Getting rejected as an audience member on ‘The Dr. Oz Show’ doesn’t mean your life is over. Here are seven people who overcame this misfortune and rose to the top.
1. Jennifer Tungsten
Jennifer is currently an adjunct professor of English and comparative literature at New York University, but it was only three years ago that she was an unemployed grad student who got rejected from attending the “Breaking News: Is Sunscreen Dangerous?” episode. She was crushed, but decided to use it as motivation to further pursue her teaching career. Today, Jennifer is beloved by her students and highly respected by fellow faculty members, who all know about her rejection but still embrace her anyway.
2. Kellen Hardy
Always light-years ahead of his peers, Kellen tried to be in the audience when he was just 16 years old, but was told he couldn’t attend the taping due to the show’s strict 18-and-over age policy. Now 26, he’s a whiz kid hedge fund manager in New York City, and he regularly dines at the finest restaurants in Manhattan with the wealthiest people, none of whom have ever once asked him about his Dr. Oz rejection.
3. Frankie Payton
In 2013, Frankie was able to get as far as the second waiting room at the studio, but was removed by a producer at the last minute. It’s unclear why Frankie was not allowed any further, but he never let the incident set him back. Six months later, he graduated from Columbia Journalism School at the top of his class, and is now a beat reporter for the world-famous New York Times.
4. Marcella Vespucci
Marcella got rejected from the 2013 episode “Goldie Hawn’s Secrets To Staying Young” and had a few rough months. But after spending the next two years traveling across the world, Marcella says she was eventually able to move on from her failure and find inner peace through extensive self-introspection.
5. Betsy Tanover
Betsy was waitlisted and ultimately deferred from a 2011 episode titled “Dr. Oz’s No Fear Zone.” She ended up just watching the episode on TV, and used it to finally rid herself of the fears that were making her hesitate from applying to medical school. Tanover received her M.D. this past spring and is currently thriving as the newest pediatrician at Bedminster Pediatrics in New Jersey.
6. Gwyneth Paltrow
It is undeniable that after breakthrough roles in films like The Avengers and Iron Man 3, Gwyneth Paltrow is one of the biggest movie stars in the world. But back in 2012, she was a little-known actress who got rejected from attending the “Dr. Oz’s Guilt-Free Hour!” episode. This would have set back most people, but she was inspired to work even harder to become someone people couldn’t ignore, and now she sits at the top of the Hollywood charts.
7. Georgia Kaplan
Kaplan attempted to use the standby line to get Dr. Oz tickets on three separate occasions in 2013, and was told the show was at full capacity each time. Eventually, she decided to use the far more reliable online submission form, and successfully attended the well-received “Weatherman Sam Champion’s Health Scare” episode in 2014. Truly inspiring!
