History Series / TheSteveWilkosShow

-->'''Wilkos:''' "...you think that I'm gonna say, [lighter, mock sympathetic voice] 'Oh [[AbusiveParent Jessica]], everything is gonna be all right. I'm gonna make all your problems go away.' [normal voice] Well guess what. I'm not your [[Literature/{{Cinderella}} fairy godmother]], I'm Steve, Steve the cop!"

** "Belly rubbber" is a term Wilkos used to describe those who show sympathy to the guilty, whether they believe he went too hard on them or that he's just a bully. This was mostly during his mailbag segments in earlier seasons, but occasionally on stage.

Though it is part of the "tabloid/conflict talk" genre, and Springer serves as one of its co-executive producers, to say that Wilkos' show is DarkerAndEdgier than ''Springer'' is just a bit of an understatement. In addition to polygraphing suspected cheaters, confronting controlling partners and running DNA tests that have become commonplace in the genre, Wilkos confronts and polygraphs accused rapists, pedophiles, child abusers, and even ''murderers'' on his show. In addition to not letting an accused guest sit down, Wilkos quite often tosses that guest's chair aside or smashes it altogether, and will ''[[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech tear into]]'' said guest upon their guilt being confirmed before instructing them to leave his stage/studio.

** A notable episode dealing with the topic aired during the show's premiere week in September 2007, in which Wilkos conducts a jailhouse interview with a woman (who, in a rarity for the show, had her identity concealed to protect her children) who was sentenced to between nine and 20 years in prison on charges of involvement and distribution of child pornography.[[note]]She had her daughter, who was 5-years-old at the time the crime was committed, involved in the filming of pornographic material, which the mother claimed was a simple photo shoot, despite the fact that she brought along bags of sex toys and provocative dresses for said "shoot".[[/note]] Later in the interview, when she sticks to her story and fails to show any genuine remorse for hurting her children in such a way, Wilkos rebukes her for not protecting her daughters and putting them in such a situation, before ending the interview in disgust:

** There have been a few episodes in which guests came to seek help for their abusive behavior. In a February 2010 episode, a guest named Janelle admits physically abusing and neglecting her son. She even had him sleep in a trash can, putting him in a closet and taping his mouth shut. She later revealed that she directed her abuse toward the child [[DisproportionateRetribution because she hated her then-husband for abusing her]]. She ultimately called her state's Department of Human Services to take her son away so she couldn't keep abusing him. Although Wilkos railed her for smirking, which Janelle cited was due to the awkwardness of revealing her story on national television, and for wanting help to get her son back when Janelle showed genuine remorse for what she did and acknowledged she couldn't be a good parent as long as she views her son through the prism of her hatred of his father, he acknowledges that she did need help before she could get her son back:
--->'''Wilkos:''' I am mad at you, and I don't like what you did. But the one thing is, I do see somebody that, I think, wants to make a change in their life. I think it's somebody who realizes they're making bad mistakes. [...] I think you're making a powerful statement to everybody out there: "Yes, I abuse my son, I put a stop to it". I want to hear you say you're never going to do it again.

* AccompliceByInaction: Wilkos feels ''very'' strongly that people who fail to intervene when they're aware of some wrongdoing are just as culpable as if they've committed the deed themselves, and will roast these guests as badly as - or sometimes even worse than - those who committed the act in question. For example, he's had several cases involving mothers who were indicated by lie detector tests to have known that their romantic partners were abusing or molesting their children, even if they denied that they knew. In one case, a mother actually fled the state with the boyfriend who had been sexually abusing her daughters, claiming she was not aware of the ongoing investigation against the boyfriend. Her lie detector results indicated that not only did she know the investigation was ongoing, but that she knew about the sexual abuse all along and had neglected to stop it.
** In the most tragic cases, this results in someone being seriously hurt or even killed. Three-year-old Arabella Parker was beaten repeatedly by her mother's boyfriend, and her mother, Samantha, did nothing to intervene because she was afraid of the boyfriend. The final beating left Arabella in a coma with a 10% chance of survival. Samantha's lie detector test revealed she did not cause any of her daughter's injuries, but Wilkos chastised her fiercely anyway, ordering the audience not to applaud her for passing the test and pointing out that she was a coward and that her inaction made her equally culpable. After the show, the three-year-old sadly passed away, and her mother and stepfather were both charged with homicide.
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Wilkos will occasionally laugh when some of his guests says and/or does something funny. Among the notable examples are...

