Dr Phil defends Shelley Duvall's controversial interview

Dr Phil McGraw has weighed in on his 2016 interview with Shelley Duvall, which raised many eyebrows.

During an interview with CNN Who’s Talking To Chris Wallace, 72-year-old defended his approach in the controversial interview where the Popeye actor revealed that she had a mental illness.

“I don't regret what I did," adding, "I regret that it was promoted in a way that people thought was unbecoming."

The talk-show host added, "There are parts of that story that I haven't talked about and won't talk about in specific, but I can say generally that we worked with her family [and] with her for over a year off camera, after the fact, providing her opportunities for inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care. I can't tell you the extent we went through."

McGraw also slammed viewers for their criticism following the interview.

"And the people that were critical of it, nobody ever asked them what they ever did to try and help her," he continued. "And the answer is not a damn thing."