Los Angeles ( CNN ) -- Ted Williams , the homeless `` golden voice '' sensation on the internet , checked himself out of drug rehab 12 days after he voluntarily entered the facility , Dr. Phil McGraw said Monday . Williams , 53 , admitted during a taping of `` The Dr. Phil Show '' earlier this month that he was still drinking , claiming in other interviews in the past week to have been sober for the past two years after years of addiction . `` Ted was given the chance to voluntarily enter a drug rehabilitation facility in order to help him in dealing with his dependency on drugs and alcohol , '' McGraw said . `` In that it is voluntary , the decision to remain in treatment is Ted 's to make . '' Williams ' substance abuse separated him from his family and left him homeless for years , until a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch in Ohio videotaped him panhandling on a roadside last month . The video quickly went viral on the internet , and he was offered a several announcing jobs , including a contract with Kraft Foods . Williams had been on a whirlwind spiral of publicity when he traveled to Los Angeles with his family to tape three interviews with `` The Dr. Phil Show , '' The decision to seek professional help came after `` a lengthy one-on-one conversation with Dr. Phil , '' show spokeswoman Stacey Luchs said in a statement issued then . `` The decision was made due in part to Williams ' strange behavior over the past several days , which culminated in a physical altercation with one of his daughters at a Hollywood hotel , '' the January 12 statement said . `` He was briefly detained by police and later released . '' `` We certainly hope that he continues his commitment to sobriety , and we will continue to help and support him in any way that we can , '' McGraw said Monday . No information was given about where Williams went after leaving the rehab facility .
Ted Williams ' s stint was voluntary , so he could leave , Dr. John McGraw said . He left rehab on January 1 after a talk with McGraw . The homeless man became an internet celebrity recently for his ` ` golden voice ''