** Kayla, a guest from an April 2016 episode of the same topical matter, made a name for herself with her eccentric and childish behavior, which was probably enhanced by her pregnancy in addition to her insecurity over her boyfriend Joe (of eight months at the time of taping) possibly cheating[[note]][[spoiler:His lie detector results were rendered moot since he confessed to most of the allegations to Kayla on-stage and before the show]][[/note]]. She left Steve in stitches at some points, even causing him to make a Carson-worthy quip when [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RntW_r9RyVg she lamented about the "fat, ugly girls" that Joe talks to online]] before telling her that she's one of the funniest guests he's ever had on the show, a compliment she embraces:

* AllAbusersAreMale: While many episodes dealing with abuse involve men as the accused perpetrators, the show manages to avert this by sometimes featuring women that have been accused of or have admitted to physically and/or sexually abusing children, especially if they are the parent, other acts of abuse or neglect, or mentally/physically abusing their significant others. In the latter case, Wilkos acknowledges that the female guest should not mentally/physically abuse their mate, though does not rake them over the coals for it as much as he does the male guests who do it or the female guests revealed to be child abusers.
* AllCrimesAreEqual: Wilkos never lets the accused sit down unless they have a medical condition or, irrespective of any heinous behavior they may have committed, are a minor. The nature of what the guest is accused of doing doesn't matter.[[note]]Unless they are accused of cheating, and even then, there are some exceptions to this if the accused cheater is also accused of physically abusing their partner.[[/note]] Essentially, he treats being allowed to sit on his chairs a privilege. He requires guests to remain standing once they have arrived on-stage or get out of the chair if they're already sitting down when he references the abuse/crime alleged at the segment's start to keep them uncomfortable because the accused didn't allow others to feel comfortable when they victimized them. If they happen to be exonerated by the lie detector test, they will be allowed to sit.[[note]]Though since the polygraph results are usually disclosed toward the end of a segment/episode and the chairs are oftentimes moved aside or off the stage entirely, situations in which an accused guest is exonerated actually gets to sit down are ''very'' rare.[[/note]] If the test determines that they lied, they will suffer the additional humiliation of being told to [[CatchPhrase "get the hell off [his] stage!"]]

** During the show's first couple of seasons, a recurring closing segment had Wilkos read viewer e-mails, both positive and negative, which he would preface by saying, "If I read your letter, and if you're not a knucklehead, moron, or belly-rubber, I'll send you a free T-shirt" and that those who sent him negative e-mails were "not allowed to watch". The segment appeared less frequently from the second through fourth seasons before being discontinued outright, with Wilkos dropping the "knucklehead," "moron" or "belly-rubber" references or his label for the show as "Moron-Free TV",[[note]]Most likely to avoid offending viewers and/or any legal issues.[[/note]] with all viewers that had their e-mail read on-air receiving a T-shirt. However, he has continued to refer to some of his less likeable guests as "knuckleheads."
** The studio audience can't help themselves and always seem to be taking part. Often the entire audio of an episode is peppered with [[SirSwearsALot ample censor bleeps]], and often these censor bleeps get in the way of what Wilkos or the guests are trying to say.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Some guests will either not submit to lie detector tests, always lie on them, or ignore instructions not to take narcotics or certain types of medication that would make them ineligible to be tested. If the latter occurs, the viewer basically can see coming that the guest is guilty, especially if they agree to be re-tested while sober and become eligible for testing and fail it on the retake or intentionally fail to heed the instructions not to self-medicate. Even if they fail their test, the guest will still try to lie after their misdeeds are uncovered. Alternately, sometimes guests choose to confess to the lie detector examiner rather than submit to a test (i.e. Damien in "Did My Boyfriend Download Child Porn?"), even as they continue to play innocent onstage.

