We are Jerry Springer and Steve Wilkos. Ask us anything.

Does it tick you off that Maurie cornered the whole "You are not the father" market?

JERRY: No. And more power to him.

STEVE: On the day he retires, I'm taking it over!

JERRY: I was thinking of coming up with "You are not the Grandfather." At my age, that would be the thing that I could relate to!

I have to ask... Why in the world would anyone go on your show?

The vast majority end up looking like utter fools -- do they think they'll be the exception?

JERRY: First of all - they're young people in most cases. It's a... even if they're angry about the dating situation... it's a hoot. They grew up with the show - "Hey man, we'll go on Springer and vent!"

If you could see these people in most cases. I get to see them as I'm leaving, and they are ready to go to the airport - honestly - they're like most other people. "Hey Jerry, can we have a picture? Where's a good restaurant to go to?" They're regular people. When you go to a ballgame, or a club at night... overall they're not wealthy people. But they're not less than we are. Most of 'em weren't as lucky, that's all. But they're all regular people.

JERRY: Here's what you can write, which is true, because I get this all the time - "Why do you go on that show?"

You guys that are beyond flip-phones, you've got your Facebook, your instagram - this generation is going on all this technology and sharing EVERYTHING about their personal lives, showing ALL their body parts, sending out what they did last night, who did what, etc - how could you be shocked by going on television talking about it? They're telling the WORLD.

This culture has changed.

In 1991, it was a fair question. "Why do people..."

But nowadays? It's nothing compared to what kids are putting out today. And in fact, the staff are always joking with me - saying "We're Facebook official!"

I learned what that is now. YES! it's like going steady, when you're telling people. Hey, hey... just stick with me!

STEVE: I'm not on Facebook! I tell people - If you want a good relationship, stay OFF of Facebook. They should call it "Trolling dot com."

Asking at the beginning, hoping for an answer at the end:

Final thought?

STEVE: This is what we all live for, Jerry.

JERRY: I always say "May you never be on my show. Take care of yourself, and each other."

Are the fist fights staged, or are these real? What percent is fake/real?

STEVE: Well there's no fighting on my show. On Jerry's show, I can only speak to when I was on it. I had two back surgeries, a concussion, and a torn groin... and more than a million cuts and scratches. So they were certainly real when I was on.

JERRY: Yeah, I mean, obviously they're real. People are being slapped, their wigs are being pulled off, but because we have security there, most of the security guys are police officers - current - this is their side job -

STEVE: When we were in Chicago, they were ALL current Chicago police officers -

JERRY: So you're dealing with professionals that know how to handle these dust-ups. Let's face it; it's not like people are coming on the show with weapons. They get angry - that's real. And they're charging at each other. But it's not like anyone's in serious danger.

It's widely believed that the guests were either staging their dilemmas or were explicitly told to embellish and encouraged before the show to brawl.

Any truth to that?

JERRY: First of all - considering how crazy the show is - you can't talk someone into being as crazy as they are on the show. They are coming with their own story. It's their own story that brought them to the show in the first place. So the only thing that may be different is the environment of being onstage with everybody screaming and yelling and all that. So they are undoubtedly influenced by having watched the show before. No one comes on our show who hasn't seen the show FOREVER.

STEVE: I mean, someone comes on, "what's this all about."

JERRY: We can't call people up - they know what the show is, going in. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, in a sense. So everybody who comes on the show behaves in the same way.

You boys like Mexico?

STEVE: I've been to Mexico? I like it?

Question for Jerry: What would Steve need to do for you, to earn some Jerry Beads?

JERRY: Huhuhuhuh.

STEVE: He's seen me naked!

JERRY: My eyes were closed! That's wrong! Hehehe! It'll never happen.

STEVE: I don't want Jerry beads.

Jerry, Baggage is my biggest guilty pleasure and I was so excited to hear about the spin off! Do you have any funny/memorable stories from working on that show?

