Why 1 ‘Jerry Springer’ Guest Took His Advice After an ‘Awful’ and ‘Real’ Experience on the Show
Unsurprisingly, many reality TV show moments are manufactured by producers off-screen. However, one former Jerry Springer guest recently revealed that their time on the show was all too real.
‘Jerry Springer’ episodes often focused on controversial topics like infidelity and sexuality
Jerry Springer aired from 1991 to 2018. It quickly became popular for its drama-filled episodes and fights between guests. People would come on the show to confront others about infidelity, sexuality, and other controversial topics.
The guests would often get into physical fights with each other over the information revealed in the episode, which led many viewers to claim Jerry Springer scripted these interactions. One former guest on the show dispelled these rumors with their story about their experience on the show.
One former ‘Jerry Springer’ guest claims ‘the producers lied’ to them to make the episode more dramatic
“I was on The Jerry Springer Show once, and for me, the experience was real,” they wrote, per BuzzFeed. “My anger and pain were real because the producers lied to the two people I was there with, and they lied to me and made me believe my boyfriend at the time was actually cheating on me with the other woman who was there.”
They went on to say that the show’s producers separated the trio and “filled [their] head with lies,” leading them to think that their boyfriend was really cheating on them. The guest called it “an awful experience,” but the story did have a nice ending.
They explained, “My then-boyfriend was horrible, and at the end of the show, when Jerry shakes everyone’s hand, I was the only person he actually hugged. He whispered in my ear that I should ‘find someone who really loves me.’ I love him for that, and I did what he said!”
One person alleges that their friends made up a cheating story to get on the show
Others have alleged that some guests make up their drama-filled stories even if the Jerry Springer producers don’t know about it. One BuzzFeed user reported that their friends made up a love triangle story to get on the show.
“They were all friends who came up with the story one night,” they shared. “The only thing [the show] offered was airfare, $500 to split, and a night at the Ramada down by the airport.”
Jerry Springer calls the ‘Jerry Springer’ guest reactions ‘98% real’
Springer himself has also hit back at those who think the talk show was scripted. He told Australia’s The Morning Show that Jerry Springer was “98% real. But he did admit that his rowdier guests might have been playing to the audience.
“The situations were truthful,” he explained. “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 has also apologized for Jerry Springer. He claimed his show “ruined the culture” by encouraging people to air their problems in public, no matter how salacious.
“I just apologize. I’m so sorry. What have I done?” the talk show host said, 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.”
