Talk show host Jerry Springer has been sued by the son of a former guest, killed by her ex-husband hours after the airing of an episode the couple had appeared on involving love triangles.
In the lawsuit, Mr Jeffrey Campbell of Kalamazoo, Michigan, alleges The Jerry Springer Showepisode on which Nancy Campbell-Panitz appeared created "a mood that led to murder".
A spokeswoman for the programme says neither the show nor its producers are responsible for the death.
Ralf Panitz, 42, was convicted of second-degree murder and received a life sentence for beating his ex-wife to death.
The lawsuit says the show encouraged Panitz, who appeared on the episode with his new wife, to lie to Mrs Campbell-Panitz in order to get her to appear.
The suit claims Mrs Campbell-Panitz thought she was on the show to reconcile with Panitz. Instead, she learned her ex-husband had secretly married Eleanor Panitz in March 2000. Mrs Campbell-Panitz stormed off the stage as she was mocked by Eleanor Panitz and jeered by the audience.
Panitz and Mrs Campbell-Panitz divorced in 1999 but still lived together off and on, even after he remarried. The trio spent months filing a flurry of domestic violence allegations against each other as Panitz bounced between the two women.
Prosecutors say Panitz, upset about having to move his belongings out of his ex-wife's home, choked and beat her to death after watching the episode on TV at a bar, where he was drinking heavily.
Springer spokeswoman Ms Linda Shafran noted the murder came three months after the show was taped.
AP