Dr Phil sues televangelist network for 'sabotaging' his bankrupt media company

Daytime talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw's startup right-wing cable network is declaring bankruptcy — and he's suing a prominent televangelist broadcast network he had partnered with to get it set up.

According to Variety, "Merit Street filed for bankruptcy and the related lawsuit naming TBN as a defendant with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Texas on Wednesday (July 2). The complaint alleges that TBN, which was Merit Street’s broadcast partner, reneged on its obligations and instead 'abused its position as the controlling shareholder.' As a result, Merit Street claims in the lawsuit, it was forced to 'pay or incur obligations to third parties in excess of $100 million.'"

According to the lawsuit, TBN was contractually responsible for handling distribution payments, but did not follow through with them, resulting in Merit Street losing its distribution. "As a result of TBN’s conduct, Merit Street has nowhere to send its broadcast signal and nowhere to air its programming no matter how great it may be," said the lawsuit. The complaint also says that TBN "provided screens and teleprompters that blacked out during live shows, an incomplete control room operating out of a truck, an unusable cell phone app for viewers, and amateur video editing software."

“These failures by TBN were neither unintended nor inadvertent," the suit continued. "They were a conscious, intentional pattern of choices made with full awareness that the consequence of which was to sabotage and seal the fate of a new but already nationally acclaimed network.”

Merit Street was part of Dr. Phil's push to enter more of a political commentary sphere.

In recent months, he has also generated controversy for his ride-alongs with the Trump administration's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, even being present for the raids in Los Angeles that sparked intense protests and prompted Trump to send in the military to put them down.