Remembering Jerry Springer With 10 Outrageous, Knock-Down, Drag-Out, Hair-Pulling Fights
It was announced this morning that longtime talk show host/fight promoter Jerry Springer died at 79. Springer was most well known for being the host and namesake of Jerry Springer, a daytime tabloid talk show that typically devolved into on-air brawls. The show, which ran for nearly 5,000 episodes, was best known for bringing on guests with wild stories that usually involved cheating, stealing or a combination of the two. Then, in what became a daytime talk show trope, others involved (such as ex-boyfriends, estranged mothers, cheating spouses, and mouthy mistresses) were then flagged in from backstage before Springer initiated a physical beatdown between all parties concerned (as well as random audience members who felt so inclined).
Jerry Springer was wildly controversial with many over the years decrying it as salacious, violent, bawdy, trashy, manipulative, overly sexualized, sexist, homophobic and unrealistic. While all of those complaints are undoubtedly warranted, the show was so over the top and bonkers that for many it became a harmless caricature. The otherworldly soap opera plots ("your mom is sleeping with your boyfriend and his secret gay lover!") were so outlandish you couldn't take them seriously if you tried.
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And so in honor of Jerry's passing, here is a collection of 10 outrageous moments from his show. Because if the ghost of Jerry Springer is watching, he certainly is hoping to bring out the priest's secret lover and stripping mistress mid-wake for a funeral smackdown.
RIP Jerry. To honor your legacy, here is some of your finest work:
