Dr. Phil McGraw is being sued by a former employee after being accused of false imprisonment, according to Business Insider.
The former employee of the Dr. Phil show, Leah Rothman, filed a lawsuit that claims McGraw locked her and 300 other employees into an office and held them in the room with the help of security guards to find out who was leaking stories to the media, according to reports.
Rothman claims McGraw said he had contacted the federal authorities because the information had crossed state lines; she also claims McGraw used profanity during the meeting, saying, “If you f*ck with me, I’ll f*ck with you.”
The former Dr. Phil employee said during the meeting she was “experiencing emotional distress from the verbal assault of Dr. Phil, which was magnified by the confined space.” Rothman also stated in the filing McGraw and upper management had already knew who the leak was, but they wanted to send a message with the meeting. Head of productions allegedly told Rothman that McGraw “got joy out of the process and in scaring his employees.”
Rothman said that “she suffered emotionally after the meeting, and had to quit her job. She says that amounted to ‘constructive termination.’”
