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Before we had Real Housewives, ultra-rich Kardashians, and more Bachelors and Bachelorettes than we can count, viewing audiences looking to rot their brains for an hour or two had watch daytime talk shows. Following the success of The Jerry Springer Show, talk shows of the era became increasingly sensational to try and top each other in the ratings. But on an episode of The Jenny Jones Show, the sensationalism went too far, leaving one guest dead and the other in prison for the crime. How does something like this happen?
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Before we had real housewives, ultra-rich Kardashians, and more bachelors and bachelorettes than we can count
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viewing audiences looking to rot their brains for an hour or two had to watch daytime talk shows
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Following the success of The Jerry Springer Show, talk shows of the era became increasingly sensational to try and top each other in the ratings
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But on an episode of The Jenny Jones Show, the sensationalism went too far, leaving one guest dead and the other in prison for the crime
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How does something like this happen? Well, today we're investigating what happens when a talk show leads to murder
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The Jenny Jones Show was a long-running talk show that aired from 1991 to 2003
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ending its tenure after 12 seasons and 2,000-some episodes. Season 1 of the show featured typical panel-style chats
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cooking segments, comedy, and some scripted segments. Essentially, everything you'd expect from a traditional 90s talk show
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But sometime between season 1 and 2, the producers decided to take a left turn and completely refit the show
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Instead of focusing on family-friendly segments, The Jenny Jones Show would now fixate on hour-long sensational topics like
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You said I had no talent, well look at me now. Or, I'm losing my child to Marilyn Manson
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And even more outlandish tabloid style segments like World's Sexiest Twins. Or, You laughed at my body, now I'm a hottie
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One such topic that has now become infamous happened on March 6, 1995
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when the Jenny Jones Show invited 24-year-old Jonathan Schmitz to the show
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under the pretense that his friend Donna might reveal a long-time crush to him
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However, when Schmitz walked out onto the stage, he was shocked to learn that it was actually Donna's friend, 32-year-old Scott Amiger, who would be confessing his attraction
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During the episode titled Revealing My Same Crush Jenny herself polled the audience before any of the involved were introduced asking the crowd how they would choose to reveal a crush Write a letter tell in private
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and not risk the embarrassment of a public rejection. Or dump it all on someone in the
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middle of a talk show and just hope they're of the same sexual orientation. The audience ate it up
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but Schmitz was reportedly unaware of what was about to happen. The big reveal happened on air
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when Amidur shared his feelings with a baffled Schmitz. When coaxed by Jones and the audience
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Amidur further commented on some decidedly private fantasies he'd had about the two of them being together
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including one involving a hammock, champagne, and whipped cream, all to a hooting and hollering crowd who couldn't get enough
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Amidur's mother would later claim that Jenny was pushing Scott into saying and doing things he would not normally have done
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were he not worried about angering the show's host. Apparently, Jones' original plan would have had a major give Schmitz flowers and kiss him on camera
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specifically to make Schmitz even more uncomfortable and embarrassed. When the March 6th taping ended, Schmitz went back home to Michigan and resumed his life as normal
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He reportedly went out for a long night of drinking and partying with his friends
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and didn't get home until the early hours of the morning. When he got home, Schmitz found a note addressed to him
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with a sexually explicit note from Amidur. Schmitz went out and withdrew enough money from his bank account
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to purchase a 12-gauge shotgun and drove over to Amidur's mobile home to confront him about the note
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Amidur confirmed he had written it, at which point Schmitz grabbed his gun from the car and shot Amidur dead
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before calling 911 and confessing to what he had done. He was arrested and charged with second-degree murder
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During the trial, several elements were called into question regarding the decisions that led to
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Amitra death including how they were treated on the show When Jones was called to the witness stand she was questioned as to whether or not the guests had been drinking before the taping began A series of interrogations tried to understand if guests were allowed to drink before they appeared on the show
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or if the show had even provided the two men with alcohol. Jones claimed they hadn't been drinking, to her knowledge
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But even if they had been drunk, Jones would be none the wiser, as she did not have any contact with the guests prior to them walking out on stage
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If they did drink, she insisted the producers would have delayed the filming
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while drinking may or may not have been involved. Some harmful tactics definitely were
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Schmitz claimed in court that the producers of The Jenny Jones Show told him the secret admirer was either his friend Donna, an ex-girlfriend
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or a long-time ex-fiancee who wanted to rekindle. Producers told a different story
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claiming they told Schmitz that his crush could end up being male or female
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Jones would back up this claim in her 1997 memoir and further defend herself in a 1999 People
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interview. As a manic depressive who had been up all night getting heavily intoxicated
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Schmitz's lawyers argued he was nowhere near in his right mind at the time of a major's death
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The jury even admitted it was difficult to determine whether Schmitz was fully in control
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of his faculties when he shot a major and at the very least wasn't thinking straight
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The arguing was considered during a three-day break, after which the jury proclaimed that they
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had to seriously question whether Schmitz could really pump two shots into another person's chest
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and be considered stable and rational. Despite that doubt and any possible culpability of the
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Jenny Jones show, Schmitz was convicted of the second-degree murder of Scott Amiger
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Before his first sentencing, Schmitz read a poem to Amiger's family that he had written as a way
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of expressing his regret over the crime. Despite the effort, the judge pointed out
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that Schmitz had to be accountable to society and that no poem would change that fact
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He was sentenced to 20 to 50 years in prison, a sentence he and his lawyers
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unsuccessfully appealed several times. He was granted parole in March 2017 at the age of 47 A major killer may have wound up in prison for the cold crime
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but his family wasn't satisfied that justice had been totally served. They believed that Jones and the show's producers were directly culpable in their son's shooting
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A civil jury heard the evidence and agreed with the Amiger family
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who seemed poised to receive $25 million awarded by the Michigan court
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But Warner Brothers attorney Zazie Pope was none too pleased with this decision
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claiming the disturbing verdict would prevent TV producers from surprising their guests with
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shocking secrets, sucking the lifeblood out of the trash TV biz. This perspective was enough
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to sway the right people, and the verdict was later overturned in appeal
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Jenny Jones was not the only reality show to result in violent tragedy. On an episode of
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rival tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show. Newlywed couple Ralph and Eleanor Panitz were
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concerned Ralph's ex-wife, Nancy Campbell Panitz, was stalking them. Shockingly, upon returning to
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Sarasota, Florida after the taping, Ralph and Eleanor murdered Nancy before fleeing from
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authorities. They surrendered and were arrested after a failed attempt to reach the Canadian
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border. In another infamous incident, Texas Assistant District Attorney Louis Conrad Jr
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took his own life when a SWAT team arrived to serve him an arrest warrant after he was featured
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on an episode of the investigative journalism show To Catch a Predator attempting to solicit
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sex from a minor. Another gruesome reality show crime happened shortly after the premiere of a
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show called Megan Wants a Millionaire on VH1. The third-place contestant, Ryan Jenkins, was heavily
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featured on the show, but as Megan Wants a Millionaire was airing, Jenkins slew his wife
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swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore before taking his own life. The show was immediately pulled
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before the final few episodes were aired and all references to Megan
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Once a Millionaire were pulled from VH1 shortly thereafter. Similarly, the episode of The Jenny Jones Show
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featuring Jonathan Schmitz and Scott Amager was never aired again