehab program, proving that the road to recovery is a long one.

#9: Tyler Perry’s “Wife”

A woman by the name of Karla appeared on “Dr. Phil” claiming to be Tyler Perry’s wife, only, you know… she isn’t. According to her, "Perry" messaged her on Facebook and they instantly became friends. Once “Tyler” “proposed” (over the Internet), he asked for money for his various “charities,” and Karla sent him $100,000, leaving her flat broke. Her daughters rightfully assumed that it was all a scam, but Karla wasn’t having any of it. She also believed herself to be the mother of Perry’s real son (somehow...) It’s a sad and upsetting story combining the worst aspects of celebrity worship and gullibility.

#8: Peyton's Racist Father

A lot of things can tear a family apart, including racism. Guest Peyton’s dad is a member of the KKK, who served nine years in prison for manufacturing bombs to blow up an abortion clinic. He also refuses to acknowledge his grandson, Peyton’s child, because he is half-black. According to Peyton, her father has called her child a slew of derogatory terms. In his words, his grandson is not human, because he’s not 100% white; and because he isn’t human, he couldn’t possibly be his grandson. It’s a sickening, heartbreaking story, and one of “Dr. Phil’s” most challenging to watch.

#7: Makenze & Her Family

Nine-year-old Makenze is a hard child to manage, as seen in home videos of her toppling furniture, screaming, and attempting to bite her mother. Her mother also claims that she has punched her brother in the face, thrown scissors at a teacher, and attempted to topple her cousin’s crib. She also relays a horrific story of the time Makenze stood in traffic, hoping to die. Her ongoing treatment, including heavy doses of pharmaceuticals, isn’t any comfort or help. Worse still, she likely suffers abuse from her father. It’s tragic story, depicting a violent home life.

#6: Tanya Ramirez

Now here’s a story for the ages. A 29-year-old teacher by the name of Tanya Ramirez gave her phone number to a 17-year-old student. This student then appeared at her doorstep one night and they slept together; and the student filmed the encounter with his phone. He then distributed the video to his friends, and it soon spread throughout the school, leading to Ramirez’s termination and a second-degree felony charge. She, in turn, sued the student and his mother for defamation. To make matters worse, the student’s mother called the footage “not that good,” implying that she, you know, watched her son’s video. You can’t make stuff like this up.

#5: Patricia

A woman by the name of Patricia claimed to have had stage three cancer; and according to Patricia’s daughter, she told her story on a local news channel to receive attention and collect possible donations. Patricia then told Phil that she had had brain cancer, had numerous tumors removed, and that her entire face was detached for the procedure. And while she did, in fact, have some form of brain surgery, her medical records disprove almost everything else she said. According to Patricia’s daughter, she “made the story up after her husband died.”

#4: Aneska

Here’s another awful story, featuring 12-year-old Aneska. According to her parents, Aneska is out of control, to put it mildly. How so? Well, she chases her siblings with knives, attacks her sister, and sets fire to comforters. They also say that she once killed a family pet and crushed a baby bird after finding a nest. According to Aneska, the voices in her head told her to do it. This is, by any standard, a terribly sad and disturbing case, and Aneska is easily one of Dr. Phil’s most troubled guests.

#3: Burke Ramsey

In 1996, child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was murdered in her house. The case remains unsolved; and after twenty years, her brother Burke broke his silence and granted an exclusive interview to Dr. Phil. Some people took issue with it. Many viewers noted Burke’s awkward and fidgety demeanor, and found him unsettlingly unreliable. This forced Dr. Phil to defend Burke on his show, claiming that Burke was just nervous. Burke is a shocking guest not only because of his emergence after twenty years with a horrific account of the night his sister was killed, but because his appearance caused so much controversy and discussion in the media.

#2: Niki

In this episode, we watch as a woman with substance use disorder is chastised by her family. Sadly, Niki is eight months pregnant and heavily involved with opiates. When Niki was very close to having a baby, she lived in a van and dabbled in sex work so she could buy herself and her boyfriend heroin. She also admitted to overdosing when she was seven months pregnant; and that she prioritizes these substances over her baby. However, Niki returned to the show 13-months sober, seeming to be firmly on the road to recovery.

#1: Zachary Davis

It’s not often that a convicted murderer gives an interview to Dr. Phil, but here you go. In 2012, teenager Zachary Davis killed his own mother with a sledgehammer. Dr. Phil interviewed him two months before his trial, one which eventually led to a life sentence for Davis. And this was easily the creepiest and most shocking interview in “Dr. Phil” history. Davis detailed why and how he murdered his mother, and throughout the interview, he simply stares at the Dr. with emotionless eyes and speaks in an unnerving, Jigsaw-esque monotone voice. The interview is full of tension and horrific content, and we can barely stand to watch it.

Which of these guests rattled you the most? Leave your comments below.