For years it dominated daytime TV across the United States, oblivious to the cloud of controversy and criticism that followed in its turbulent wake.
Tackling far-reaching and unpalatable themes including incest, rape, white supremacism and adultery, The Jerry Springer Show turned car crash TV into an art-form during its astonishing 26-year run.
Some seven years after its final episode, new Netflix documentary Fights, Camera, Action spotlights the show’s beleaguered former producers and their increasingly desperate attempts to raise the bar, lower the tone – and boost ratings.
But a former employer on the show, primarily filmed at NBC Tower in Chicago before relocating to Stamford Media Center in Connecticut, insists the tell-all three-part exposé only reveals a fraction of the truth.
Speaking to The Sun, one-time producer Norm Lubow claims he would regularly book strippers, prostitutes and adult film actresses to appear as fake guests on the show – and provide backstage favours for its titular host.
‘When we were first hired Jerry came out to meet us in LA and picked us up in a limo. The first thing Jerry said to us was, “I want to get laid, where are the hookers?”‘ he alleged.
Tackling far-reaching and unpalatable themes including incest, rape, white supremacism and adultery, The Jerry Springer Show turned car crash TV into an art-form during its astonishing 26-year run
But former producer Norm Lubow (pictured) claims a new Netflix documentary about the controversial show doesn’t tell the while truth about Springer’s association with his guests
‘We were like, “Whoa!” but basically we realized right away, it wasn’t just about getting guests for the show, it was about getting him laid, which of course we did.
‘That just became part of our job and that’s why we were so successful and we moved up the ladder. We found him women who were happy to do double duty, come on the show and look after Jerry after filming.
‘I realised right away that the most important thing was not finding guests, but finding women for Jerry.
‘Luckily I knew a lot of good-looking women – strippers and things – from my days in a band in LA so that meant I quickly went from a freelance guest-finder to a full-time producer on the show.’
Lubow claims some of the female guests would provide ‘double duty’ by obliging Springer’s sexual requests backstage.
‘I’d go up them and say, “Uh, you know I’m a new producer here and it would do me a huge favour if you would go out with Jerry tonight, he thinks you’re great”, and they would – so I was like the pimp,’ he claimed.
‘It didn’t take much persuading, the girls were happy to go off with him.’
In 1998, Springer was forced to explain himself after photos emerged of the married presenter engaged in a threesome with fellow guest Kendra Jade – an adult porn star – and her stepmother.
Some seven years after its final episode, new Netflix documentary Fights, Camera, Action spotlights the show’s beleaguered former producers and their increasingly desperate attempts to raise the bar, lower the tone – and boost ratings
At the time Springer was still married to wife Micki Velton despite a reported separation some four years earlier.
The scandal is referenced by Netflix in their new documentary series as a solitary incident, but Lubow claims it was really the tip of a very large iceberg.
He added: ‘It was just an accepted part of my job being his pimp and on the Netflix show they make out that he had this one sex scandal. No way, that was just the only time he got caught.’
Astonishingly, Lubow – a former singer with heavy metal band Just Say Yes – found a paying job on the show after making six previous appearances onstage as a guest.
One appearance, filmed months before he was recruited as a producer, saw him stage a spoof ‘presidential campaign’ as the fictional, weed-loving Reverend Bud Green.
Featuring alongside close friend Al Bowman and two bikini-clad women, ‘Bud’ pledged to legalise cannabis and give everyone a free limo if people voted for him.
In an earlier show, Lubow presented himself as a modern day Robin Hood who took advantage of the catastrophic Los Angeles riots by stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.
Astonishingly, Lubow – a former singer with heavy metal band Just Say Yes – found a paying job on the show after making six previous appearances onstage as a guest, including one as weed loving presidential candidate Reverend Bud Green
In an earlier show, Lubow presented himself as a modern day ‘Robin Hood’ who took advantage of the catastrophic Los Angeles riots by stealing from the rich and giving to the poor
Bizarrely, Lubow says Bowman was also offered a production role after initially appearing as a guest.
‘We were guests-turned-producers which nobody has ever done in the history of TV,’ he said.
‘This is how quick it happened: me and Al were on air as guests in September 1996 and then within a month we were guest-finders and within three months, producers on the show.’
He added: ‘The word ‘fake’ was never used, but producers would say “Find us someone who says they’re a pimp or says they’re a drug user”.
‘As I put it, they wanted to eat steak but they didn’t want to know how you butchered the cow. But they knew a lot of these people weren’t legit – and they preferred the fake shows as they were more fun and less trouble.’
Lubow says some of the female guests would provide ‘double duty’ by obliging Springer’s sexual requests backstage (Pictured: Jerry Spring presenting a 1998 episode titled I am Pregnant by my Half-Brother)
Lubow also featured on the show’s milestone 1200th show, during which he was filmed chatting with Springer
Springer died aged 79 in 2023, shortly after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Weeks before his death, the veteran presenter refuted claims of fakery on his hit show, insisting much of what aired was real.
‘I’d say it was 98% real. In fact, the lawyers were involved, [so] you’d get sued if you made it up,’ he told Australia’s The Morning Show.
Springer said his guests were completely genuine, but often behaved in an over-the-top-way because of the program’s rowdy atmosphere.
‘The situations were truthful. What was embellished… was the reactions. Because you had the audience screaming, “Jerry, Jerry!”‘ he said.
‘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.’
The raucous talk show – which ran for nearly 4,000 episodes – began airing in September 1991 and peaked in the late 90s
The Jerry Springer was cancelled in 2018 after a whopping 27 seasons
The raucous talk show – which ran for nearly 4,000 episodes – began airing in September 1991 and peaked in the late 90s.
It was so popular that in 1998 Springer starred in a feature film called Ringmaster, based on the shocking program.
Reflecting on his success, Springer said: ‘It was a crazy show. For 30 years and… it was enjoyable. Obviously there was an audience that enjoyed it.
‘[But] I never thought it had any redeeming social value. I mean, it wouldn’t hurt you, but it wouldn’t, you know, make you a better person either.’