** A negative example of this comes from grandmothers who falsely accuse the father/mother or their spouse of abusing/molesting their child(ren). All to get back at the accused for the perceived mistreatment of their son/daughter who they were once in a relationship with.

** Wilkos takes a lot of pride in how his show helps people (get justice). So naturally he doesn't take too kindly to those who would try to make him into an UwittingPawn in their schemes against an innocent party.

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: While he usually averts this, there have been times where Steve believed a guest would be innocent only for them to be found guilty. Lampshade in an episode which was actually titled "Steve gets it wrong?"

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Wilkos will occasionally laugh when some of his guests says and/or does something funny. Among the notable examples are Lamont (a guest appearing in a 2011 episode dealing with cheating accusations, who claimed he does a meditation exercise he invented called "Wu-Sai," which he says has kept him off of smoking marijuana and demonstrates much to Wilkos and the audience's amusement) and Kayla (a guest from an April 2016 episode of the same topical matter, whose eccentric and childish behavior – which was probably enhanced by her pregnancy, in addition to her insecurity over Joe, her boyfriend of eight months at the time of taping, possibly cheating, [[spoiler:although his lie detector results were rendered moot since he confessed to most of the allegations to Kayla on-stage and before the show]] – left Steve in stitches at some points, even causing him to make a Carson-worthy quip when [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RntW_r9RyVg she laments about the "fat, ugly girls" that Joe talks to online]] before telling her that Kayla is one of the funniest guests ever to appear on the show, a compliment she embraces):

** "So far the results are pretty accurate, right?" - If Steve asks a guest this question after reading a batch of lie detector results in which the guest passed, it's a ForegoneConclusion that the guest failed the rest of the questions.

--->'''Wilkos:''' Steve, are you gay? Yes, [[HaveAGayOldTime I'm a very happy man]].
* ConfusingMultipleNegatives: Monique in "Could a Mother Murder Her Own Child?" kept insisting that she "did not do nothing to [her] daughter." The lie detector test corroborated this statement.
* CrocodileTears: Some guests try this to gain sympathy, especially after failing a lie detector test. Sometimes it takes the form of Crocodile Sobs without any visible tears, as with the aforementioned Monique, who failed an LDT for involvement in her daughter's death (the only time she actually shed any tears was when she was complaining about how being accused of murder had impacted ''her'' life). Wilkos is never fooled.

Though it is part of the "tabloid/conflict talk" genre, and Springer serves as one of its co-executive producers, to say that Wilkos' show is DarkerAndEdgier than ''Springer'' is just a bit of an understatement. In addition to polygraphing suspected cheaters, confronting controlling partners and running DNA tests that have become commonplace in the genre, Wilkos confronts and polygraphs accused rapists, pedophiles, child abusers, and even ''murderers'' on his show. In addition to not letting an accused guest sit down, Wilkos quite often tosses that guest's chair aside or smashes it altogether, and will ''[[DrillSergeantNasty tear]] [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech into]]'' said guest upon their guilt being confirmed before instructing them to leave his stage/studio.

** One of Wilkos's most shocking early shows was one in which an elderly lady named Jeanne came on to confess that she had murdered a former friend's infant boy sixteen years earlier by forcing alcohol and pills down his throat to stop him from crying. She was terminally ill and Wilkos realized the real reason she'd come on the show was to clear her conscience before she died, not out of any sense of obligation to the boy's mother. Jeanne's ObfuscatingStupidity didn't sit well with Wilkos either, as she claimed she wanted to be retried for the crime, but she had already served time in prison after taking a plea deal and couldn't be retried. The boy's mother, Kayla, calmly but fiercely confronted Jeanne at the end of the show and refused to give Jeanne the forgiveness or peace she had come for.

