The Controversial Dr. Phil Sex Tweet That Shocked the Internet

62-year-old talk show host Dr. Phil deleted a controversial tweet asking his 1.7 million followers if sex with a drunk woman is permissible on Tuesday.

"If a girl is drunk, is it OK to have sex with her?" Dr. Phil tweeted from his official account Tuesday evening.

(Screenshot provided by Daily Mail)

Immediately after sending the tweet, Twitter users reacted.

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/rascality/statuses/369955807062130688"]

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/AlexJamesFitz/status/369963883110608896"]

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/ThatKevinSmith/status/370211092166737920"]

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/samir/statuses/369966960001712128"]

Following the controversial tweet, a change.org petition was created asking Dr. Phil to immediately apologize.

"As a former college sexual assault activist who taught about rape and consent and friend to many survivors, I am shocked and appalled by this question," the petition's creator, Carmen Rios, said.

The petition had 1,273 signatures at the time of publication.

Stacey Luchs, senior vice president for publicity at CBS, told USA Today in a statement the tweet "was intended to evoke discussion leading into a very serious show topic" and added "it was a poll question, not a statement or a joke."

Luchs also appeared to indicate Dr. Phil did not personally craft and send out the tweet.

"[It was] not a personal post," she said. "Dr. Phil deleted it the second he saw it."

"We sincerely apologize that it suggested anything other than what was intended," Luchs concluded.

(H/T: Daily Mail)

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter

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