Dr. Phil McGraw confessed to being unhelpful to Britney Spears and has regretted the statement he made to the public after he visited the hospitalized pop star earlier this month.
"Was it helpful to the situation? Regrettably, no," McGraw tells the audience of his 'Dr. Phil Show.' "I definitely think if I had it to do over again, I probably wouldn't make any statement at all. Period."
The doctor/talk show went to the 26-year-old troubled singer's hospital bedside in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. after the family requested his intervention.
McGraw later gave a statement to Entertainment Tonight and said the Spears was in "dire need of both medical and psychological intervention."
This raised eyebrows not only from the Spears clan who felt betrayed by the doctor's failure to keep the case confidential but also from fellow peers who thought McGraw is milking the pop star's case.
McGraw had planned to devote an episode to Spears but discarded the idea as he said the situation was "too intense."
However, McGraw makes it clear that his statement is the only regrettable action he did, not his effort to help Spears.
He tells USA Today that his visit to Spears is not as a medical professional but as "a friend and ally of the family." McGraw is under fire for practicing when not licensed in California.
The TV doctor adds that given the situation, he would still make the same visit again. "How could you not?" he says.
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