* CassandraTruth: Many guests' reason for coming on the show to submit to a lie detector test is because their family or friends are accusing them of lying about some accusation they've made.

** "STEEEEEEEEEEEEVE!" is the equivalent of the "Jer-ry! Jer-ry! Jer-ry!" chant frequently heard on ''Springer''. Wilkos's audience does the chant to indicate that they agree with either his point or that of someone making their case against whichever scumbag is on stage. Particularly deep-voiced audience members can end up sounding like a mooing cow if they attempt this. Upset, courageous, or angry victims and accusers will sometimes beat the audience to the punch on yelling the chant, but usually they say the word as any normal person would.

** Wilkos' aforementioned "Get (the hell, your ass, [[PrecisionFStrike the fuck]]) off my stage!" Often preceded by "I hope you ROT IN HELL!," if the accused's crime is particularly heinous. If the guest happens to already be backstage, Wilkos will eject them from the studio instead.

** In a 2019 episode, a guest named Samantha said her ex-boyfriend had beaten their three-year-old daughter into a coma because ''she wouldn't eat her dinner''. The girl, who was beaten so badly part of her brain had to be removed, died after the show's airing, and both Samantha and her ex were charged with homicide because although Samantha had not caused the injuries, she had failed to intervene.

** Even after they pass all the questions asked, Wilkos will occasionally point out to the accused that they are still a horrible person due their actions unrelated to the test. Even before he gets to the results, he'll state to the accused that they're still horrible regardless. He'll even, on occasion, rip up the paper with the LDT results and say, "Who gives a damn?" At least once, he had to stop the audience from applauding a person for passing, stating that they shouldn't applaud that given what the accused has already done.
** Think you're safe just because your polygraph results are "inconclusive?" Or for one reason or another you can't take one anyway (i.e. using illegal drugs despite being told not to)? Dan has other tests he can use to see if you're lying. Even before the actual test itself, he can find out if you're being deceptive. Not to mention, conclusive LDT results given to other guests can help to expose you as a liar (for example, if it's revealed that another guest told the truth about seeing you molest your niece).

** Some of the after-show updates fall into this category. Some examples include: a child abuse victim who passed away after the show, a drug addict whom Wilkos had sent to rehab who relapsed on drugs and was still using, and familial relationships broken beyond repair.

* DrugsAreBad: There are many episodes episodes dealing with a guest struggling with drug addiction and the perils that those seeking help for their problem on the show are facing.[[note]]Unless they deal with a parent whose addiction resulted in neglect of their children, these episodes stray from the show's usual "conflict" format.[[/note]] It's even more striking when the guest that agreed to seek treatment leaves rehab before the end of their term of treatment. One notable case is Morgan, an 18-year-old who appeared in a 2014 episode, who became addicted to heroin at 16 and was kicked out by her parents when she turned 18 after discovering that she has been prostituting to fund her habit. She clearly regretted the decisions she made, acknowledging that she could likely end up dead if she didn't turn her life around, and is sent to rehab to become sober. [[spoiler: She has a change of heart and leaves Park Bench Group Counseling three weeks into treatment; though, in a voicemail message, her mother states that Morgan – who returned home to live with her – claims she would try to get sober on her own, despite bailing on her treatment at Park Bench.]]

* EpicFail: It is mentioned that when taking a Lie Detector Test, you need score at least a +3 to pass and a -3 to fail. Some guests have been noted to score more than ''triple'' the requirement to fail, even scoring as low as ''-18''.

* FalseRapeAccusation: One truly bizarre story involved a guest named Courtney, who wanted to prove to her boyfriend Charles that she had never cheated on him, even though she had told him that she had had consensual sex with another man and then changed her story to claim she was raped. She admitted to Steve that she had made up the rape story and even filed a false police report, believing this to be the only way to get Charles' attention since he was verbally abusive. An angry Steve pointed out that her false complaint could have sent an innocent man to prison. Both Courtney and Charles passed their lie detector tests, but Steve declared them both "knuckleheads" before throwing them off his stage.

