The episode was eventually broadcast on October 17, 1996, as part of Court TV's coverage of an ensuing civil trial against The Jenny Jones Show.

Amedure's murder was widely covered by the news media and resulted in a national discussion over violence toward gay people.

It received mixed reactions from audiences, with debate over whether The Jenny Jones Show held responsibility for Schmitz's subsequent actions.

The episode opened with presenter Jenny Jones questioning the studio audience over how they would reveal a secret crush to another person.

[4] Jones specifically asked if they would "tell that person that you're gay and you hope that he is on national television", which resulted in an eruption of cheers and applause.

Jones asked each secret admirer to explain how they knew of their crush in addition to discussing any romantic or sexual fantasies they had about them.

[6] Jones then conducted a brief interview between the two, in which the crush had an opportunity to explain if they were interested in pursuing a relationship with their secret admirer.

[5] The second secret admirer introduced was Gary Palmer, a gay man with a crush on Mr. Hotlanta contest winner Dean Steve.

[5] Jones then introduced Scott Amedure, a gay man interested in acquaintance Jonathan Schmitz; a mutual friend of the men, Donna Riley, accompanied them on stage.

[8] Following this revelation, Jones introduced Ericka Davis, a woman with a crush on her fiancé's co-worker, Sara Jimenez.

[13][15] On a previous episode of The Jenny Jones Show, a notice—known as a cart[16]—was posted for individuals who wanted to reveal a secret crush on national television.

[6] A sociologist claimed that she reached out to producers prior to the episode's taping in order to inform them of "the dangers of ambush TV.

"[23] Taped in Chicago, Illinois, on March 6, 1995, "Revealing Same Sex Secret Crush" was intended to air in May 1995 as part of the show's fourth season.

[24][25] The episode was shelved after Schmitz murdered Amedure; 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.

[29] Schmitz's attorneys claimed that a culmination of factors were responsible for his actions: bipolar disorder, Graves' disease, suicidal tendencies, and a childhood experience involving public humiliation.

[37] In August 1995, Amedure's family filed a civil lawsuit against The Jenny Jones Show, Warner Bros., and Telepictures Productions.

[39] Represented by Geoffrey Fieger, Amedure's family specifically alleged that Schmitz was "ambushed" on the show by the revelation of a same-sex crush and that producers should have known that this segment would incite violence.

[40][41] Conversely, the show's owners argued that Schmitz knew his secret admirer could either be a man or woman and that the episode did not play a role in Amedure's death.

[38][41] Jones claimed that she was "elated" over the reversal, further stating, "Scott Amedure's murder was a horrible tragedy, but I have always believed that it was fundamentally wrong and unfair to blame the show.

[54][55] Riley relayed details about the episode and its aftermath through interviews on Hard Copy and A Current Affair, while Palmer spoke to Genre.

[61] Amedure's brother, Frank, commented: "I feel this [murder] would not have occurred if Jenny Jones hadn't exposed homosexuality, a sensitive issue in our society.

"[3] Many media commentators claimed the show ambushed Schmitz, with some, such as Howard Rosenberg of the Los Angeles Times, accusing it of being an instigating factor in Amedure's murder.

[17] Jan Petersen, an employee of the LGBT community center Affirmations, stated: "The prosecutor is sounding an awful lot like a defense attorney ...

[13][69] Dick Coveny, the executive vice president of Multimedia Entertainment, claimed that the episode's aftermath resulted in internal reviews of several similar-tabloid television series.

Some media commentators claimed that Schmitz's actions were purely fueled by homophobia, with misplaced blame assigned to The Jenny Jones Show.

"[74] Conversely, some commentators contended that the murder was not motivated by homophobia, but rather it was a result of Schmitz feeling humiliated due to the "ambush" tactics used in the episode.

[31] It is one of the most prominent examples of the legal defense, and subsequent criminal trials involving gay victims, such as Matthew Shepard, have resulted in renewed discussion of Schmitz's use of it.

[75][76] Some members of the American Bar Association cited the circumstances of the case as a central example as to why the gay panic defense should be banned nationwide.

True Hollywood Story about Jones aired on February 25, 2001; it featured discussion of the episode and an interview with Schmitz's father, Allyn.

[36] On April 15, 2021, the HLN documentary series How It Really Happened aired a one-hour episode also dedicated to the topic, titled "The Jenny Jones Show: Fatal Attraction".