In 1995, Scott Amedure revealed on The Jenny Jones Show that he had a crush on his friend Jonathan Schmitz. Days later, he was dead. What does that say about our obsession with tabloid TV shows?
By Christopher Turner
On March 6, 1995, Scott Amedure went on The Jenny Jones Show to confess his “secret crush” on a straight man named Jonathan Schmitz, who was also on the tabloid talk show. Just a few days after that, Amedure was dead, and Schmitz had been charged with first-degree murder in his death. Schmitz utilized the so-called “gay panic defense,” claiming that he had killed Amedure over embarrassment about the revelation of a same-sex crush on one of the most popular talk shows of the 1990s.
That episode of the show was shelved, although it was eventually broadcast on October 17, 1996, as part of Court TV’s coverage of an ensuing civil trial against The Jenny Jones Show. But in the criminal and civil trials that followed Amedure’s murder, Jones and her show became Exhibit A in an indictment of the perceived excesses and manipulations of talk shows and tabloid TV.
Schmitz was eventually convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison; he was ultimately released in 2017 after serving 22 years for his conviction. But questions remain to this day about the so-called “Jenny Jones Murder” and the show’s culpability. After all, prior to that day both men had led quiet, everyday lives in the American Midwest. So, how responsible were the producers for the events that took place once the two men left the studio – and, if The Jenny Jones Show hadn’t invited the men on the show, would Amedure still be alive today?
Here is a look back at the events surrounding the murder of Scott Amedure.
Remembering Scott Amedure the person
Scott Bernard Amedure was born on January 26, 1963, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the youngest of six children to Frank Amedure and Patricia Graves. Shortly after Amedure was born, the family moved to Michigan, and Frank and Patricia divorced shortly thereafter.
At age 17, Amedure dropped out of high school to join the army, where he served with the rank of Specialist in the Air Force for four years before he returned to Michigan. An out and proud gay man, Amedure worked in the telecommunications industry for several years before finally switching over to bartending and working as a bartender at Club Flamingo, a gay club in Pontiac, Michigan.
Amedure was reportedly well-liked in his preferred bartending profession, and he enjoyed the social life that came with it. There was one other thing that Amedure enjoyed as well. According to Amedure’s neighbor Gayle Clinton, he “was a talk-show junkie.”
The Jenny Jones Show
In the spring of 1995, Amedure, 32, was booked to be a guest on the first-run syndicated talk show The Jenny Jones Show, in an episode titled “Revealing Same Sex Secret Crush.” The show was following a rising trend of talk show episodes about secret crushes. Taped on March 6, 1995, in Chicago, Illinois, the episode was intended to air in May 1995 as part of the show’s fourth season. The taped episode featured six unsuspecting guests, who were all invited to come on the show to meet a self-proclaimed “secret admirer.” The guests, however, were not directly informed that they and their secret admirers were the same sex. On the episode, each secret admirer publicly revealed their crush to a guest, with presenter Jenny Jones interviewing the pair afterwards.
On the episode, Amedure admitted to being a secret admirer of Jonathan Schmitz, then 24, an acquaintance who lived near him in Lake Orion, Michigan. Schmitz didn’t know who would be revealed as his secret admirer until he stepped on stage, and stated that he was participating in the show out of curiosity. He later claimed that the show’s producers had implied his admirer was a woman, although the producers would counteract that claim, saying that they did tell Schmitz that the admirer could be male or female. During the segment, Jones encouraged Amedure to share his fantasies about Schmitz, after which Schmitz was brought onstage. According to The Washington Post, “the two men exchanged an awkward embrace before the host dropped her bombshell.” In response to Amedure’s disclosure, Schmitz laughed, then stated that he was “definitely heterosexual.”
He, Amedure and a mutual female friend then spent the post-taping hours together without incident.
Three days later
According to footage of the murder trial, a friend of Amedure’s stated that Amedure and Schmitz went out drinking together the night after The Jenny Jones taping and that an alleged sexual encounter occurred. According to the testimony at the murder trial, three days after the episode was recorded, Amedure left a “suggestive” note at Schmitz’s house. After finding the note, Schmitz withdrew money from a bank, purchased a 12-gauge shotgun and went to Amedure’s mobile home in suburban Detroit. He asked Amedure if he was the one who had left the note. According to court documents, Amedure responded with a smile. Schmitz then returned to his car, got his gun and went back to Amedure’s trailer. He then shot Amedure twice in the chest, killing him. After killing Amedure, Schmitz drove to a nearby gas station and telephoned 911 and admitted his crime. When asked why he had done it, he said he’d been embarrassed on national TV.
