TV psychologist Dr. Phil has filed a lawsuit against the National Enquirer and its sister publications, asking the court to award him $250 million in damages,
Gossip Extra reports.
The suit, which names the Enquirer's parent company American Media Inc. as defendant, says AMI has harassed Dr. Phil McGraw and his wife, Robin, for years by portraying them in a negative light.
The complaint states that since February 27, 2003, a year after the debut of his highly successful show, "AMI has published in excess of 85 articles that are of and concerning Dr. and Mrs. McGraw, an average of over 6 articles per year," in an attempt to "misappropriate and capitalize on the McGraws' name" by falsely accusing him of being a phony and saying that he excessively drinks and that their marriage is in shambles.
AMI, which is based in Boca Raton, Florida, has not yet been served with the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that in 2013 McGraw and the newspaper signed a two-year agreement in which he would not sue if the Enquirer stopped writing allegations against him and his wife. However, that deal ended last year and the newspaper has resumed publishing stories about them.
McGraw has been involved in a number of controversies over the years, including some mental health professionals questioning his techniques.
The Wrap also wrote about behind-the-scenes turmoil on his show at the beginning of the last television season.
Despite the fact that McGraw reportedly makes $70 million a year on his No. 1 rated talk TV show, The Wrap reported that its production has suffered frequent layoffs and staff unrest.
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