JERRY: Well... I guess, the one, which wouldn't have been a surprise on our show, but was a surprise on BAGGAGE - and I admit, i was surprised... we had this GORGEOUS woman, who had to choose among 3 guys whom she'd date, and the guys as soon as they got out, they wanted to be picked, but they had to reveal their baggage, which was the point of the show. But despite the baggage, she chooses the one.

And they're hugging, jumping up and down, the audience is cheering, and I'm figuring, I don't care what this woman's baggage is, there's no way this guy's gonna back away, because he's going to want to go out with her, she was a hot-looking woman.

So then we go to commercial break, and now when we come back, she has to open her bag- which you have to do on the show. And it turns out she was born a man. And you could not tell. I mean, even after she said it, I'm looking, you could NOT tell. And we have that on our show a lot, so you'd think if anyone in America could tell, I could tell - but I couldn't. But what was REALLY cool - and the audience of course, you could see the blood drain on our face - you come on OUR show, you expect craziness, but with this Baggage show, you think it's a nice, friendly show, he probably had his whole family watching, and friends, and by god... he stumbled around and said "You know, you're a beautiful woman now." So he went out with her.

And that was the biggest surprise on BAGGAGE.

What was the absolute scariest thing you've ever witnessed? By scary I mean off-putting (not in fear). Please do not reply with midgets twerking.

And why did you stop practicing law (Mr. Springer)**?

JERRY: Those are separate questions. I'll take the second one. Not practicing law is because i was elected mayor, and that then became my job. I mean, I was trained to be a lawyer, I went to law school, but my passion to this day remains politics. So I just went to law school because... and i can't remember exactly when, but my parents - it was just assumed i would go to med school or law school, it was assumed I would do that in Junior High school, and then because i was so interested in politics, going to law school made more sense.

So I went to law school, took the bar, got a job with a law firm, all that, but in the back of my mind, I was always going to be active in politics.

Ponders

The most off-putting thing that ever happened on the show? Well... oh, I know!

The thing that made me angriest. Well, one I don't get angry very much, but I certainly don't get angry on the show, because it's a show.

And the show is about outrageous behavior, so I can't say "How dare you say that?!" because that's what the show is about. Just like if you're a judge, you can't say "Oh my gosh, I don't want to deal with criminals" because that's what your job is.

But the time is - I lost it -

STEVE: I restrained you. I did.

JERRY: The only time I lost it is when we had a neo-nazi on the show.

STEVE: I don't think he was a neo-nazi, I think he was some kind of priest from Utah. Big dude. And he was saying to Jerry all kind of really bad stuff, because he had people die in the Holocaust, he said something about making your mother into a lampshade, and he was going to keep her in the trunk, and Jerry just charged at the guy - only time on the show I ever had to grab him!

JERRY: I don't know what I was going to do when I got there.

STEVE: But it looked good.

JERRY: but only when you guys had him on the ground did i go "come on! come on!" That's the only time I ever lost my temper on the show.

STEVE: That guy was a real piece of shit.

Do you always put more attractive people in the front rows? I went to the show in '99 with my girlfriend...I like to think it was because she was cute enough that we got front row seats. That show was crazy - people the guests knew planted in the audience, one of the guest taking a swing at someone in the crowd. Plus I had crazy good sex after - Thanks, Jerry!

JERRY: Heheh! You're welcome!

Was it fun working on Austin Powers? How did that segment come to happen?

JERRY: Well, Mike Meyers wrote the movie. I mean, he is SO creative. He wrote the movie, directed the movie, acted in the movie, it's all him. So the whole Austin Powers series - I think the whole trilogy - all 3 of the movies - use what is current in the pop culture. So at the time I was on the show, it's when we really became part of the pop culture in the late 90's, so he writes us in, and so that's how it came about.

STEVE: The weird thing is that he was Dr. Evil in the scene we were in, and he stayed in character, when we went to lunch. He was still Dr. Evil. It was like, really weird man. And at the end, we got to tear the set apart. They built an EXACT replica of the Springer set, and we got to destroy it.

JERRY: And then we got to wrestle, and you yelled "He's biting my leg!"

STEVE: We did that 17 years ago. Holy shit. 1998. That should be like 4 years ago.

