Jerry Springer Once Called the TV Show That Made Him Famous 'Stupid': 'I've Ruined the Culture'

The talk show host, whose controversial program The Jerry Springer Show ran for 27 years, died Thursday following a short illness

Jerry Springer always understood the controversial nature of his daytime talk show.

"It's stupid," The Jerry Springer Show host, who died Thursday following a brief illness, said on the Today show in 2017. "And it's got a niche, and no one else kind of goes in that niche, so I think that's one of the reason it's lasted."

Related:Jerry Springer, Talk Show Icon and Former Cincinnati Mayor, Dead at 79

The Jerry Springer Show ran for 27 years from 1991 to 2018, bringing on guests like a Ku Klux Klan member, a mole person and a man who married a horse. Springer cited "the personality of the guests" as the reason why so many people tuned in.

"No one's watching because of me," Springer continued on Today. "They're watching because the stories are crazy and the people are outrageous."

The former Cincinnati mayor apologized for the effect he thought his show had. "I've ruined the culture," he said.

After running for Ohio governor in 1982, Springer tried his hand at commentary and eventually landed his own show. Spring didn't intend for his show to become what it did.

"When we started, we were a serious show," Springer said. "But then all of a sudden, it started going crazy. And when universal bought us, they said, 'From now on, only crazy.' But there's no censorship. We've had on our show neo-Nazis, and my family was exterminated by the Nazis. If I can do a show where I'm okay that they're on, then what am I going to say no to?

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Springer reflected on the challenges of filming that episode to PEOPLE in 2019.

"We had a neo-Nazi on and I kind of lost it," Springer said. "I'd lost my family in the Holocaust, so when he started talking about turning my mother into a lampshade or something, I lost it."

The talk show host regretted getting heated. "I'm supposed to be able to handle all the outrageous things. But I kind of put my finger in his face and yelled at him," he said. "Suddenly, he stood up and he was a big guy. I was like, 'Oh. This was not a good idea.' Thankfully security got him on the ground."

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Although The Jerry Springer Show came to an end after 4,000 episodes, Springer never planned to slow down. He produced and starred in Judge Jerry, which ran for three seasons, and hosted another talk show in Connecticut, as well as the Price is Right Live! Tour.

"I will be stopping when I'm 104. I want to be able to enjoy my retirement," Springer said. "I'm lucky. I don't need to make a living anymore. I work because it's enjoyable to do and people enjoy the show. As long as I'm healthy, I'll keep doing it. I can't imagine doing nothing."

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