** Several episodes have focused on guests, both teenagers and adults, who are struggling with drug addiction. The stories of how [[DrugsAreBad they became an addict, what the person's addiction has done to them and the lengths to which they have resorted to fuel their addiction (prostituting themselves to pay for drugs, involving children to fuel their habit, etc.)]] are very sobering to hear (no pun intended). Once the guests have been sent to Park Bench Group Counseling,[[note]]A facility which partners with ''The Steve Wilkos Show'' to provide addiction rehabilitation services to guests appearing in such episodes.[[/note]] the show sends a camera crew to follow their progress; if they have completed their treatment, the guest is invited back on the show to discuss how they are doing post-rehab.
** The first segment of a 2013 episode dealt with a 16-year-old girl who was cyberbullied after a cheerleading photo was Photoshopped by another student to display her in a sexually compromising position was circulated among her schoolmates, which resulted in her dropping out of school. Atypical of the show, this episode had Wilkos field comments from members of the studio audience, most of whom were of high school to college-age, to recount their experiences with bullying; most of the commenters also commended the girl for coming forward with her story, noting that it would be of help to those dealing with a similar bullying situation.
** The 2018 episode "Racial Violence: They Tried to Hang My 15-Year-Old Son" told the story of a 15-year-old African American boy named Jason who miraculously survived an attempted lynching in his small Indiana town and was likely targeted not only because he is Black but because he is being raised by a lesbian couple. Local law enforcement was not much of a help, as Indiana has no hate crime laws and one of the perpetrators got only 30 days in jail. Wilkos and his show gave Jason's family $5,000 to aid with moving expenses.

## A husband/boyfriend or girlfriend/wife who weren't aware or had accused their partner of cheating on them, when a lie detector test determines that their partner has been unfaithful. It is amplified when the partner is revealed to have had sexual relations with more than one man/woman during their relationship.

* INeverSaidItWasPoison: In the episode "Deadly Accusations," a young woman named Shakitta suspected her stepfather, Carlton, of murdering her birth father. She claimed Carlton (who had previously made death threats against the victim, though he claimed he wasn't serious) denied any knowledge of her father being shot when she had never ''mentioned'' that her father was shot. [[spoiler:Carlton failed his lie detector test, suggesting he was involved in the murder even though another man had already been sent to prison for the crime.]]

* LuredIntoATrap: How it was alleged that Ken set his stepdaughter, Letitia, and her boyfriend up to be killed (see AbusiveParents above). The story was that Ken had told Letitia and her boyfriend to meet him at a restaurant so he could give her $400 to reimburse her for legal fees ensuing from vindictively having her arrested for stealing his car; allegedly Ken never showed up, but the murderer who shot Letitia and her boyfriend to death ''did''. Closed circuit cameras reportedly showed Letitia in distress, as if realizing she'd been set up; in addition, only $20 was found on her person when the bodies were found, not the $400 Ken had claimed. Ken protested his innocence, but his lie detector results suggested this was exactly what had happened.

** They usually show up in episodes about the death, abuse, or sexual assault of a minor. And Wilkos regularly commends them, or in some cases (i.e. stories in which the child's birth parent isn't the Mama Bear but sadly [[ParentalNeglect the polar opposite]]) their a relative/friend, for seeking justice for the child, and often reminds them to involve the police to file criminal charges against the perpetrator rather than take matters into their own hands through violent actions.

** A negative example of this comes from grandmothers who falsely accuse the father/mother or their spouse of abusing/molesting their child(ren). All to get back at the accused for the percieved mistreatment of their son/daughter who they were once in a relationship with.
* {{Matricide}}: In a November 2020 episode, a young woman named Quaneefah came on the show to prove that she had no involvement in the death of her mother, Lisa, who had suffered a suspicious, drug-induced heart attack at age 57. She failed for not only being involved in her mother's death, but for drugging her mother in the year leading up to her death in order to steal money from her.

