A popular TikTok doctor is being called out for medical racism after he openly generalized his Black patients in a video. Dr. J Mack Slaughter is known for his “Dr. Boy Band” persona and isn’t usually tied to controversy, but his latest TikTok antics have changed that.
In a video that’s now-viral, Dr. J Mack brought up something he noticed about his Black patients that differed from patients of other races. The TikTok star noted that his Black patients tend to have someone on the phone with them during their visits.
“Why is that when I myself, not speaking for an entire race or ethnicity have a doctor come in, I hang up my phone,” he said during the clip.
Viewers of the viral TikTok were quick to point out that Dr. Boy Band was generalizing patients of Color, which is illustrative of medical racism — an often-ignored facet of racism in the United States. One person who called out the TikTok doctor is another TikToker known as Dr. Kali. She responded to Dr. J Mack’s video, encouraging him to do some anti-racism work to remedy the mistake he made.
Medical racism is a pretty self-explanatory concept. In medical settings, People of Color find themselves discriminated against for numerous reasons — and sometimes their pain goes ignored. Women of Color, in particular, are often casualties of medical racism. The complicated and shameful history of racism in medicine in the United States is directly why many Black patients choose to have someone on the phone with them during doctors visits.
Fortunately, Dr. J Mack Slaughter has since-apologized for his blunder — and hopefully he takes this as an opportunity to grow.
Chelsea Hoffman is a true crime writer with over a decade of professional writing experience. She is best known for her coverage of missing people including the tragic disappearance of Madeleine McCann as well as the heartbreaking cases of Dylan Redwine, Heather Elvis and many others.
