Dr Laura SAID WHAT?????

[Allison]

I can't remember exactly but I think she didn't work when her only child was little.

She was doing radio.

 

[GreatLakes]

Depending on the state it might not even matter if the wife is on the title. I had my house before I got married and when I went to add my wife to the title our attorney friend said don't bother. It makes no material difference in our state.

 

[ronandannette]

She's definitely a hypocrite. She took up with her second husband while both of them were married to other people--she later left her husband and he his wife and children so they could be together. Plus there was at least one other affair in that same period, the one with the guy who took the nude photos. Nobody could say she hasn't led an interesting life...

That is morbidly interesting - like I said, it’s been a very long time since she’s been on my radar. I didn’t know she was even still doing radio. 10 or so years ago she flamed-out spectacularly in a Roseanne’esque type of scandal, lost her syndication deal and left our local airwaves. Prior to that there was some big kefuffle about her disavowing Judiasiam, to which she had very publically converted and which was supposedly the basis for her moral indictments.

 

[Hrhpd]

She's got to be pretty old now - in her 70's at least. I can't remember exactly but I think she didn't work when her only child was little. I read a biography, oh maybe even 20 or so years ago? Some of her opinions are cringe-worthy and certainly provocative but I'm not sure she's a hypocrite; meaning she may have lived exactly like she spouts off about. As for being shocked by her advice, I'm not sure why someone would listen to her show, much less call in if they didn't already have some expectation of what she would say.

She absolutely is a hypocrite.

She did have her radio show while her son was young. And a short lived TV show that was cancelled after the ratings were abysmal.

AND, she regularly shames women for living outside of marriage. Yet, she lived with her married boyfriend for 9 years before they got married.

Her father was Jewish and apparently was raised Jewish. She announced she was practicing Orthodox Judaism. Later she announced she was not Orthodox but was still Jewish.

Her book "The Care and Feeding of Husbands" is absolutely cringe worthy and would shock even wives of the 1950's.

(I had a group of friends really into her during the 80's, so heard a ton about her. I did buy the book and promptly threw it away when I started reading it. I then did my research so I could present facts when my friends asked why I didn't like her and tried to persuade me how great she was. If they wanted to be fans, so be it. But they weren't going to suck me in. )

 

[L&Lfan]

She's 71. I used to listen to her back in the 80s/90s when our area radio carried her. I didn't know she was still on. I used to listen to Sally Jessy Raphael too back before she had her TV show. I never imagined her to look as she did when I finally saw her. I thought she and Dr Laura gave pretty good advice at the time.

 

[Floridaman999]

I used to listen to her way back in the day on a local talk radio station that had her show on syndication. I don't remember her being so hard core back then but I probably wasn't listening closely enough.

 

[BrianL]

One thing everyone should remember is that like most of the radio personalities, she is sort of playing a character. She is deliberately saying extreme things to get attention and get people talking. It's obviously working and exactly how she makes her money. I'm not trying to criticize that business model or the people who listen - it's all entertainment - it's just easy to forget sometimes when the entertainment is positioned as informational. It's just typical radio shenanigans.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I heard that a recent Dr. Laura podcast was kind of disturbing. ( I did not hear it). The caller, a stay at home mom, has a husband who controls their finances. They bought a new home and he didn't put her name on the house. Reason: after you lose 40 lbs, I will put your name on the house.

UHHHHH WHAT? No wait, IT GETS WORSE.

Dr Laura's response: I certainly support him doing it and I’m not sure if it’s legal. You made vows and now you have changed in a big way. He doesn't like the changes and so you need to lose the weight or you lose out on your legal rights to the new house.

Does anyone listen to Dr Laura? Did this really happen? I’m hoping it’s one of those urban legend kind of stories.

I heard of her and he show was probably on in some waiting rooms I've been in years ago. But other than that, I didn't listen. I had no idea she was still on the air. I would not be surprised if it happened. That is her MO.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

She absolutely is a hypocrite.

She did have her radio show while her son was young. And a short lived TV show that was cancelled after the ratings were abysmal.

AND, she regularly shames women for living outside of marriage. Yet, she lived with her married boyfriend for 9 years before they got married.

Her father was Jewish and apparently was raised Jewish. She announced she was practicing Orthodox Judaism. Later she announced she was not Orthodox but was still Jewish.

Her book "The Care and Feeding of Husbands" is absolutely cringe worthy and would shock even wives of the 1950's.

(I had a group of friends really into her during the 80's, so heard a ton about her. I did buy the book and promptly threw it away when I started reading it. I then did my research so I could present facts when my friends asked why I didn't like her and tried to persuade me how great she was. If they wanted to be fans, so be it. But they weren't going to suck me in. )

It's only not ok to do all that stuff if you are not a member of the sanctimony brigade.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I sometimes listened to her years ago. She was entertaining.

