Jerry Springer expresses remorse over his controversial talk show

Jerry Springer says he apologises for his eponymous US talk show that ran for almost 5,000 episodes between 1991 and 2018.The show – akin to the UK’s The Jeremy Kyle Show – was famous for its on-stage fights, profanity, nudity and themes like incest and adultery. Episode titles included ‘I Married a Horse’ and ‘I’m Happy I Cut Off My Legs’.Speaking recently on David Yontef’s Behind the Velvet Rope podcast, the 78-year-old expressed his regret for the series.’I just apologise,’ he said. ‘I’m so sorry. What have I done? I’ve ruined the culture.’I just hope hell isn’t that hot because I burn real easy. I’m very light-complected, and that kind of worries me,’ he joked.Before talk show stardom, Springer was a politician, elected as the mayor of Cincinnati in 1977.’After being mayor, I was offered the job to anchor the news for the NBC affiliate in Cincinnati, and I did that for 10 years,’ he said on the podcast.He added that it ‘was kind of a rational transition’ to ‘go from politics to reporting to news to anchoring’.Jerry Springer faced various criticisms over its 27-year run, notably for excessive violence and for exploiting vulnerable people for entertainment.In 2002, a woman on the show was murdered hours after the episode she featured on aired, which revealed she was sleeping with her violent ex-husband, unbeknown to his new wife. The couple were found guilty of her murder.Springer said in an October 2000 interview with Reuters: ‘I would never watch my show. I’m not interested in it. It’s not aimed towards me. This is just a silly show.’