** One guest, Desiree, realizing ''all'' of her children would probably be taken away after she and her boyfriend Angel both failed lie detector tests for fracturing their two-month-old's skull, openly blamed ''Wilkos'' for it.
--->'''Desiree:''' I love my baby! She's going to get taken away because of you people!\\

'''Desiree:''' I did nothing to my child! I did nothing to her!\\

'''Desiree:''' I did nothing to my child, Steve-\\

* NotHelpingYourCase: At times, guests who are accused of a particular crime act in such a manner that contradicts their innocence. An example of this is in "I didn't hurt my boys" where the mother claims she didn't abuse her boys but the first thing she does when she comes on stage is to immediately shove and physically accost them the second they come face-to-face, all the while demanding the boys respect her. [[spoiler:Her lie detector test revealed she didn't physically abuse her sons, but she did admit to neglect that led to the boys' injuries, proving she'd been a horrible mother.]]

** The audience bursting into laughter at inopportune times. They'll jeer and sometimes even laugh like hyenas while Wilkos interviews guests and/or after the results are read, no matter how horrifying or disgusting they are. This seems to have developed and worsened over time, as instances of members of the audience crying upon learning of particularly horrifying information was common in the earlier instalments of the series.

** The male guests who appear on the show to found out if their children have been neglected and/or abused. On occasion, just as with Mama Bears, the Papa Wolf in question isn't the child's biological father, and sometimes not the custodial parent either.

* {{Plaguemaster}}: One of Wilkos's most shocking stories was an early episode called "The Kiss of Death," which featured an HIV-positive guest named James who openly admitted to purposely having unprotected sex with other men and spreading the virus to them without their knowledge. James, who claimed he had contracted HIV in exactly that fashion, showed no remorse about giving other people a disease that could kill them and destroy their families, and he even claimed that he believed he would go to heaven and that he could get anyone in the studio audience to sleep with him. Wilkos couldn't believe what he was hearing and convinced once of James's exes, also on the show as a guest, to go to the police once he returned home. James's current boyfriend fared no better, as he unconvincingly made excuses for his boyfriend's behavior and refused to kiss James when Wilkos ordered him to, which got him thrown off the stage.

* RaisedByGrandparents: Or aunts, uncles, friends, etc. Often the case in child abuse or neglect cases, if the child's parents have lost custody.

---> '''Wilkos:''' You didn't do anything! You knew your daughter was having sex with this guy. You didn't protect her, you didn't protect your youngest one being exposed, you didn't protect her from being grabbed by this guy, you didn't show up in court to make sure he'd get proper sentencing, you have done ''nothing''. You are one of the biggest piece of sh*t mothers I've ever had on this stage. ''[audience applause]'' You should- you should never, ever, get your daughters back, and I hope your sister gets to keep them forever. ... And you know what, when this guy gets out, you deserve him. And now I see tears and I don't know why. Who are they for? For yourself? 'Cause they're not for your daughters. 'Cause if you actually had tears for your daughters, you would have called the police, you would have showed up in court, which you did ''neither'' of. You are a horrible, horrible human being and a terrible mother, and I hope you rot in hell and someday jail. GET THE HELL OFF, MY, STAGE!!! ''[throws chair as Christina leaves stage and audience cheers]'' [[note]] Jennifer revealed in a follow-up interview that she had begun legal proceedings to adopt the girls and that she and Christina were still estranged.[[/note]]

* NotSoAboveItAll: Steve occasionally indulges the more entertaining guests when they're funny or interesting. He'll also not be afraid to crack jokes at the expense of others (especially the guilty ones). One example is when a man accused of molesting his daughter denies it by pointing out something his ex-wife said about his pornography addiction:

* PapaWolf: The male guests who appear on the show to found out if their children have been neglected and/or abused. On occasion, just as with Mama Bears, the Papa Wolf in question isn't the child's biological father, and sometimes not the custodial parent either.