In Jerry Springer’s heyday, there were constant rumours that guests on his talk show were ‘fake’, but earlier this year he addressed the speculation once and for all.
The late Springer, whose death was announced today (Thursday 27 April), was well known for his eponymous talk show, which welcomed guests to live out various revelations, confrontations and general dramas in front of a studio audience – and viewers across the globe, of course.
From sex and relationships to secrets and lies, The Jerry Springer Show covered it all, with episode titles including 'Pay Up or Put Out', 'We Can Share Him' and 'Slept with My Girlfriend's Brother'.
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After first premiering in 1991, in 2018, NBC Universal announced that Springer wouldn't be making any new episodes, though those that already existed would remain in syndication.
During its lengthy, nearly 30-year run, the sheer carnage that played out on screen led many viewers to believe that the action on Springer’s stage must have been fake, with speculation that paid actors were in some way involved to spice up the antics.
Springer responded to the claims earlier this year during an interview with The Morning Show on Aussie network Seven, when he was asked to 'clear up’ just how ‘real’ the scenarios and people were.
Springer replied: “I’d say it was 98 percent real. In fact, the lawyers were involved - you'd get sued if you made it up.
“Now, if you’re asking me, ‘Was there ever a time when someone fooled us?’
“To this day, we don’t know if they made it up."
He continued: “The situations were truthful. What was embellished... was the reactions. Because you had the audience screaming, 'Jerry, Jerry!'
“They'd seen the show 100 times before. And so you could have the same people on Oprah and they would have behaved perfectly. It's just that when they came to our show, they kind of knew the drill and they just behaved like that.”
Springer argued it was just like celebrities on late night television shows, whose behaviour, he said, often become performative.
“They don’t talk on these shows the same way they do when they’re at home, they perform,” he explained.
“And these people, when they see the crowd cheering and whatever, they perform too.”
Last year, Springer apologised for the controversial show, saying he had ‘ruined the culture’ - even joking that he would go to ‘hell’ for his work.
Appearing on David Yontef's Behind the Velvet Rope podcast, he was asked if he considered himself the 'granddad of reality TV'.
Springer responded: "No, I just apologise. I’m so sorry. What have I done?
"I’ve ruined the culture. I just hope hell isn’t that hot because I burn real easy. I’m very light-complexioned, and that kind of worries me."
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, US News, The Jerry Springer Show
Jess Hardiman