In Dr. Phil’s December 12, 2006 episode on hate crimes against the homeless,he brought Ty Beeson to the stage only to kick him off the show moments later after viewing footage from Beeson’s infamous “Bumfights” videos.
Later Dr.Phil invited Simone Gaynor to the stage. Simone, the sister of Norris Gaynor, the forty-five year-old homeless man beaten to death with baseball bats by three teenagers in 2006, described her brother as a compassionate and loving man who would want all to be treated with compassion.
Gaynor implored audience members and viewers to treat homeless people with dignity and respect, not as subhuman second-class citizens. She encouraged them to remember that homeless people have names, faces and people who love them. During the conversation, Dr. Phil revealed that at one point, he and his father were homeless.
He reminds audience members and viewers alike that many people are only one missed paycheck or one illness away from homelessness. Dr. Phil asked Simone what she thinks of the “Bumfights” videos. She responded, “This is not OK. It’s not OK for society to condone that anyone would be subjugated, that anyone would be labeled, that anyone would profit from other peoples, misfortunes.
Dr. Phil’s next guest was Sean Cononie, the founder of 14 social services programs for the homeless nationwide. Cononie said that there is indeed a direct correlation between the “Bumfights” videos and the rise in attacks against the homeless. At the end of the segment, Dr. Phil handed Sean a check for $25,000 in memory of Norris Gaynor.