♪♪
-Today we take a close look at a vibrant industry.
-What are you looking at, butthead?
-Bullying.
In 1987, Morton Downey Jr.
discovered that Americans had an unquenchable thirst
for seeing their fellow citizens brutalized.
-Ugly slob. You jerk.
Shut up. -Why don't you shut up?
-Why don't you shut up? -If I had a slime like you
in the White House, I'd puke on you!
-Oh, yeah?
-Downey's unique management style
made him a star until...
-It was a downer of an evening for Morton Downey Jr.
Downey claims skinheads attacked him, swastikas drawn.
-They cut my hair off and then said,
"Now you're one of us. Sieg Heil."
-The trouble was not over for Downey.
Sharp-eyed forensic experts noticed
that Downey's swastika was drawn backwards,
suggesting he'd painted it himself in a mirror
in a bid to keep up his ratings.
-San Francisco airport police
and spokesmen don't believe Downey.
-There were no skinheads to be found in the area.
-Airport officials say that they think the so-called attack
was self-inflicted for publicity.
-Despite Morton Downey Jr.'s impressive legacy...
he was relegated to the overflowing ashtray of history,
leaving an opening in the market for a new bully.
-[ Audience chanting "Jerry!"]
-Jerry Springer improved on Downey's creation
by outsourcing the job of bullying to his studio audience.
-Questions for the mother --
What street corner can I find you on?
-My question's for Stuart Little over there.
-That -- That nasty bitch up there.
-No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. -You need to watch your attitude
'cause I'm not the one. -No, no, come on. Come on.
-Classical scholars were quick to recognize
Jerry's profound debt to ancient Roman theater.
-[ Audience chanting "Jerry!"]
-Sensing that viewers were tired
of watching their fellow Americans abuse each other
within the confines of a TV studio,
savvy television innovator Mark Burnett
was not afraid to spread the gospel.
-We are proud to be Christians. -No, not that Gospel.
-Burnett spread the word about bullying.
He made tiki torches mainstream
in a move that would spread tormenting
to the four corners of the Earth.
-You are an unemployed, uneducated leech on society.
-Shut up. -If I were to ever pass you,
and you were laying there dying of thirst,
I would not give you a drink of water.
-Bullying the whole family could enjoy
equaled ratings magic,
so Mark Burnett set out to do another show,
recruiting some random guy that Morton Downey Jr. knew...
-Donald Trump. -...who shared Downey's knack
for insulting people,
but had way more business sense.
-You're fired. You're fired.
You're fired.
I feel good about it.
-"The Apprentice" was sociopathic ratings gold.
Now, you could say that Mark Burnett made a bad call
by promoting bullying,
but Burnett doesn't report to you.
He answers to a higher authority --
NBC head-honcho Jeff Zucker.
When cable news channels started to get into the bullying game,
Zucker decided to head to CNN
in time for a series of top-rated,
prime time bullying specials.
-I never attacked him on his look,
and believe me, there's plenty of subject matter.
More energy tonight. I like that.
She can't run any of my companies.
That I can tell you. This guy's a joke artist,
and this guy's a liar.
-As his competitors were voted off the island
one by one,
a little-known Slovenian activist
moved in on her target,
plotting to take down bullying once and for all.
She claimed to be an expert.
-I could say I'm the most bullied person on the world.
-So she made an attempt to stop bullying in its tracks.
-Today, I'm very excited to announce "Be Best."
-The bullying empire was under attack,
but luckily Trump's PR guy had lots of practice
defending bullying, and he came out on top.
-You are a rude, terrible person.
A loser, she doesn't know what the hell she's doing.
What a stupid question.
-[ Audience chanting "Jerry!" ]
-[ Crowd chanting "Lock her up!" ]
[ Indistinct shouting ]
-It's time to stop bullying bullying,
an industry that's created jobs, profits,
and a bold, new style of national leadership.
I see a bright future
where even anti-bullies have to admit
bullies rule.
-I miss it.
I honest to God miss it.