Nicholas Brendon On Dr. Phil Walk-Off: ‘I Was Very Stressed About Doing The Show’ [Video]
Nicholas Brendon, whom fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer remember as the lovable Xander Harris, walked off the Dr. Phil show after the host asked him some tough questions about alcohol. Although the appearance was taped in August and outlets had already reported on Brendon’s departure, it aired on Wednesday.
Brendon took to Facebook on Wednesday evening to respond to the show. He gave an explanation as to why Dr. Phil smelled alcohol on the actor and also expressed disappointment at how the appearance was handled.
“The night before the show taped, I got drunk. Drunk to the point I still smelled of it the following morning.”
“I was very stressed about doing the show, and was very upset that an attempt was made to blindside me by bringing on my former booking agent.”
“I always have and always will take full responsibility for my actions. I will also defend my loved ones. I am grateful for the support of my family, girlfriend and my wonderful fans. By no means am I a perfect person, but I am also not the monster as portrayed by this show.”
Brendon said he is in treatment. In the clip below, courtesy of the Dr. Phil show, Nicholas discusses his dual diagnosis and briefly sits on the stage with Dr. Phil. In the second clip, courtesy of Entertainment Tonight, fans can see the moment where Nicholas left the interview.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Dr. Phil defended his interview.
“If you really don’t want to get sober, I’m the last guy you want to invite into your life, because once I get involved I will haunt you to the ends of the earth.”
Dr. Phil’s involvement with Brendon started over the summer, when the actor began sending out public tweets asking for help. As ET reported, Brendon has had a string of arrests, including three for public intoxication, one for criminal mischief, and one for grand theft. He has already had three stints in rehab.
When the Dr. Phil appearance was taped, Brendon said he thought Dr. Phil got very serious very quick.
“I felt that he wanted me to lay the darkest parts of myself on national TV right from the start, and I’m not willing to do that.”
The 44-year-old has continued to post about depression on Twitter, including after the broadcast of the Dr. Phil episode.
Please keep fighting my lovlies #kickingdepressionintheballsack
— Nicholas Brendon (@NicholasBrendon) September 17, 2015
[Left photo by Araya Diaz / Getty Images Entertainment; Right photo by Jason Merritt / Getty Images Entertainment]
