What did Gabor Mate say? Prince Harry embroiled in controversy over latest trauma interview

Prince Harry has faced backlash over his consideration of holding a virtual press conference with "toxic trauma" Hungarian-Canadian doctor Gabor Mate, who was once warned of imprisonment for treating his patients using a "spiritual" psychedelic drug.

As per his website, on March 4, the 38-year-old personality will conduct an "intimate conversation" for "the importance of personal healing and living with loss," in which viewers can ask the duo questions during a live session. The event will be conducted to promote Prince Harry's memoir, Spare.

While speaking to the Jewish Chronicle, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, of New York's Simon Wiesenthal Center, criticized Harry's decision to appear with Mate and said:

"Whoever made the arrangements to have this individual appear with Prince Harry, did him no favours. If Prince Harry knew this man's record and still chose him for the interview, our center would criticise the prince for such an inappropriate choice."

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Prince Harry's companion for the event, Gabor Mate, has made some controversial comments in the past

79-year-old Gabor Mate is a retired Hungarian-Canadian physician with specialized knowledge of childhood trauma and addiction.

He has written a lot about these topics in books and newspapers, and has been a strong advocate for people with addictions. In 2023, he is expected to release a new book, Hello Again: A Fresh Start for Parents and Their Adult Children.

Born on January 6, 1944, Gabor Mate is a native of Nazi-occupied Budapest. He was only five months old when his maternal grandparents were among the Jews murdered in Auschwitz.

He was separated from his mother and sheltered by an aunt until the end of the conflict, while his father suffered forced labor before they moved to Canada in 1956.

As per the Daily Mail, Mate previously created controversy for calling Israel's government murderers and likened Hamas to the Jewish fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto Revolt against the Nazis. He also defended Palestine's rocket fire attack on Israeli civilians.

Gabor Mate defended former Labor Party member Jeremy Corbyn and Pink Floyd's former member Roger Waters after they became entangled with claims of anti-Semitism.

Moreover, Mate has imparted his words while appearing on the YouTube channel: The Grayzone, a left-winged channel that has been dubbed pro-Kremlin.

Some of his famed works include In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, and The Myth of Normal: Trauma Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture.

Prince Harry's book, Spare, has mentions of the death of his mother Princess Diana, in 1997.

Daily Mail reports that members of Buckingham Palace will be viewing March 4's event. Earlier this week, it was reported that King Charles decided to remove the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex from Windsor's Frogmore Cottage just a day after Spare was released.