<![CDATA[Jezebel: the steve wilkos show]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jezebel.com.png <![CDATA[Jezebel: the steve wilkos show]]> http://jezebel.com/tag/thestevewilkosshow http://jezebel.com/tag/thestevewilkosshow <![CDATA[What's The Purpose Of The Steve Wilkos Show?]]> Talk show host Steve Wilkos — the former director of security on The Jerry Springer Show — spends five hours a week screaming at his guests, who are essentially the scum of the earth. Viewers want to know why.

On today's episode, Steve answered viewer mail in a bizarrely quiet segment that seemed more suited for public access. (Every person whose mail he reads on air gets sent a free t-shirt, in case you're interested/feel up to the challenge.) One person wrote in:

I've heard about your show, so I took an interest in it. What is the purpose of your show?

I've wondered the same thing before. Steve said, "It's about accountability, making the right choices, and exposing people who prey on the innocent." That's all well and good, but it's hardly difficult to get people to cheer you on while you scream at someone who beats on a pregnant woman, or go ape shit on a mother who repeatedly dates men who molest her young daughter. These things are very obviously not cool, by anyone's standards, and while people like that should be in trouble with someone, I'm not really sure that Steve is the right person. (Really, law enforcement would be more suitable than a daytime talk show.) While his heart seems to be in a good place, it's doubtful that his outbursts will prevent crimes like this from happening, or that it will even change the behavior of his guests.

However, I do like that domestic violence and sexual abuse are frequently addressed — and not tip-toed around — and that he makes it very clear that people should be outraged over such crimes. If it won't deter abusers, it might at least help victims recognize that they are in similar situations and that it's not OK.

But every single show is the same thing, over and over again, with Steve flying off the handle, getting in his guests' faces and throwing chairs around the studio. So I suppose the real question here is: How the hell does he still manage to get people to agree to appear on his show?

Earlier: Steve Wilkos Gives Transgender Wife-Beater A Verbal Bashing
The Steve Wilkos Show Publicly Shames Mother Of 8 Year Old Assault Victim

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<![CDATA[Steve Wilkos Gives Transgender Wife-Beater A Verbal Bashing]]> Today on The Steve Wilkos Show, the host went apeshit on an abusive transgender man who kicked his pregnant wife in the stomach, inducing a miscarriage.

Steve normally screams at his guests and throws chairs and shit, but he was super pissed off about this guy, who repeatedly beats his wife to the point of hospitalization. He was also pissed at the wife for defending her husband. This couple has a lot of problems, one of which is their shared stupidity. (Their description, in this clip, of whether or not they knew she was pregnant makes it seem like they probably shouldn't be having kids, if they are this misinformed about life in general.) At the end of the episode, Steve gave an update: Three days after taping the show, the couple tried artificial insemination again, and the woman is now pregnant.]]>
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<![CDATA[The Steve Wilkos Show Publicly Shames Mother Of 8 Year Old Assault Victim]]> I caught The Steve Wilkos Show for the first time on Friday, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Wilkos is the guy who used to be the director of security on The Jerry Springer Show, and he would sometimes fill in for Jerry when he was on vacation. Apparently the format of Steve's talk show is that he invites on people he finds despicable (drug users, abusers, neglectful parents, prostitutes) and then taunts and rails against them for an hour. He also throws a lot of chairs around. Friday's show was called "Mommy, I Keep Getting Raped," and the guest was a woman whose 8-year-old daughter was raped by 7 different men — all friends of the woman — starting at the age of two. Clip above.

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