I noticed (and was surprised) she was still on the air recently when I was channel surfing on Sirius.

I read her book, The Ten Stupid Things That Women Do To Mess Up Their Lives back when it was on The NY Times Bestseller List (in 1995). Like many things I read, I took what she said with a grain of salt. But I think she had some good points, as well.

Here was a review of Dr. Laura from 1995:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...fa61676/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.dfeaef6622c9

ETA: "The Dr. Laura Schlessinger Show" is pure psychotainment -- a lively melange of phone calls, sermonettes, pop tune snippets and fusillades of the host's razor-sharp humor, sometimes at the callers' expense. "Yes, I'm a little wacky," she says, sounding an awful lot like Dana Carvey's Church Lady. But pat explanations of the show's success are elusive. There's the thrill of eavesdropping on other people's personal problems. There's her uncanny ability to zoom in to the heart of the callers' concerns in what seems like seconds. But it's the conflict between Dr. Laura and the callers that makes the show so electric. Each call is a drama in miniature: Dr. Laura vs. an amoral universe. You sit back and wait for her to pounce.

"I think she's self-righteous sometimes," says listener Ruth Fried, a retired secretary from West Hills, Calif. "It's like, I'm the genius psychologist and you're so lucky to be talking to me. Can't you see that I'm right?' . . . I think her stock and trade is sarcasm. It gets attention. The only person who doesn't get a laugh is the caller."

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Also, from the article above, to her credentials:

"Her credentials are substantial -- a PhD in physiology from Columbia (that's where the Dr.' comes from) and a postdoctoral certification in marriage and family therapy from USC. Before becoming a bona fide radio celebrity, she worked as a college professor and licensed marriage and family counselor in Southern California.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Remember, this is the woman who in 2010 quit her radio show after a 5-minute rant where she used the N-word 11 times.

https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/dr-laura-schlessinger-quits-radio-word-flap/story?id=11424039

That was 8 years ago.

I mean, I'm not sure how anybody is shocked about anything she says.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

One of her books:

• Stop Whining, Start Living. Harper. 2008. p. 208. ISBN 978-0-06-083833-1.

But you spent a good five minutes whining about how you aren't allowed to use a racial slur? Physician, heal thyself!

 

[Micca]

If a person calls in I'm going to assume they are a fan of hers

You might also consider that the call was a set up to stir the pot.

 

[Kitty 34]

You might also consider that the call was a set up to stir the pot.

Kinda of like what we call trolls around these parts!! (Not you, op!)

 

[Colleen27]

She's a shock jock, no better or worse than Howard Stern just with a different gimmick. There is very little she could say that would surprise me (though I am surprised that she's still on the air - I haven't heard anything about her in so long that I just sort of assumed she'd retired or died).

 

[Poohforyou]

A couple months ago I was listening to her on a road trip. I was shocked to hear her say that feminism and working women are to blame for the breakdown of the family.

Except.... she’s a working woman, a working mom, too. And it ignores the economic realities of today.

Or the fact that women are free thinking adults who have every right to work outside the home if they choose, regardless if there's a financial need or not.

 

[Suger Mag]

She's definitely a hypocrite. She took up with her second husband while both of them were married to other people--she later left her husband and he his wife and children so they could be together. Plus there was at least one other affair in that same period, the one with the guy who took the nude photos. Nobody could say she hasn't led an interesting life...

i don't think I would ever take marriage advice from someone who has been twice divorced, it is like taking budgeting advice from someone who has filed for bankruptcy twice...

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

That is horrible and ridiculous. I don't know the laws in all states, but I know that in my state all assets and debts acquired during a marriage belong to both spouses equally, regardless of whose name is on the title. I am in the process of divorcing a man who could be weirdly controlling and just plain mean like that though. He would not allow me to put my name on any assets: the house, the vehicles, retirement accounts, savings accounts, etc. Legally all these assets are half mine, but now I have to pay a lawyer to access them because they're not in my name. Some people just enjoy bullying others I guess, Dr. Laura included.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

That is horrible and ridiculous. I don't know the laws in all states, but I know that in my state all assets and debts acquired during a marriage belong to both spouses equally, regardless of whose name is on the title. I am in the process of divorcing a man who could be weirdly controlling and just plain mean like that though. He would not allow me to put my name on any assets: the house, the vehicles, retirement accounts, savings accounts, etc. Legally all these assets are half mine, but now I have to pay a lawyer to access them because they're not in my name. Some people just enjoy bullying others I guess, Dr. Laura included.

A lot of people think because divorce decrees declare you pay off debts 50-50 that they're only responsible for their half. He may have to pay A, B, And C, and you Z, Y, and X. However, A, B, and C can still come after you if he doesn't pay. So make sure as many debts as possible are paid even if the house has to be sold. And make sure any of those credit cards are closed to new activity.