Dr. Oz, Amid Senate Run, Called Too 'Hollywood' After Walk of Fame Star
A super PAC opposing Dr. Mehmet Oz in his U.S. Senate run is calling him too "Hollywood" as the cardiologist receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday.
The PAC's new ad, airing throughout Pennsylvania claims that the Republican hopeful "might be right for Hollywood, but he's wrong for Pennsylvania." The ad comes after Oz performed poorly in straw polls that tested his odds in the primary.
It is not the only ad funded by PACs to question Oz's suitability for office. The Associated Press reported that another ad is being aired that calls him a "Hollywood liberal."
The ads follow comments by fellow senatorial candidates George Bochetto and Jeff Bartos' comments criticizing candidates such as Oz for not being what they considered true Pennsylvanians. While not addressing the doctor by name, their targets in their statements were clear.
"I want to say clearly for all the other people running out there who are just getting to Pennsylvania for the first time, just visiting places for the first time," Bochetto said, "you cannot save Main Street if you don't even know how to find it."
In a similar manner, Bartos said that some of his competition is "living in mansions overlooking Manhattan, on the Gold Coast of Connecticut or in a foreign country" while he and other candidates were helping working-class citizens in the state.
The ads are airing at a time when the celebrity doctor is receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Oz has won 10 Daytime Emmy Awards for his daytime talk show, The Dr. Oz Show, which was a spin-off of his correspondent work on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The final episode of Oz's show aired on January 14 as he shifts his focus on the campaign.
Three straw polls were conducted in January that tested each Senate candidate's campaign leading up to the Republican primary. In one, Oz received only one vote out of more than 100. He placed third and fourth in the two other polls.
The crowded Pennsylvania race includes Bochetto, Bartos, Kathy Barnette, Sean Gale, Robert "Bobby" Jeffries, David McCormick, Carla Sands, Everett Stern and David Xu.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony honoring Oz will begin at 11:30 a.m. PT.
Update 2/11/2022, 10:07 a.m. ET: This story has been updated to include previous comments from George Bochetto and Jeff Bartos, as well as background information
