Dr. Drew Pinsky apologizes for damaging coronavirus comments, says he ‘got it wrong’

Dr. Drew Pinsky visits the SiriusXM Hollywood Studio on February 27, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.
Dr. Drew Pinsky visits the SiriusXM Hollywood Studio on February 27, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.(Rich Fury/Getty Images)

Maybe we should get a second opinion!
Celebrity addiction specialist Drew Pinsky called the coronavirus pandemic a “press-induced panic” a few weeks ago.
Now – after more than 10,500 people have died – he’s had a change of heart.
Pinsky is sorry for a series of medically unsound statements that surfaced in a recent video where he downplayed the devastating deadly disease also known as COVID-19.
“I wish I had gotten it right, but I got it wrong,” Pinsky said in a video posted over the weekend.
The former “Lifechangers” star’s apology came after a viral mashup video — featuring clips from a series of appearances, he made over a two-month period — caught fire online.
The video collects clips of Pinsky on his digital show “Ask Dr. Drew,” his podcast “Dr. Drew After Dark” and other media appearances. Like other influential media figures (President Donald Trump included), he repeatedly suggested the coronavirus would be not as bad as the flu, even at one point saying the probability of dying of coronavirus was less than being hit by an asteroid.
During a March 2 appearance on KTLA-TV, the Pasadena-born doctor said he was upset about the “press-induced panic” caused by the disease.
Later in the month, he criticized New York City government officials for cautioning residents to avoid riding the subway system to “flatten the curve.”
“So I am,” Pinsky scoffed. “It’s just ridiculous.”

In his apology, the University of Southern California alum owned up to being a “part of a chorus” that was equating coronavirus to the flu.

He said he didn’t understand the impact of the illness and had been primarily looking at the number of influenza cases.

Pinksy added that in most of his appearances he did direct viewers toward the guidance of Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Centers for Disease Control.

Last presidential election cycle, his reckless ranting cost him his HLN cable news gig after he speculated that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton might be seriously ill in 2016.

If he survives this latest form of medical-opinionated malpractice, his show should be renamed “Don’t Ask Dr. Drew.”

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