He’s the veteran interviewer with a knack for bringing celebrity guests out of their shell with his softly-spoken approach.
But Andrew Denton appeared to lose his patience with celebrity ‘healer’ Charlie Goldsmith on Tuesday night, when the 37-year-old claimed he could cure the sick with his touch in just 60 seconds.
The seasoned host couldn’t hide his scepticism as he questioned the ‘credibility’ of Charlie, who is the nephew of Olivia Newton-John, on his Channel Seven talk show Interview.
Interrogation: Andrew Denton criticised celebrity ‘healer’ Charlie Goldsmith, who claims to cure the sick in just 60 seconds, during a heated clash on Tuesday’s episode of Interview
Charlie claimed he was 18 when he discovered that he could heal people, including those with chronic injuries, auto immune conditions, viruses, infections, severe body pain, inflammation and allergies.
‘I was at breakfast and sat down to get my knife and fork and as I went to get them my hands pulled together,’ he told Andrew.
He said that his powers caused him to go ‘into a little bit of internal shock because it was like someone pushed them [together].’
Charlie showcases his ‘abilities’ on his own American-produced TV series The Healer, which is broadcast in Australia on TLC.
Hmmm! Charlie claimed he was 18 when he discovered that he could heal people, including those with chronic injuries, auto immune conditions, viruses, severe body pain and allergies
Andrew criticised Charlie’s decision to participate in a University of Arizona study with Professor Gary Schwartz – a man described as ‘an art professor in New York with no medical background’ who also believes in ghosts and is developing a ‘soul phone’ to communicate with the dead.
‘What you’re claiming to do is mysterious and unknowable and almost impossible to measure and what he’s interested in are things that are mysterious, unknown and almost impossible to measure – so he’s a non-objective observer of what you do,’ Andrew pointed out.
Seeming perturbed by Andrew’s comments, Charlie replied: ‘The fact that he has spent a large part of his career interested in this area gives him insight into how to test things, now that doesn’t make it wrong.’
Questionable: Andrew criticised Charlie’s decision to participate in a university study with Professor Gary Schwartz – a man described as ‘an art professor with no medical background’
Backlash: Viewers flocked to Twitter to question how Charlie had landed an appearance on the program, describing him as a ‘fraud’ and a ‘con-artist’
But Andrew was unwilling to let the subject go, insisting: ‘I would argue it makes him predisposed to show that you’re right as opposed to having a scientific, neutral credible method.’
Viewers flocked to Twitter to question how Charlie had landed an appearance on the program, describing him as a ‘fraud’ and a ‘con-artist’.
‘Why does Andrew Denton have such a boring fraud on his show? If you want to be a real healer become a doctor or a nurse (not a scam artist),’ one person tweeted.
Support: Andrew’s hard-hitting interview method upset some viewers, however, and he was criticised for ‘interrogating’ Charlie
Another viewer remarked: ‘This interview with the bloke who can “heal” people with his energy is brilliant. What a con-artist.’
Andrew’s hard-hitting interview method upset some viewers, however, and he was criticised for ‘interrogating’ Charlie.
‘Not a fair or impartial interview by Andrew Denton. Disappointed,’ one tweet read.
‘Charlie, I hope the people at Interview gave you a heads up that you were going to be interrogated rather than interviewed. You handled it well,’ wrote a supporter.
Famous family: Charlie is the nephew of Grease star Olivia Newton-John (pictured)