Distorted View? ABC Under Fire For Jenny McCarthy Hire, Critics Citing Her Vaccination Views
Jul. 18 2013, Published 10:54 a.m. ET
Jenny McCarthy's new gig with The View isn't coming without a little controversy.
ABC's high-profile hire of the Chicago native, who burst on the scene two decades ago as in Playboy's Miss October 1993, has rankled a number of viewers upset with the beauty for her controversial comments attributing her son's 2005 autism diagnosis to him having received vaccinations as a baby.
“Jenny has used her celebrity status to publicize medical claims that have not been proven by the literature," Dr. Shilpi Agarwal M.D. told FOX411. "While it is understandable that she has her own views on immunizations given her child, she is going to be in front of impressionable young mothers and influencing their decision on immunizations and child care.
"Multiple studies have shown that there is no link between childhood immunizations and autism, but she continues to publicize the grave ‘dangers’ of vaccinations. While Jenny cannot deliver direct medical advice, she is definitely influencing many young mothers as to what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ in terms of child care and immunizations. I suspect she will get a lot of pushback, which may be exactly what a show like The View wants.”
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Experts such as Dan Gainor, the VP of Business & Culture at the Media Research Center, said ABC's morning powerhouse likely didn't anticipate the blowback of inking the outspoken 40-year-old.
“This is the kind of move that means The View will reinforce its nuttiness, not allow debate," Gainor told Fox. "Her vaccine views alone mean that people should turn off the show. There’s good controversy and bad.
"In her MTV days, Jenny McCarthy was fun and funny -- but The View gets the good with the bad, and the bad in this case is far worse.”