Williams, who hosted The Montel Williams Show from 1991 to 2008, is one of the talk show hosts who appears in ABC\u2019s Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV<\/a>. The three-part series looks at shows hosted by daytime stalwarts like the late Phil Donahue<\/a>, Oprah Winfrey<\/a>, Sally Jessy Raphael<\/a>, Maury Povich<\/a>, Geraldo Rivera<\/a> and more.<\/p>\n The first of three episodes aired Wednesday, Jan. 14, and traces how Donahue, who died at 88 in 2024<\/a>, was the first talk show host to tackle any topic, no matter how shocking for audiences. His show went national in 1970 and picked up more steam in the \u201880s. Then came Raphael, 90, whose show premiered in 1983, and Winfrey, 71, whose show began in 1986.<\/p>\n Steve Eichner\/Getty<\/p>\n Montel Williams on ‘The Montel Williams Show’ in 1993<\/p>\n In the episode, Williams, 69, reflects on how daytime TV talk shows became must-see, over-the-top TV in the \u201890s by finding increasingly scandalous topics.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody was trying to figure out how they could talk about the most salacious things there were to talk about,\u201d Williams says. \u201cEverybody did it. From Oprah, to Phil, to Ricki Lake, to Sally, to Geraldo, to me.\u201d<\/p>\n The shows became increasingly focused on sex and scandal as they looked for bigger ratings, and Williams says it was an industry-wide phenomenon. \u201cEarly on, I did as many strippers as Oprah did, I did as many strippers as Sally did, I did as many strippers as Phil did,\u201d he said. The documentary features footage of many of the over-the-top, sexualized guests, including sex workers, strippers of all genders, drag queens and dominatrixes.<\/p>\n “Everybody was trying to figure out how they can put the biggest breasts on air, in front of the American public. Everybody did it,\u201d Williams adds. When a segment was successful \u2014 like a husband, wife and mistress confronting each other on air \u2014 the host said that producers saw the overnight ratings and said, \u201cLet\u2019s do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n River Callaway\/Variety via Getty<\/p>\n Montel Williams in November 2025<\/p>\n Laura Grindstaff, author of The Money Shot: Trash, Class and the Making of TV Talk Shows, says in the episode that many of these guests were lower income with lives in \u201cdisarray,\u201d which led to exploitation of the people who appeared<\/p>\n Williams notes, \u201cI don\u2019t think anybody had that intent, but I think some wanted to make sure that they utilized their guests as props to gain their best advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n Show producers in the documentary remember that things got so intense behind the scenes that the shows would even steal guests from each other, going to the hotels where guests stayed during filming to poach them.<\/p>\n The series also notes that while the shows were openly manipulating guests to make good TV, they weren\u2019t necessarily being careful about the psychological health of the people who appeared on screen.<\/p>\n During his talk show tenure, Williams was nominated three times for outstanding talk show host at the Daytime Emmys. The Montel Williams Show was nominated once for outstanding talk show.<\/p>\n Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC and streams the next day on Disney+<\/a> and Hulu<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Steve](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/e78693bc73520ed420e660d774462243.jpeg\"\/)
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