Dr. Drew Pinsky is using copyright claims to remove a video compilation of his past comments in which he downplays the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic, acccording to HuffPost contributor Yashar Ali.
On social media, Pinsky’s critics have shared a video containing multiple clips of the media personality saying that fears of COVID-19 were overblown. The clips were taken from Pinsky’s podcast and media appearances in February and early March, including an appearance on KTLA News in Los Angeles on March 2, when he called it a “press-induced panic.”
The video went viral after it was shared by Ali, who noted that the original video on YouTube has been taken down after Pinsky’s company issued a copyright claim.
Dr. Drew is a snake oil salesman. Really terrible stuff here. What a disgrace. pic.twitter.com/Eh35Ky8yVO
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 4, 2020
2. @DroopsDr put together a longer compilation of Dr. Drew/Coronavirus clips.
Well guess what he did…he had the compilation taken down based on his copyright. Does he have the right, of course.
But what are you trying to hide @drdrew? pic.twitter.com/Gq1nbAeWIv
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 4, 2020
Representatives for Pinsky and YouTube did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s requests for comment.
On Saturday, Pinsky released a video on social media apologizing for his previous comments, which included a claim that one’s chances of dying of the coronavirus are worse than being “hit by an asteroid.” He said that he made a mistake in comparing COVID-19 to the flu without looking at the severity of the disease.
“My early comments about equating coronavirus with influenza were wrong. They were incorrect. I was part of a chorus that was saying that. And we were wrong. And I want to apologize for that,” he said.
“I did not, thank goodness, get Dr. [Anthony] Fauci wrong, and when he made it clear that this was not a usual influenza, that it was significantly worse, I adjusted course. And if you notice, I’ve been doing about two hours of media today backing, changing my perspective in such a way to sign on for the aggressive measures we are taking.”
To date, over 67,000 deaths — roughly 9,100 in the U.S. — related to coronavirus have been reported with 1.25 million confirmed cases.