The Jerry Springer Show gained notoriety for its shocking episodes, with one particular installment being so contentious that it only aired once.
Debuting in 1991, the show continued until its cancellation in 2018, exactly five years before the passing of Jerry Springer.
The beloved television personality succumbed to pancreatic cancer in April 2023 at the age of 79.
Throughout its 27 seasons, The Jerry Springer Show was often labeled as ‘the worst TV show of all time’. Despite this, it achieved status as one of the most-watched daytime shows in America.
There was speculation about whether some interviews and guests were staged, but Springer consistently maintained that the content was ’98 percent real’.
“In fact, the lawyers were involved — you’d get sued if you made it up,” he stated emphatically.
However, he acknowledged uncertainty over whether guests might have deceived them.
Springer elaborated: “Now, if you’re asking me ‘was there ever a time when someone fooled us?’.
“To this day, we don’t know if they made it up.”
One episode, in particular, raised questions about its authenticity, featuring a man who allegedly abandoned his family to marry a horse.
Yes, that is precisely what happened.
The episode aired for the first time in 1998 and, while Jerry Springer was no stranger to controversial topics, this particular episode was considered too extreme and was never broadcast again.
However, interest in it has resurfaced over two decades later following the release of Netflix’s limited series, Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action.
The two-part documentary became available on the streaming platform on January 7.
The story was so controversial that the Jerry Springer staff member who received the tip was ‘terrified’ to propose it.
In the Netflix documentary, producer Toby Yoshimura recounts: “It had to be 3 or 4 in the morning when I get a call from this guy.
“He says, ‘Hi my name is Mark… I’ve been meaning to call the show for a long time because you guys are the only people who would really understand me. I left my wife and my two daughters for a Shetland pony.'”
He continued, as reported by PEOPLE: “I’m like, ‘This is a f**king dream’. He said that he and [his pony] Pixel had looked at each other and they had an immediate connection.”
Due to the supposed ‘connection’, the individual claimed that the relationship with the horse did not constitute bestiality.
However, many viewers did not share this view.
During the episode, Mark confessed to having ‘intimate relations’ with the horse and mentioned that they had participated in a wedding ceremony.
Ultimately, the episode was broadcast only in New York City and was prohibited from airing in all other markets.
At the time, TV critic Roger Feder described it as ‘the most vile and grotesque freak show that’s ever been on television’.