[deleted]

JERRY: ABSOLUTELY NOT. No. We've got something that works. I'm not trying... to do anything different. Because when people watch their show, this is what they wanna see.

STEVE: I Mean, we've been on 24 years! That's like ETERNITY in TV. When you can stay on 24 years, you don't have to change shit!

JERRY: That's Steve saying that. But this is what people want. If tomorrow i did a show on the impact of inflation on the world bond market, that's not gonna work. Obviously the show has a formula. And on a deeper reality of why this works, shows that appeal to young people can stay on... almost forever. And the reason for that is every year you suddenly have new young people old enough to watch. If you do a show that appeals to 30 year olds, by the time they are 33 they are bored with it. But if you do a show that appeals to 16 year olds, every year, you're going to suddenly have kids that are now suddenly old enough to watch when mom's not home, and you have the giggle factor... so that's why you can have longevity, because you have new viewers. If you have a show aimed at adults, you don't have new viewers. Because when you hit adulthood, your tastes don't change that much. And that is the same with music. When you get my age, your favorite music will STILL be what you had when you were a teenager. And that never changes in life. And it's the same with television. People will always remember what they watch as teenagers. That's when the media is so impressionable upon you.

Steve - The results read on your show have gone on to help many police investigations and put bad guys behind bars. Do you have a particular story that you are most proud of?

STEVE: Not particularly. Cuz we've had numerous people, as a result of the show, go to jail. The whole point of being a police officer was getting the bad guy, and the whole point of doing my show is that we get to do that.

JERRY: Does your show ever give tickets to MY show? As punishment?

Steve and Jerry, How do you stay in shape? Do you lift, pump iron or Run? Jerry, how do you get your "Schwarzenegger on" at the gym?

JERRY: LAUGHS OUTLOUD

STEVE: Man, if i had my phone here. I benchpresses 305 the other day. Not bad for a 50 year old man.

JERRY: People might not realize, but he's in incredible shape.

STEVE: One of Jerry's guards is my trainer, Dan. I work out with him.

JERRY: And lest you think I don't work out... back in 1987 I did a knee-bend.

STEVE: Two, in fact!

JERRY: I'm in shape, but only if you consider a circle a shape.

Steve - What if you were Jerry? Jerry - What if you were Steve?

-A Canadian fan

STEVE: Ooof. I'd transfer all his money into my bank account.

JERRY: We both have beautiful wives.

STEVE: that is true. Jerry's wife is one of the most beautiful women I've ever met. And such a sweet lady.

JERRY: And obviously, I love Rochelle.

STEVE: Yea, but she's tough as nails man.

Have you ever been scared of past-guests taking their anger out on your after the show? I have to imagine there would be a lot of misplaced anger towards you and the show.

STEVE: Towards Jerry? NO! Nobody's angry at Jerry.

JERRY: They wouldn't come on the show if they didn't like me. So I don't deal - even when they're hostile at the other guests, they never tend to be hostile towards me, because they're just coming on the show. So i've never run into people yelling at me. What's funny is that they will oftentimes be screaming at each other, yelling, cursing, say the F-word, turn to me and say "Oh, sorry Jerry" and then continue yelling at the other person.

So no, I don't face anger.

STEVE: we had a guest who got ahold of my home phone number, I don't know how, he called me up in the middle of the night, and so I hang up the phone, he calls back, I see it's the same number again, and I say "You call me again, I'm flying down to Texas and kicking your ass." He never called again.

Have you ever had a potential guest for the show that you had to reject because they were too controversial?

JERRY: No. I don't know who our guests are. But you have to be... the whole premise of the show is that your behavior, or your situation, is inappropriate, outrageous, beyond-the-norm. If you call us with a warm, uplifting story, we don't handle it, we send you to another show. Our show is about craziness, so you can't come on with something warm and uplifting.

STEVE: I Mean, ELLEN is celebrity-driven. Nobody does warm, cuddly shows anymore.

