Resurfaced video of TV host-turned U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz saying how much he “adores” and “loves” his friend, hate crime hoaxer Jussie Smollett is now going viral online after former President Donald Trump endorsed Oz in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race.

“Jussie Smollett, who has been on the show, who we all adore, was recently injured. It’s been called a hate crime,” Dr. Oz said on his show.

Elsewhere, Dr. Oz referred to Smollett as “a good friend,” adding, “Jussie, if you’re watching this, the entire audience, all of us, are saying we love you very much, we wish you the best.”

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Jussie Smollett also appeared on Dr. Oz’s show in December 2018 — Dr. Oz later revisited that interview after the actor’s staged attack against himself, to see if there were any “clues” to what may have happened the night he said Smollett was attacked.

In January 2019, Smollett orchestrated a racist and homophobic attack against himself in an effort to smear Trump supporters.

The disgraced actor had claimed he was physically attacked by two men clad in red hats who put a rope around his neck, poured bleach on him, and shouted racial and homophobic slurs at him, before eventually yelling, “This is MAGA country!” — in reference to former President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan.

During Smollett’s trial, however, prosecutors showed how the former Empire actor had gone through extraordinary lengths to stage the attack against himself, and how he hired and paid Nigerian brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo $3,500 to carry out the attack.

Smollett was subsequently sentenced to 150 days in Cook County jail, 30 months of probation, pay a restitution of $120,106, and a fine of $25,000. While being hauled off to jail on March 10, the actor shouted, “I am not suicidal, and I am innocent” with his fist raised in the air.

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Days later, Smollett was released from jail on bond after his lawyers filed for him to be freed as he appeals his conviction. He later dropped a new song continuing to claim his innocence.

President Trump’s endorsement of Dr. Oz garnered confusion and fierce backlash from many on the right, as the Senate candidate has made millions with China, and has been called out for his long history with the communist country.

Recently-minted U.S. citizen Enes Kanter Freedom has also dubbed Dr. Oz a “foreign agent” over his dual-citizenship with Turkey, adding, “why would a Turkish citizen, who lives in Jersey and works in New York City would want to be the Senator from Pennsylvania.”

Dr. Oz also received backlash last week, after a resurfaced video of him promoting transgenderism for young kids went viral. In the video, Dr. Oz explains that his show will be “challenging your beliefs about what it means to be male or female.”

“The word you’ll hear today is ‘transgender,'” he said. “Transgender, it describes people whose sex on the outside doesn’t match who they are on the inside. Now, imagine your child is transgender. What would you do?”

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“More and more parents like Josie’s are allowing their children to live as the opposite sex,” Dr. Oz says elsewhere during his segment. “In some cases, they’re going as far as providing hormone blockers to prevent the onset of puberty to buy their children more time to figure out the next step.”

“There’s no easy answer. With science and psychology only starting to explore this complex subject, what’s the right way to nurture a transgender child?” he asks.

Dr. Oz is currently trailing in the polls, with businessman David McCormick ahead of Oz by seven points, according to one recent poll conducted by the Pennsylvania-based Eagle Consulting Group.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.