A prescription to preach. Dr. Mehmet Oz addressed the group of doctors who are calling for him to resign from Columbia University while taping his namesake show on Tuesday, April 21.
A preview from the episode of The Dr. Oz Show, slated to air on Thursday, was released by show producers on Tuesday night.
"This month, we celebrate my one thousandth show," Oz, 54, says in the clip. "I know I've irritated some potential allies in our quest to make America healthy. No matter our disagreements, freedom of speech is the most fundamental right we have as Americans. And these 10 doctors are trying to silence that right."
His opponents wrote a letter to Columbia University last week, challenging whether Oz — a cardiothoracic surgeon who holds a vice chair spot at the school — should be a member of the faculty.
"We are surprised and dismayed that Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons would permit Dr. Mehmet Oz to occupy a faculty appointment, let alone a senior administrative position in the Department of Surgery," the group's letter read. "As described here and here, as well as in other publications, Dr. Oz has repeatedly shown disdain for science and for evidence-based medicine, as well as baseless and relentless opposition to the genetic engineering of food crops. Worst of all, he has manifested an egregious lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain."
A spokesperson for the Dr. Oz Show told CNN Money that two thirds of the episode on Thursday will be devoted to rebutting the doctors' claims.
In the preview on Thursday, he concluded: "So I vow to you right here and right now: we will not be silenced, we will not give in."