JERRY: We can't handle any of that. I mean, we wouldn't let someone on the show demonstrate how to make a bomb. You're not going to permit criminal activity. But in terms of their situation - why would you? No newscast says "We're not going to run this news story." We run news stories every day about beheadings, rapes, murders - so how could you say to a newspaper, "This story is too terrible, we won't print it." When does a newspaper ever not print a story because it's terrible?

In all your time doing your shows, what was the most surprising moment?

JERRY: Uh... well, all moments are surprising, because I don't know what the show is about ahead of time, nor do I know who the guests are. I'm given a card, which you see me carrying around, but all that has on it are the names of the guests. Which is why, at the beginning of every segment, you see me saying "So what's going on?"

So my job is to just ask questions, that YOU would ask, sitting at home watching, and then make jokes. So basically, I'm hired to make jokes.

So I'm always surprised. The most surprising story was probably the guy who married his horse.

Because I knew they were dating, but I didn't know they were getting married. JUST KIDDING! But that was the most surprising.

But we did a follow up show, because the horse left him.

JERRY JERRY JERRY

Do you have a ready supply of headache tablets of after each show?

What were the best movies you have seen in 2014?

Are you a fan of Kristen Wiig?

STEVE: American Sniper was fucking great.

JERRY: I haven't seen it yet. I'm gonna go see that. I loved AMERICAN HUSTLE.

STEVE: See, I didn't think that was so great.

JERRY: We like foreign films.

STEVE: Did you see THE IMITATION GAME?

JERRY: That was wonderful. That counts for last year. YES, loved THE IMITATION GAME.

STEVE: We didn't care for BIRDMAN. I thought it was going to be good, but it was funky. Very dark.

JERRY: No, I don't take headache tablets. They're not blue, are they?

Hey guys! big fans of both,

I was wondering how you two started in the TV spotlight?

STEVE: I worked on Jerry's show, haha!

JERRY: Well, I came in backwards. Because I didn't start out in show business, I started out in politics. So I was... rubs temples I got to be known in Cincinnati, because I was a councilman and mayor there. And because of that job, I then got the job as the main news anchor for the NBC Affiliate in Cincinnati, for 10 years, And because of THAT job, I got a talk show, because the company that owned the TV station also owned the talk shows for Phil Donohue and Sally Jesse Raphael. So they were in the business of talk shows. From '71-'81, I was councilman and mayor. From '81-'93, I was a news anchor. And in '91, I started the talk show. So for 2 years I was doing both. But it was... I mean, haha! Oh, I don't want to brag, haha. But anyways, so that's how I got into show business. So I'm not being modest when I say I've been lucky, because the only job I ever applied for was being mayor. Every other job, somebody called or said "Would you like to do this?" so everything has been handed to me. So that's why my life has been so lucky.

Every job.

JERRY: About Steve, when we first started the show, we never had security, because nobody thought about having security on a television show! And then one day, about 3 years in, I guess... I'm not sure the exact date, a fight broke out on our show. It had to do with the Klan, and neo-Nazis, anyways a fight broke out. But it really got out of hand. It was a fight that lasted like 15 minutes, the audience was involved, because people stormed from the stands onto the stage, chairs were being thrown, I mean, that was a mini-riot.

And that day, we honestly thought that we were finished. We would never air another show. We had no idea what was going to happen. In hindsight, people take credit for that, but we had no idea what was going on, we were scared.

One of the decisions, a smart one, was we have to have security. So Steve came on the show, I think other officers as well, so we started to have security, and what evolved was that Steve became incredibly popular on the show, particularly among young people, he was this "hot cop" or whatever, and he became a personality - particularly the women, because he had his own fanbase!

STEVE: Back when people wrote letters.

JERRY: SO when it came time to expand the franchise, you know, it's no different than what Oprah did with Dr. Phil, and the same thing happened with Phil, that he's become a star in his own right. But that's how that evolved.

Jerry, would you ever run for office again?

JERRY: I'm too old.

STEVE: You're younger than Hillary.

JERRY: No, I'm 2 years older than her. So ... I mean, there was a time that I kept thinking about it. But that's passed me by.

