If you were a kid who grew up in the '90s, then there is a 99.9% chance that you watched the Jerry Springer show.
And you probably usually watched on days you were home sick from school and alone — because the show was wild and definitely not appropriate for kids.
Well, earlier today, it was announced that Jerry Springer had died at age 79. And for many young Gen X'ers and older millennials who have fond memories of watching his now-problematic talk show, it feels like a piece of our childhood has died too.
In memory of Jerry, I decided to round up some tweets that basically summarize how millennials are feeling about the death of a TV icon who really played a huge part in our lives (at least on screen):
1.
Millennials going through it right now with the Jerry Springer news 💀
2.
Jerry Springer, Maury and Bob Barker - The three amigos of babysitting elder millennials while we were home sick from school.
3.
Jenny Jones, Ricki Lake, Montel Williams, Jerry Springer, and Maury Povich Ware the Avengers of 90s talk show hosts. You had to be there to fully understand it. Everyone was tuning in.
4.
If you're wondering why Millennials seem extra nostalgic for the Jerry Springer Show it's because it was the easiest way to find nasty freaks to gawk at before Twitter rolled out paid verification.
5.
Oh no…RIP Jerry Springer 🙏…thank you for giving 90s kids something to watch when we stayed home "sick" from school
6.
I thought surely I was the only kid watching Jerry Springer at my age because my parents played fast and loose with the remote control, but apparently this was a 90s cultural imperative. This explains so much about us millennials. RIP to a sick day icon 💔 https://t.co/EnlwuEeCSy
7.
@WUTangKids I grew up on Jerry Springer and Ricki Lake ❤️. I feel like they were my best babysitters.
8.
Jerry Springer was peak chaos which is why millennials are like this
9.
I think Jerry Springer was a pretty significant thing for those of us who were kids in the 90s cos it was the first time that you realised that a lot of adults are really stupid & messed up.
10.
Watching “My Son Got My Ex-Wife’s Transgender Sister Pregnant” on Jerry Springer before Power Rangers came on at 4 PM was a rite of passage for millennials. R.I.P.
11.
When I was a kid we used to line our little chairs up in the living room and play Jerry Springer. It was so fun/funny! We even had audience members chanting “Jerry! Jerry!”….RIP to the 90s legend
12.
Say what you will about Jerry Springer. But nobody else would invite KKK members onstage so guests could punch them in the face. Respect.
13.
I feel like millennials are collectively grieving The Jerry Springer show, though messy and probably inappropriate for children, was like an integral part of our upbringing Wow….RIP
14.
Jerry Springer is one of these things that demarcates Gen Z and millennials. If you understand the words “Steve! Steve!”, you are probably a millennial or over.
15.
My students just told me Jerry Springer died. To them, he's the source of memes. To #Millennials, he's our instigating uncle sitting at the end of the table watching the family lose their shit, winking at us, and then instigating some more. RIP Uncle Jerry
16.
RIP Jerry Springer. A messy legend. A staple to 90s kids, inappropriately so, but still grateful 🙂🙏🏽
17.
Jerry Springer taught an entire generation of now-geriatric millennials who watched too much TV that it was okay to be weird
18.
RIP Jerry Springer. He was there every sick day growing up
19.
Jerry Springer’s “Final Thought” was actually good life wisdom and he’d finish it with “Take care of yourselves and each other”