FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — “Dr. Phil” McGraw and The $250 million lawsuit against the supermarket tabloid and its sister publications, National Enquirer are lining up for a courtroom brawl after the television talk show host and his wife filed a charging that they falsely accused him of being an abusive husband and a hypocrite who doesn’t practice what he preaches.

The lawsuit was filed last week in Palm Beach County, Florida, against the Enquirer, its owner American Media Inc. and sister publications, Star Magazine and the website Radar Online.

Dr. Phil McGraw says that The National Enquirer has damaged his reputation. Associated Press/Chris Pizzello/Invision

According to the suit, the publications damaged McGraw’s reputation by falsely accusing the TV psychologist of physically and verbally abusing his wife, Robin. The articles also said that Robin McGraw tolerated the abuse and that the couple are getting divorced. The suit also says the Enquirer falsely accused McGraw of busting a man’s head with a beer mug during a drunken melee while in college in the early 1970s.

The suit says such allegations unjustly harm the McGraws’ reputation as outspoken opponents of spousal abuse.

It adds that Robin McGraw started a foundation to help battered spouses and that the couple’s marriage is solid.

McGraw, 65, hosts the popular “Dr. Phil” talk show, where the booming-voiced Texan is known for passing out folksy advice to guests with various problems. He also produces “The Doctors” and other TV shows and publishes best-selling diet and self-help books. Forbes magazine ranks him as the world’s fourth-highest-paid celebrity, with annual earnings of $88 million.

American Media said it will defend itself and will expose his “stale and fraudulent claims for what they really are.”

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