Jerry Springer apologized for "ruining the culture" with his divisive talk show just months before his death at the age of 79.
It was revealed on Thursday that the TV personality had died at his home in Chicago after having been diagnosed with cancer some months earlier, with his condition reportedly worsening this week.
A spokesperson for the family, Jene Galvin, said in a statement via TMZ: "Jerry's ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word.
"He's irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart, and humor will live on."
Before his television career began, Springer worked as a politician and ran an ultimately unsuccessful campaign for US Congress in 1970. He was elected to Cincinnati's City Council in 1971, becoming the city's mayor in 1977, where he served one term.
He is best known for being the host of the hugely popular talk show The Jerry Springer Show, which ran for 27 years from 1991 to 2018.
The Jerry Springer Show was famous for sharing guests' outrageous stories as well as its enthusiastic audience that chanted 'Jerry! Jerry!" on each episode when things got heated.
However, while the show was hugely popular with fans, it did also court controversy for showcasing vulnerable people for entertainment and the confrontations that would occur in each episode.
Just months before his death, Springer apologized for "ruining the culture" with the show, saying on David Yontef's Behind the Velvet Rope podcast in November 2022: "I just apologize.
"I’m so sorry. What have I done? I’ve ruined the culture," the host added, before joking: "I just hope hell isn’t that hot because I burn real easy. I’m very light-complected, and that kind of worries me."
The show often featured outlandish stories about incestuous couples, secret love affairs, and other sordid real-life cases with incendiary headlines, and guests would often come to blows on stage.
In a piece for The Guardian, author Stuart Heritage criticized the show and the way it "splashed around in humanity’s worst excesses."
"In episodes with titles such as 'I’m Pregnant by a Transsexual!' and 'Lesbolicious', Springer would introduce a guest, hear their complaints, bring on an aggressor and watch as they verbally and physically attacked each other," Heritage wrote.
He went on to discuss how Springer himself repeatedly distanced himself from his problematic show given his "erudite and politically conscious" personality, telling 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."
Another aspect of the show which faced criticism was the fact guests were allowed to scrap on stage before security broke them up, as well as the use of a bell to promote guests to attack one another, as well as a heckling segment that allowed the audience to taunt the guests.
After The Jerry Springer Show came to an end, the host featured on America's Got Talent for a while before launching his own self-titled podcast.
Our thoughts remain with his friends and family at this time.