STEVE: Plus he doesn't want to take the pay cut!

JERRY: I'm still very active. I mean, every single week. But I don't run for office.

Have you ever felt genuinely sorry for one of the guests on your show?

JERRY: ... Yeah.

STEVE: LIAR!

JERRY: This was back in the early years on the show, when we weren't crazy. We had some sad shows, kids with cancer, things like that. Do I feel sorry for the dating shows we do? No, I mean, we've all been through it. The show is totally voluntary.

Do you watch any other shows like yours? Like Jeremy Kyle for instance?

JERRY: No. I know who he is, because i knew him in England. I saw his show in England, I haven't seen it here in the States. And there aren't shows that are as crazy as ours. And Steve's show is the only police officer, get-tough-copy kind of...so there's a uniqueness. So Steve has his own brand, and we have ours, and one of the reasons that our shows work is because they are so unique. You can't duplicate it, you can't be the second one to the dance. Other shows try to be AMERICAN IDOL, and the fact is, they can't. So they come up with something new.

What is the worst situation you two have ever had to deal with?

JERRY: Well, Steve got hurt. And we don't joke about it. But when he did get hurt, no one knew what it was.

STEVE: Yeah, he came over and looked down on me, he was prepping for RINGMASTER, I thought I was shot because it hurt so bad, I threw up offstage. I was lying there, writhing in pain. I tore my groin. And Jerry came over and asked "Are we working out tomorrow?"

JERRY: I didn't know he was really hurt!

Do you listen to the Community Box Podcast? <3

STEVE: Have you ever listened to a podcast? Do you know what a podcast is?

JERRY: You know how peas grown in a pod?

I have no idea... I confess, I am technologically challenged.

digs in pocket

Here's my phone.

presents flip phone

STEVE: You know if you break that, you'll probably not be able to get another one.

Jerry- Love your show, and I've been to a taping. Had a great time.

My question: why aren't there as many altercations as in years past? I feel like back in the 90s, there were some ferocious fights, that really glued me to the TV. in the 00s, it's been little slaps and stuff and broken up, and not enough energy. What happened?

JERRY: Um... the truth is, it's not much different, if at all. There are days that it is TOTALLY out of control, and all you have to do is talk to the security guys, who are suddenly - we lose 'em left and right because they get hurt! So that is a fiction. Now, station can decide, in the editing process- the camera may shift to the crowd - but if you're there -

STEVE: there's much more of a legal process now. NBC or whomever dictates it - you have to edit SO MUCH OUT now. When we were in Chicago, we didn't even have legal. And then somehow lawyers became on-site, and they make you take out so much stuff that the show probably does look different.

JERRY: But if you're there, it's pretty much the same show. You may have been there on a day where we didn't have a brawl. So come to a taping. I always tell people - "Whether you watch the show, it's based on your taste. But everybody, once in their life, should actually BE on the show. Because there is no experience like it. It's a total circus. It's not your traditional talk-show."

Jerry, I've heard that you have some roots in the central europe, is that true?

JERRY: Yeah, I was born in England and my parents and my whole family were German Jews, so... Germany, Poland, that area.

How do you pick topics for your shows?

JERRY: I don't. I have nothing to do with it.

STEVE: My wife picks the topic for both shows. She's my executive producer, she's Jerry's executive producer.

JERRY: As I said, I don't know what the show is about. It makes it easier for ME to do it, because it's much more spontaneous than if I already knew. Since our show is a comedy, it works better if I don't know. But I have nothing to do with choosing guests. If someone held a gun to my head, and said "PRODUCE YOUR SHOW" I wouldn't have a CLUE. I have no idea how to produce my show, and I've been doing it for 24 years!

STEVE: When I was doing security I knew everybody. But now i have my own show, I'm so isolated, I don't know anybody except the producers. That's it!

What is the main thing driving people in your show to act as they act in front of the whole nation?

STEVE: Because it's on TV. TV is a huge draw. It's a magnet. Because even when I was a policeman, if I was on a police scene and the news showed up, I'd race home to see if I would be on TV for 2 seconds! I was on the news, ya know?!

