Dr. Oz posts mild response after Senate grilling – USA TODAY

AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke

Give this to Dr. Mehmet Oz: He could have gone on a defensive rant today after being called a “snake-oil salesman” and worse before Congress on Tuesday, but he didn’t.

The celebrity surgeon, beloved by Oprah among others, posted a mild message on Facebook, and smartly avoided saying something along the lines of “I am not a snake-oil salesman!”

He didn’t get to be chairman and professor of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons by being clueless about PR.

Instead, Oz talked about how “pleased” he was about the hearing, during which he was lambasted for hyping dubious weight-loss supplement products. He semi-apologized for his overly “enthusiastic” language about such products, and promised to be more careful in the future.

The headlines yesterday were terrible: Oz was  “grilled,” “scolded,” “criticized” and “ripped” by members of a Senate panel on consumer protection.

In his response on his Facebook page, Oz said he long felt he could talk about these supplements because he wasn’t selling them personally. And to not talk about them was a disservice, he said.

“I took part in the hearing because I am accountable for my role in the proliferation of these scams and I recognize that my enthusiastic language has made the problem worse at times.”   

He added: “In addition to exercising an abundance of caution in discussing promising research and products in the future, I look forward to working with all those present yesterday in finding a way to deal with the problems of weight loss scams.”

Half an hour after he posted it, more than 100 people liked it.