'The Shining' Star Shelley Duvall Reveals Mental Health Struggles on 'Dr. Phil' : 'I Need Help'

"I'm very sick, I need help," Duvall tells Dr. Phil

Photo: Source: Dr Phil Show

Shelley Duvall, the actress best known for her roles in The Shining, has revealed she’s suffering from mental illness.

The 67-year-old described her life away from the spotlight during a sit-down interview with Dr. Phil McGraw that aired on his daytime talk show, Friday.

“I’m very sick, I need help,” she told McGraw.

The appearance has prompted criticism from Duvall’s fans — who knocked Dr. Phil for “showboating the visibly ill.”

“She is not competent enough to grant you permission,” one fan tweeted.

Vivian Kubrick — the daughter of Shining director Stanley Kubrick — also spoke out, criticizing the show’s lack of “compassionate healing” and calling for a boycott of it.

“Your exploitive use of Shelly Duvall is a form of LURID ENTERTAINMENT and is shameful,” she wrote.

“You are putting Shelly Duvall ‘on show’ while she is suffering from a pitiable state of ill health. Unquestionably, this is purely a form of lurid and exploitive entertainment — it’s appallingly cruel,” she continued.

Kubrick has since launched a GoFundMe page for Duvall, hoping to raise $100,000 for the star. “Like many older movie stars, embarrassed finances is not uncommon,” Kubrick wrote. “Showing your love and support for Shelley Duvall by making a donation can start her back on the road to independence and perhaps back to health and for her fans, more superb performances!”

Duvall, who has been living in Blanco, Texas since retiring from acting, last starred in the 2002 independent film Manna From Heaven.

Her first big break was in 1970’s Brewster McCloud, and she then went on to star in Nashville (1975) and played Olive Oyl in the big-screen adaptation of Popeye (1980) opposite Robin Williams.

In addition, she also hosted Saturday Night Live, narrated Faerie Tale Theatre and was featured in Tim Burton’s short 1984 film Frankenweenie.

During the episode, McGraw said that he had Duvall escorted to a treatment facility in California with the permission of her boyfriend and some family members. He claimed that Duvall was at the facility for three days but allegedly refused to take medication or to sign any paperwork, so she was returned to her home. McGraw claimed that Duvall is now receiving treatment from local professionals in Texas under the guidance of her mother.