JERRY: I thought you were going to say people in the background, waving! NOBODY comes on the show because they think they're going to get help. And we make it clear, to be honest, it's different than Steve's show, which is a serious show.

STEVE: We give 'em free cigarettes, that's why. UNLIMITED CIGARETTES. They're like "we're there!" That's one of the biggest things in our budget, no joke.

JERRY: Well... as I said... it's consistent with that I guess, but nobody comes on the show because they're not going to get a problem resolved. It's a circus. You can come on the show and vent your feelings, but we don't deal with any serious issues on our show. We deal with dating. People are angry, but tomorrow they're dating someone else. So it's nothing serious. And they don't even come on the show to become famous, because you don't get famous being on our show- you don't even use your real name, in most instances! But what is true, beyond cigarettes, is for a lot of these people, it is one of the few times, in their lives, that....they are being listened to.

That someone is paying attention.

So many of our guests don't have parents who listen to them, who don't have a job where someone asks for their advice, "what should we do here?" most of us here are pretty lucky because someone asks our opinion. But most of our guests, no one pays attention to them. They get calls from producers for a national show, they get flown to Connecticut or New York, whatever -

STEVE: It might be their first time in an airplane, or a hotel.

JERRY: And then they meet the producers, and get makeup, called out onstage, people are cheering or even booing, but the nation is listening to THEM for a moment. For whatever is important to them. "My girlfriend's cheating on me" - and that's why, oftentimes, even if it seemed like a rough experience, they want to come back and be on another show. Because they ENJOY being on the show. And by now - people have grown up with the show. So it's kinda like in the Neighborhood - "I'm gonna be on Springer, ya know." So I admit, I didn't know about the cigarettes. But it's beyond the cigarettes issue.

What is your biggest regret?

JERRY: MY biggest regret? Well, when the Yankees lost the 1960's world series...

STEVE: And that's my biggest regret because they let Bill Mazeroski in the Hall of Fame!

JERRY: Oh, I... throws up hands Honestly I don't have regrets in life. I've had this privileged life. Pure luck. And I'm grateful and ... what am I gonna be? What can I regret? If I said I regret something, it would sound arrogant - so no, I don't have any regrets.

Would you ever consider removing your show from syndicated TV and air exclusively online, where you wouldn't have the censorship?

JERRY: Well, I have nothing to do with that. I don't own the show. But I do think - in fact, I think NBC is always exploring different platforms for the show. And what I think... is someone's going to make money on it, after I'm gone. But we have a library of 4,500 shows. And our show is not time-related. So this show - you could run this show, whatever the platforms are, for 40 years from now, when I'm long-gone.

STEVE: Because i was on the show when you did episode 3,000... and that was YEARS ago...

JERRY: For the first 10 years, we did 200 episodes a year. Now we do 160. So if you do that 24 times, that's 4,800 shows.

STEVE: I guess, you gotta be getting close to 5,000 though.

do you ever wonder what happened to people who were on the show and what happened to them ?

STEVE: Oh yeah, I stay up all night wondering. Nah, I never think about 'em.

JERRY: Again... we don't deal with anything serious. I admit, early on, when we did real serious things - kids with cancer things like that, you do think about that - but nowadays -

STEVE: You gotta turn it off after the show. You don't take the job home with you, because it'll fight your family, fight your happiness. Once i leave the studio, i don't think about it.

Do you remember the Traci the Trailer Trash episode? What was it like working with her and was her story real? Are the people on the show real or are they told to act up?

JERRY: Obviously, doing so many shows, I honestly don't remember that particular one by the title. But yes, the people on the show are real. And they're vetted pretty well, and obviously our producers have been doing this for years, so they're pretty good at it. I'm not saying we've never been duped, but I'd say 95% of the time it's absolutely true. Their reactions... sometimes are over-the-top, because of being before a live audience that's egging them on, screaming and yelling. In that kind of environment, you're going to get a different response than if you were sitting on an Oprah show.

So there's that.

But the basic facts of the story - they're real.