Final Thoughts: Jerry Springer | Dog and Pony Show
4/30/202646 min
Springer’s willingness to push the boundaries of what’s allowed on television – and the increasing amount of fighting on screen – put the show under a microscope. Springer and the show’s staff stand firm as accusations of violence, moral debasement, and fakery abound. In the process, Springer becomes a world-famous superstar – but what has he lost along the way?
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First 90 secondsLeon Neyfakh· Host0:00
When The Jerry Springer Show beat Oprah nationally for the first time, the success put a target squarely on the show's back.
Speaker 10:08
You're about to hear the confessions of 16 former guests of The Jerry Springer Show. Thanks for joining us- In April of 1998, the tabloid TV show Extra aired a damning report that called into question whether the Springer show was as real and raw as it claimed. You might recognize them. Many were in fights that have become the program's signature. Now they're about to tell a new story, that what millions of viewers saw was actually fake, set up, even choreographed.
Leon Neyfakh· Host0:36
Special correspondent Diane Dimond sat down with a group of former guests and got them to admit that they had gone on Springer and said things that weren't true. Some said they had made up their stories whole cloth. Others said producers encouraged them to get into physical fights and gave them props.
Speaker 10:52
And to make the show better, they say producers provided everything from skimpy wardrobes to fake engagement rings.
Leon Neyfakh· Host0:59
Dimond went on to name one of the producers accused of staging fake stories.
Speaker 11:04
The scandalous tale was, in fact, concocted by Springer producer Norm "Bud" LeBow. And here's LeBow in their hotel room, they say, rehearsing an actual script for their show and practicing what would become a show-stopping fight. And here's a look at one- Norm LeBow, the Springer guest turned producer you met in the previous chapter.
Leon Neyfakh· Host1:25
Extra had obtained copies of what guests said was a script LeBow