Jerry Springer sued by family of a man who killed himself two weeks after his fiancée dumped him on the show
The Jerry Springer Show makers found themselves in a bit of a soup as news emerged that they are being sued by the family of a man who committed suicide shortly after appearing on an episode of the controversial show. Blake Alvey's family said he was ambushed on the NBC series when he was confronted by his fiancée Cassie Rutter.
On the show, Rutter admitted to Alvey that she had been unfaithful with his good friend, no longer wanted to marry him and had even sold the engagement ring he had given her. The show was filmed on May 8, 2018 and aired on May 24, 2018. And a few days later, on June 3, 2018, Alvey took his own life.
The particularly humiliating episode, which is titled 'Gay Phase...Over', reveals in its short description that "Cassie has moved on - to her boyfriend's good friend." The trailer of the episode, moreover, starts with Rutter saying, "I don't want to get married. And there's someone else."
Alvey's family have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Jerry Springer and NBC, claiming the show knew it would "elicit an extreme reaction" from Alvey. The lawsuit, obtained by WDRB, claims that Alvey, who is now survived by his newborn son, killed himself "as a result of severe emotional and mental suffering and anguish". It further accuses the controversial TV show of "reckless disregard for the lives and safety of others".
"The Jerry Springer Show was designed to humiliate and exploit people like Blake, [disregarding] the devastating consequences that their conduct can have on people's lives," Brenton Stanley, Alvey's family attorney, said in a statement. "We will fight to hold them accountable," he added.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Jefferson Circuit Court last week, is requesting unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial. As per reports, Rutter has also been named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Alvey of Louisville, Kentucky, had been posting a lot of content on social media less than three months before he died, and in a couple of images, the Kentucky native had alluded to problems with friends. One was a meme that read: "PSA to All Guys: DO NOT choose your boys over your gf because when you break up its your 'boys' who be in her DM like 'he dumb, you don't deserve that.'"
He had even posted a tribute to his then-fiancée Rutter on his social media page, with the caption: "Cassie Rutter, I love you with all my heart I swear to god I do...your my baby girl despite all your flaws your still #1 to me you (sic)", alongside an image that read, "The couples that are meant to be are the ones who go through everything that is meant to tear them apart, and come out even stronger than they were before."