Jenny McCarthy, the latest addition to talk show the View, has a surprising new foe: Toronto's Public Health department.
The department went after the actor because of her opposition to childhood vaccines which she claims can cause autism and other disabilities. Her claims have been disproven by the scientific community.
Toronto Public Health went after the actress in a series of tweets on Monday.
“I just want to say to The View that we hope they will ensure that accurate scientific information about vaccination is provided if immunization is discussed on the show,” Toronto Public Health's assistant medical officer Dr. Barbara Yaffe told reporters at a press conference on Monday.
Toronto Public Health is far from alone in slamming the View and Jenny McCarthy. Reporters from the New Yorker, Salon and The Guardian all decried her new post.
The New Yorker's Michael Specter was particularly pointed in his criticism:
..Executives at ABC should be ashamed of themselves for offering McCarthy a regular platform on which she can peddle denialism and fear to the parents of young children who may have legitimate questions about vaccine safety. Presumably, those executives have decided that the revenues Jenny McCarthy might generate are worth more than the truth. That's their right. But it's a strike against reason and progress and hope. That is a cost that the network won't be able to afford for long, and neither will the rest of us.
Toronto Public Health's attack on McCarthy wasn't universally praised. Right-wing councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong slammed the body for overstepping its bounds.
"They clearly have too much time on their hands,” Minnan-Wong told the Toronto Star. He said that the department should focus on “health issues in the city of Toronto that need serious action and consideration rather than starting campaigns against American television programs.”
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