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Rabid Troll “The Liver Doc” Who Claims Himself To Be A Doctor, Bullies Chess Player For His Parents Being Ayurvedic Doctors

By
The Commune
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abby philips liver doc vidit gujrathi chess player doctors day twitter x

Indian Chess Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi found himself at the center of an unusual controversy on Doctor’s Day after a post celebrating his family members, many of whom are professionals in the field of alternative medicine, drew criticism from a popular online personality known as “The Liver Doc.”

The incident began when Gujrathi, one of India’s top chess players and an Olympiad gold medalist (twice at that), posted a photo with his family on X, captioned: “Happy Doctor’s Day to my entire family.” He later clarified that his father is an Ayurvedic migraine specialist, his mother a cosmetologist, his sister a physiotherapist, and his wife holds an MD in homeopathy.

Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, a controversial figure on social media known by the handle TheLiverDoc, responded to Gujrathi’s post stating, “I’m sorry, but none of them are really doctors.”

The remark triggered a backlash, with Gujrathi hitting back:
“Your entire brand and personality is built on insulting others. While you chase retweets by tearing people down, my family quietly heals lives without needing a spotlight. They’ve helped more people than your ego can count. Stay in your lane. And for a change, try being useful.”

Philips, who describes himself as a hepatologist and claims to have over 260 peer-reviewed publications, maintained that only practitioners of modern allopathic medicine should be referred to as doctors. He further referred to Ayurveda, homeopathy, and other alternative practices as “pseudoscience” and suggested that promoting them misleads the public. He also accused Gujrathi of “normalising primitive therapies.”

In reply, he wrote, “Hello, Vidit. I am not a fan of chess, but you are an important person for our country and I did not mean to offend your family. I am sure they are good people. I was stating plain facts from a professional standpoint and I do not mince my words. You may call that ego or whatever, to console yourself, no problem. Your statement on Doctors Day claiming an Ayurveda practitioner, Homeopath, Cosmetologist and a Physiotherapist were doctors is wrong and I stand by my words. Doctors’ Day in India marks both the birth and death anniversary of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, one of India’s most revered physicians and a key figure in shaping the healthcare system. Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Cosmetology or Physiotherapy are not realistic clinical medicine or and their practitioners are not clinical physicians. Physiotherapy is a legit branch of healthcare (adjunct to clinical medicine), but the rest are just plain sham – especially Homeopathy, which is also known as N*zi Medicine because H*tler tried to integrate it with conventional medicine at the time. You got all worked up and started personally attacking me because you were ignorant of this fact. I do not need to keep an ego towards a chess GM or his family. You don’t make me insecure and your family is of no concern to me from a professional standpoint. But what you claim them to be – has major public health consequence, because someone of your stature, being ignorant about science and health affects public perception of realistic healthcare and pseudoscientific practices. Your statements normalize pseudoscience and primitive therapies as healthcare practices when they are not. They are alternative medicine. And alternative medicine is medicine that is not proven to work. Just like there is no alternative chemistry, alternative physics or alternative mathematics, alternative medicine is also not medicine. And its practitioners are not doctors. I am a certified internist with a doctorate in hepatology and liver transplant medicine with 260 peer reviewed scientific publications, 4400 citations and h-index of 30 (just for your information). You don’t know me and how useful I am to my patients and their families. I suggest you do a bit of homework before throwing such childish tantrums. I am staying in my lane and always have. Calling out medical misinformation is what I do apart from being a full-time doctor. I suggest you stay in your lane and discuss more on chess. Sorry for the checkmate. And for a change, talk about chess and try being useful. All the best for your future matches.”

In response, Gujrathi asserted that his post was a simple message of gratitude. “I made a simple post out of gratitude. I chose silence at first, because not every conversation deserves a response. But when it turned into mocking my family, I stepped in. If that means stepping out of my lane, so be it. You and trolls like you don’t get to decide who’s a doctor. You have no authority to define others lives or dismiss their work. I’ve said my part. Now, back to what actually matters. No time for noise,” he wrote.

As the exchange gained traction online, supporters of Gujrathi called out Philips’ arrogance and intolerance toward alternative medicine systems that are legally recognized under India’s AYUSH framework. Critics pointed out that AYUSH practitioners, including Ayurvedic and Homeopathic doctors, are permitted by Indian law to use the title “Doctor.”

Adding to the controversy, online users highlighted that Philips while often vocal about “myth-busting” alternative medicine, has his own share of allegations. He claimed yoga does not help lose weight, that his patients had liver failure due to “herbal medicine”. His father, Dr. Philip Augustine, was among the accused in a 2009 organ trafficking case involving Lakeshore Hospital in Kochi. Although Dr. Abby Philips has denied the allegations, calling them false and politically motivated, the case remains part of the public record, with summons issued to several doctors.

Philips has also been criticized for his repeated disparagement of Indic knowledge systems. On social media, he has labeled Ayurveda and Yoga as pseudoscience and claimed that herbal medicine leads to liver failure. He has dismissed spiritual or traditional practices such as semen retention as “unscientific,” while promoting conventional medications like paracetamol as entirely safe.

Despite his claimed credentials, critics argue that Philips exhibits a pattern of selectively targeting non-Western health systems, often linked to cultural heritage. His affiliations such as working at Rajagiri Hospital, reportedly run by a Christian missionary institution raise questions about ideological bias. Critics also argued that Philips had never once spoken about the “miracle healing” prayer meetings that happen in his faith.

In 2023, he peddled fake news by falsely claiming that the National Medical Commission (NMC) removed the Ashoka emblem from its logo and replaced it with an image of the Hindu deity Dhanwantari. He referred to the updated logo as a sign of “India’s entry into pseudoscience hell.”

However, the NMC’s officiating chairman BN Gangadhar clarified that the logo had always included Dhanwantari in black-and-white, and only a color version was added for printability. He emphasized that there was no removal of the Ashoka emblem and no significant change beyond coloring and the replacement of “India” with “Bharat.”

Philips’s claim was further debunked using archived versions of the logo from the Wayback Machine. Despite this, several leftist outlets such as South First and The News Minute amplified his false narrative.

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