In a surprising move, controversial daytime talk show host Jerry Springer has announced that he will no longer be using the word "tranny" in his eponymous show.
In an interview with TMZ, Springer responded to criticism over a recent episode of The Jerry Springer Show titled "Trannies Twerk It Out," telling the gossip site, "I've just been educated."
"I won't use that term," Springer continued. "I honestly had no idea that you're not supposed to use that term, so now we'll find another term to use."
The word is widely considered to be a derogatory term to refer to a transgender person, specifically a transgender woman, and has a long history of being connected to violence and discrimination directed at trans women. GLAAD's transgender media reference guide lists the word as "defamatory," along with words like "she-male," "he-she," "it," "shim," and "gender-bender." Such words, according to GLAAD, "only [serve] to dehumanize transgender people and should not be used."
Springer is the latest in a line of celebrities who were previously unaware of the word's pejorative nature, and making the promise to improve moving forward. Gabourey Sidibe and Alec Baldwin have both come under fire for using the word in the past year.
In that time, Springer has had shows titled, "Mom Don't Ruin My Tranny Wedding," "Tranny Take Downs," "You Got Me a Tranny Stripper!?" "Online Tranny Trap," "My Girlfriend is Leaving Me for a Tranny," and "Tranny Bomb!"
