Dr. Oz has some harsh words for the 10 doctors who have called for his ouster from Columbia University over allegations of lax ethics and "promoting quack science."
"You may have seen the headlines attacking me this week," Oz told viewers during a special segment of his show's 1,000th episode, which released previews earlier this week but officially aired Thursday. "The 10 doctors who attacked me got what they wanted -- sensational headlines and sound bytes."
Oz added that he considers his critics to be "mysterious" and characterized the attacks against him as "public shaming" and "bullying." The letter, sent last week, called for his removal from his vice chair position at Columbia Medical School's Department of Surgery, a role he's held for nearly 15 years.
"I've long believed doctors should never fight their battles --or each other -- in public," Oz added. "But I now believe I must."
His defense then quickly turned into a counterattack, lobbing questions about his critics' credentials. "The Dr. Oz Show" investigative reporter Elisabeth Leamy compiled dossiers on the 10 doctors for the episode, accusing several of them of having cozy ties to the GMO food industry. Oz, who has pushed for better GMO labeling for years, said that he never judged the industry itself but instead has fought for transparency.
The letter's signees include Dr. Henry Miller, of California's Stanford University, Dr. Joel Tepper, a cancer researcher from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and Dr. Gilbert Ross, of the American Council on Science and Health in New York City, the Associated Press reports.
Dr. Oz's colleague, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, weighed in on the media response to the criticism during the episode, calling it "sloppy and even dangerous journalism."
"They didn't do their background checks," Fuhrman added.
In addition to the special episode of his show responding to critics, Oz also penned an op-ed in Time Thursday.
"I don’t expect all of my colleagues to understand this marriage between conventional medicine and the broader definition of wellness that the show pursues," Oz wrote. "I expect and respect the criticism of colleagues who struggle with my approach and I try to improve the show accordingly."
Oz's office has not responded to The Huffington Post's request for comment.