Joaquin Phoenix has been making waves - and scoring parodies - for his new disheveled look and reticent manner. Hollywood buzz has it that Phoenix is doing it all for the sake of a documentary, but one psychiatrist has stepped forward with an entirely different - and not so lighthearted - theory.

Paul Dobransky is a relationships expert and an author. The doctor points to signs of schizophrenia in the actor’s behavior, saying “there is something wrong,” adding, “and it’s beyond drug abuse.” He pointed to Ben Stiller’s Oscar skit (which poked fun at Phoenix and became a highlight of the evening), saying “I was pretty offended by that skit at the Oscars,” in recent comments to the Times. “It struck me as potentially beating down on the mentally ill.”

Now, that’s bold. Susan Patricola, who’s the current publicist for Phoenix, fired back. “How absolutely inappropriate for a doctor who has no personal interaction or relationship with someone to diagnose them. And to do so in a public forum,” she scoffed. Patricola called the comments “astonishingly inappropriate!”

“The jury is not exactly in on what is happening,” Dobransky commented. “Whatever it is, it’s not funny.”