Things heated up during Andrew Denton’s televised interview with self-proclaimed energy healer Charlie Goldsmith as the host grilled him about his “gift”.
During Tuesday night’s episode of Interview on Channel 7, the 58-year-old presenter sat down with Goldsmith to talk about his alleged ability to heal people using only the power of his mind.
Goldsmith, who is the nephew of Olivia Newton-John, is the star of TLC series The Healer, where he travels across America meeting people and apparently curing them of a number of ailments.
The 37-year-old, from Melbourne, claims to be able to heal everything from chronic pain and tremors, to fibromyalgia and even severe cases of herpes. However, he did state that he doesn’t like to discuss whether or not he is able to cure cancer.
Denton, who didn’t try to hide his own doubts about Goldsmith’s credibility during the episode, said: “That’s a big claim that you can potentially save lives.
“How concerned are you about the potential danger that somebody who is generally unwell might forsake treatment which is important because they are attracted by what you’re offering, which is free and seemingly magical?
“Because you don’t have any medical skills. You could offer somebody hope or steer them off the course of proper medical treatment.”
Goldsmith believes he is “channeling something bigger” than himself and tried to demonstrate his powers on the show by asking Denton to hold up his hand while he attempted to channel his energy.
But Denton said he was unable to feel any sort of “magnetism” when the pair touched hands.
Denton also quizzed Goldsmith, who says he never charges people for his services, about his lack of medical experience and qualifications and suggested his talent may actually be a placebo effect rather than actual healing.
Goldsmith said: “If it is a placebo, so what? No one else fixed her, and then whatever I did, did. It was not a waste of time on her part or mine.
“Placebo is not a dirty word in that sense. This is what the sceptic doctors throw at me, placebo, placebo, quack, whatever.
“I think, ‘why didn’t they do it then?'”
Goldsmith added that his healing powers worked about “80 per cent” of the time and said he has been trying for the last 20 years to have his skills medically tested.
But Denton then asked why Goldsmith, the younger brother of actress and singer Tottie Goldsmith, had chosen to take part in tests carried out by academics at the University of Arizona, who weren’t from a scientific background.
The interview divided viewers who were also sceptical about the self-proclaimed energy healer’s alleged powers and branded him a “fraud”.
One viewer wrote on Twitter: “This #andrewdenton interview with the bloke who can ‘heal’ people with his energy is brilliant. What a con-artist.”