Stephen Colbert took aim at Dr. Oz on Tuesday night’s “Late Show,” using his monologue to call the TV show host-turned-political candidate a “liar.”
Earlier in the day, Dr. Mehmet Oz declared his candidacy for Senate in Pennsylvania, running as a Republican. Colbert used the announcement news to rip the TV doc for the medical advice he’s shared on his show.
“Now before his run, Dr. Oz had a lucrative career as a liar peddling questionable advice on TV, like saying coffee bean pills can help treat weight loss, raspberry ketone will burn fat and astrological signs ‘may reveal a great deal about your health,’” Colbert said, highlighting on a video pop-up a Washington Post article with the headline, “Half of Dr. Oz’s medical advice is baseless or wrong, study says.”
Colbert finished his set-up with the punchline: “Sure, who doesn’t love it when your doctor says, ‘Mr. Johnson, you have cancer … as your star sign, which means an office friendship could turn to romance.’”
The “Late Show” host also called into question why Oz declared his candidacy in Pennsylvania.
“But Dr. Oz may not just have fake medical claims. He may have fake Pennsylvania claims because he’s running there despite living in New Jersey for years,” Colbert said. “And there’s a big difference between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Something to do with hoagies, I don’t know what it is, but they will murder you over it.”
As the Associated Press reported on Monday, Oz has lived in New Jersey for two decades, but voted in this year’s election by absentee ballot. AP did ask how Oz can run in Pennsylvania, but a campaign aide didn’t immediately respond to the news organization.
Watch Colbert’s full monologue above.