The Jerry Springer Show was one of the most controversial, and for a while, most popular, TV talk shows.
Known for its wild and bizarre topics and the violent fights that often broke out between guests, it was labeled the "worst TV show of all time" by TV Guide in 2002.
A new Netflix docuseries is now shedding light on how the show was conceived and the pressure producers were under to make it more sensational.
Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action is a jaw-dropping insight into the talk show and includes first-hand testimony from show insiders and former guests.
"Behind the entertaining facade lay some darker truths. As we hear from the producers and ex-guests of The Jerry Springer Show, a murkier picture begins to emerge of the destruction it caused, raising renewed questions about who was responsible, and how far things should go in the name of entertainment," reads the Netflix synopsis.
Hosted by Springer, who was a former newsman and Mayor of Cincinatti, the show ran for 27 season from 1991 and is often credited with birthing the "trash TV" movement.
We take a look back at some of the more controversial moments from the show that are covered in the two-part Netflix series.
Man Who 'Married' His Horse
The docuseries opens with an episode that was eventually barred featuring a man who claimed to have been married to a Shetland pony for 12 years.
A Missouri man named Mark appeared on the show in 1998 to talk about how he left his family for his new wife, but then the studio audience appears horrified when a pony named Pixel is brought out and presented as his spouse.
Mark defended his bestiality saying their relationship was consensual and even kissed her on the mouth.
"If she didn't like it, she could always leave," he said on the show.
The episode aired on the East Coast but the network eventually stopped it from airing in other timezones.
Love Triangle Murder
One of the more emotional segments of the Netflix series is an interview with Jeffrey, a middle-age man whose mom was murdered after she appeared on the show with her ex-husband.
Nancy Campbell-Panitz appeared on an episode called "Secret Mistresses Confronted," where she was accused by her ex-husband Ralf Panitz and his new wife Eleanor Panitz of stalking them.
But Ralf eventually ended up admitting to have slept with Nancy as recently as the night before and while the audience was clearly hoping for a confrontation between the two women, Nancy stormed off stage admitting defeat.
According to Jeffrey, the producers refused to pay for her flight back to Florida from Chicago unless she returned to the stage, and she was forced to walk back to the bus station with no money. A kind stranger gave her a bus fare to get home.
Then on the evening their episode aired in 2000, a witness saw Ralf at a bar getting very drunk and saying of Nancy "I'm going to kill her."
He then murdered Nancy by "stomping on her head," the police told Jeffrey. Ralf was sentenced to life in jail without parole.
Springer and show bosses denied culpability in the homicide and issued a statement saying it was "a terrible tragedy."
Jeffrey sees things differently and blames the show for his mother's death.
"It's taken up the whole middle part of my life…it happened 24 years ago and I'm still talking about," he said in the documentary.
KKK and Neo-Nazis
Racist guests were common fare on The Jerry Springer Show and one episode featured the Ku Klux Klan.
When members walked on stage in full KKK robes and giving the Nazi salute they were met with jeers from the audience in an episode called "Klanfrontation."
Later in the show, Springer brought out then-Jewish Defense League chairman Irv Rubin surrounded by bodyguards. The JDL is a far-right religious group whose stated aim is to protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary.
When one of the KKK members removed his hood to reveal a kippah on his head, Rubin launched at him starting a wild brawl where even audience members got involved.
Jerry's Sex Scandal
Producer Toby Yoshimura said everyone that worked on the series, including Springer, knew that "guests were off limits" when it came to fraternizing.
But Springer broke this rule in 1998 by having a threesome with a stripper who appeared on the show, which at the time was described as a "porn star romp."
Hidden cameras captured the tryst and images were printed in newspapers.
Springer apologized on the show and Yoshimura admitted that if something similar had happened in today's cultural landscape, the host would have been "cancelled" and his career ruined.
Working Conditions
Many of the producers interviewed on the Netflix series admitted to unbearable working conditions, including extreme pressure from head producer, Richard Dominik.
They would sleep at the office to keep up with the workload and described the lengths they would go to in order to rile guests up for dramatic effect.
Yoshimura admitted turning to alcohol and drugs to cope with the strain.
Incestuous Relationship
A number of episodes of the talk show were dedicated to incest, but one caused Yoshimura to quit in 2004.
He revealed that one episode was dedicated to a sex worker whose own father would order her services from the business she worked at.
Surprised the father agreed to appear on the show, Yoshimura checked them in to different hotels under aliases the night before to ensure the woman was safe.
However, when he went to check on her, the producer found the father in her room and realized the pair had just had sex.
"I quit then and disappeared," Yoshimura said. Later in the docuseries he admitted: "I'm never talking about this show again."
Jerry's Apology
Throughout its time on air, Springer constantly admitted his talk show was not high brow and could not be compared to others on television.
In an interview with Larry King he even revealed: "I don't want to live in an America that watches The Jerry Springer Show."
In 2022 during an appearance on David Yontef's Behind the Velvet Rope podcast, Springer even said sorry for what he'd produced.
"No, I just apologize. I'm so sorry. What have I done? I've ruined the culture," he said.
He then joked: "I just hope hell isn't that hot because I burn real easy. I'm very light-complected, and that kind of worries me."
Springer died aged 79 in 2023.