ICYMI: ‘Doc Hollywood’: In A Twist, Democrats Attack A Senate Candidate, Mehmet Oz, For His Showbiz Ties [Deadline]

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Oz: “The glint of that star that Hollywood star, reflects the divine spark.”

Deadline: ‘Doc Hollywood’: In A Twist, Democrats Attack A Senate Candidate, Mehmet Oz, For His Showbiz Ties

By Ted Johnson

August 7, 2022

Key Points:

• In a recent ad spot from John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor running for an open U.S. Senate seat, he attacked his rival, Mehmet Oz, as “not one of us” and part of the wealthy entertainment elite.

• “Hey, Doc Hollywood, save your money, Pennsylvania is not for sale,” Fetterman said in the spot, as video ran of Oz, the longtime syndicated daytime TV host, kissing his star on the Walk of Fame.

• Oz also has relished the limelight, serving as Grand Marshall of the Hollywood Christmas Parade, attending red carpet events and Daytime Emmy Awards, for which he personally has won three times for hosting and the show four times as outstanding talk show.

• Even after announcing his Senate run, Oz appeared on the Wall of Fame for a ceremony in February to unveil his star, or which recipients are responsible for a $50,000 sponsorship fee.

• At the event, Oz connected the Walk of Fame ceremony itself to his Pennsylvania campaign. He told TMZ, “I think that our state is a wonderful microcosm of the entire country, that you actually have to get people on both sides of the aisle to talk to each other. That’s why I kept talking about the fact that, the glint of that star that Hollywood star, reflects the divine spark, the divinity in our eyes.”

• His chief rival for the Republican nomination, David McCormick, took note, as his campaign attacked Oz for spending “his life putting Fame and Hollywood First.” A McCormick-affiliated PAC already had been up with a spot pegging Oz as a “Hollywood liberal.” “Dr. Oz may be right for Hollywood, but he’s wrong for Pennsylvania.”

• “The juxtaposition of Fetterman as someone who was born in the state, went to school in the state, was a mayor in the state, against an opponent who has lived in New Jersey and has come [into the public eye] through television — the connection to Hollywood is pretty potent,” said Christopher Borick, professor of political science at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA.

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