Schmitz was subsequently arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
On March 15, 1995, six days after the murder, Jones recorded and issued a statement on an episode of The Jenny Jones Show where she extended her sympathy to the Amedure family and emphasized “that this tragedy is about the actions of [Schmitz].” Her recorded statement kicked off heavy criticism that would follow the show for the foreseeable future.
Schmitz’s father, Allyn, blamed the show for his son’s actions. He stated: “The talk shows, they’re absolutely rotten. Had [Jones] not done this, this would never have happened.” Schmitz’s grandfather, Walter, told a news reporter that he believed Jones had acted as the “triggerman” in Amedure’s murder.
Frank Amedure Jr. – Scott Amedure’s brother – commented: “I feel this [murder] would not have occurred if Jenny Jones hadn’t exposed homosexuality, a sensitive issue in our society.”
At trial, defence attorneys argued that Schmitz, who had been diagnosed with manic depression (bipolar disorder) and Graves’ disease, killed Amedure because of his mental illness and humiliation, by way of the “gay panic defense.” The case, as expected, was widely covered by the news media and resulted in a national discussion over violence towards gay people. Schmitz’s use of the gay panic defense in his criminal trial drew sharp criticism from many gay rights advocates at the time.
During the trial, Jones claimed that she’d had virtually no involvement in writing or planning the episode, although she believed the episode’s topic was “light-hearted.”
On November 13, 1996, Schmitz was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison. He initially served two years of his sentence before the Michigan Court of Appeals overturned his conviction. He was then retried and convicted again of the same charge in 1999, with the original sentence reinstated.
In August 1995, the Amedure family also filed a civil suit against the show and its partners, including Warner Bros., and was awarded US$25 million. But that verdict and award were overturned on appeal. Amedure’s family filed an appeal over this reversal, although the Michigan Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear the case.
Schmitz was granted parole and was released from prison on August 22, 2017, after serving 22 years of his sentence.
“He spent 22 years [behind bars], so that sounds like he’s completed virtually his entire sentence,” Geoffrey Fieger, an attorney who represented the Amedure family, told People when Schmitz was set free in 2017. “I’m not absolving Schmitz of his crime. I’m just saying that The Jenny Jones Show and the people that were behind the show were equally responsible.”
Amedure’s brother Frank wasn’t convinced that his brother’s killer had learned his lesson.
“I wanted assurance that the decision was not based on just good behaviour in prison,” he told The Detroit Free Press. “I’d like to know that he learned something, that he’s a changed man, is no longer homophobic and has gotten psychological care.”
In the years since Schmitz was released from jail, he’s remained out of the spotlight.
The aftermath
The episode and its aftermath resulted in a media frenzy across North America. The public’s reaction was mixed, with debate over whether The Jenny Jones Show held responsibility for Schmitz’s subsequent actions. Jones and the show’s producers defended the episode, claiming that the topic of same-sex crushes was light-hearted and that Schmitz’s actions following the episode’s taping were unforeseeable. After all, The Jenny Jones Show had previously aired several episodes that covered the topic, including an October 1994 episode titled “Secret Gay Crushes.”
Jones herself said that she enjoyed the topic of secret crushes, telling the Los Angeles Times in 1988 that “secret-crush shows are always fun.… I loved the ‘same-sex’ angle and I’m always looking for ways to include gay people in our shows.”
So just how responsible was The Jenny Jones show for Amedure’s murder? Writing for The Buffalo News, attorney Alan Dershowitz said he believed that Jones and her producers were more than just negligent in their behaviour.
“Jenny Jones should not take any solace from the legal conclusion that her show’s conduct does not excuse Schmitz’s conduct,” he wrote. “The First Amendment protects the show from any legal consequences, but it does not immunize them from the criticism, which they justly deserve, for their irresponsible actions.”
As for Jones, whose show ran from 1991 to 2003, she has rarely spoken about the incident throughout the years. However, she did have one thing to say in 1999, saying that only one person was ultimately to blame. “It was not the ‘Jenny Jones murder,’” she said then. “It was the Jonathan Schmitz murder.”
CHRISTOPHER TURNER is the editor of IN Magazine. He is a Toronto-based writer, editor and lifelong fashionisto with a passion for pop culture and sneakers. Follow him on social media @Turnstylin.
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