Who is Drew Pinsky? Board-certified physician responds as YouTube takes down his videos accusing him of spreading anti-vax misinformation

Drew Pinsky, aka Dr. Drew, recently responded as YouTube removed his videos claiming that he apparently spread anti-vax misinformation. Drew shared the same on X through a series of posts, on January 14, 2025. He also shed light on the alleged violations mentioned by YouTube. In one X post, he wrote:

"This weekend, @YouTubeCreators accused me of spreading "medical misinformation" & took down 2 videos with an MD & a lawyer. I've been a board-certified physician for over 40 years – 2x @YouTube's existence."

In further posts on X, Pinsky explained the two apparent violations in his videos which were taken down. In the videos, Pinsky was having conversations regarding vaccinations' side effects with Dr. Kelly Victory and attorney Warner Mendenhall.

For the unversed, Drew Pinsky is an internist, addiction medicine specialist, and a popular media personality. Over time, he has hosted several shows including talk show Dr. Drew On Call on HLN and Lifechangers on The CW.

He was born on September 4, 1958 in Pasadena, California. As per The New York Times, his father, Morton Pinsky, was a physician and his mother, Helene Stanton, was an actress as well as a Las Vegas stage singer.

In 1976, Pinsky graduated from Polytechnic School and then went to study biology at the Amherst College. In 1984, Pinsky earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Keck School of Medicine of the USC.

As stated on his official website, Pinsky is also an author, public speaker, and a scientist. He has written several books like Cracked: Life on the Edge in a Rehab Clinic, The Dr. Drew and Adam Book: A Survival Guide to Life and Love, and The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism Is Seducing America, to name a few. He has appeared on shows like The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and more.

In 1991, Drew Pinsky got married to Susan Sailer and the couple welcomed triplets: Douglas, Jordan, and Paulina, in November 1992.

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Exploring the details about the alleged violations faced by Drew Pinsky in his removed videos from YouTube

Drew Pinsky cited two violations that were allegedly mentioned by YouTube while taking down his videos. In one X post, he described the first violation to be a part of his conversation with Dr. Kelly Victory, a board-certified physician.

Pinsky explained how Victory claimed that a lot of young people were suffering from mRNA side effects. According to Pinsky, Dr. Kelly Victory said during the conversation:

"Vast majority of the people who have been injured are young, healthy people who were under the age of 50 who had fundamentally zero risk from COVID itself. They all got COVID. These are people who would have been fine if they were just left alone."

Pinsky then concluded the post, claiming that they were not spreading "medical misinformation" but instead were just sharing their views on a broadcast.

In another X post, Drew Pinsky referred to a conversation with attorney Warner Mendenhall. According to Pinsky, Warner claimed that a huge number of people had died from taking vaccination shots. He further spoke about a case in which his client got terribly sick and began having trouble breathing.

Pinsky then mentioned that it was not "medical misinformation" for a lawyer to discuss details about an ongoing case. The post further read:

"It is not medical misinformation for someone to state their belief that a large number of people were harmed by a medical product or study."

In another post, Drew Pinsky wrote that this wasn't the first time he got such strikes on YouTube. According to the doctor, this has happened before; the situation, however, got settled after Pinsky's producer spoke to the concerned authorities. Pinsky concluded by stating that the removed videos are currently available on X.