PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) -- After three days of grueling questioning, Jenny Jones stepped off the witness stand and in front of cameras to defend her talk show and herself.
Defense attorneys had portrayed her as a liar, Jones said. "After these three days, I think I've proven I am not," she said.Jones completed nearly 12 hours of testimony Wednesday in the trial of a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against "The Jenny Jones Show" and its producer, Warner Bros.
Jones, who is not being sued, insisted that she and her show were not responsible for the 1995 shooting death of Scott Amedure, a gay man who had described his crush on fellow guest Jonathan Schmitz during a show taping.
Schmitz, who has said he is heterosexual and was humiliated, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death. The conviction was overturned because of an error in jury selection, and his retrial is set for Aug. 19.
In their lawsuit, Amedure's family accuses the show of tricking a mentally troubled Schmitz into appearing on the program and leading him to believe his admirer was a woman.
Jones disagreed, saying "I don't think we exploit people."
Schmitz, she said, "was an adult. He knew the person with the crush could be a man or a woman. He was given enough information to make an informed choice."
The family's attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, asked Jones, "You knew the show could cause people to have regrets and disappointment, didn't you?"
She responded, "This particular show, it could go either way."