John Bobbitt Talks About His Sexual Function, 23 Years After Infamous Attack

More than 23 years after John Wayne Bobbitt’s penis was reattached after his wife cut it off, people have one burning question: does it still work?

Bobbitt gets that question a lot.

In Saturday’s episode of Scandal Made Me Famous, the 49-year-old answers the question by recalling an incident that happened about a week after his surgery, when he got an encouraging sign that the surgery had been successful.

“I called my mom from the hospital,” he laughs. “My mom answered, and I said, ‘Mom, I can’t believe it! I got an erection.’ My mom said, ‘I don’t want to hear that. Talk to your dad.’ ”

Still, everyone was curious about his function, so Bobbitt made a series of adult films in the mid-1990s to show off what he could do. It turned out to be a lucrative move for him.

“My movies were the bestselling adult videos in history,” he says. “I won awards for it, and I traveled around to different countries and went to award shows and stuff.”

• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

Also on the Scandal Made Me Famous, Bobbitt’s surgeon, Dr. David Berman, talks about the challenges of the delicate 10-hour surgery.

“With microsurgery, you either establish the circulation and it works, or it doesn’t. There’s no in between. So I certainly hoped it worked; I would have felt horrible if it didn’t work.”

Bobbitt says that Dr. Berman gave him a gift he can never repay.

“It was the happiest day of my life,” he recalls. “It was amazing.”

Scandal Made Me Famous combines reenactments, exclusive interviews and never-before-seen photos and video to tell the story of infamous crimes. The show is hosted by PEOPLE Senior Writer Steve Helling.

The John and Lorena Bobbitt episode premieres on Saturday (9 p.m. ET) on the Reelz Channel.