John Bobbitt speaks 23 years after his penis was cut off in attack

John Bobbitt has spoken about the incident 23-years after it occurred. Photo / YouTube / ReelzChannel

Men everywhere crossed their legs in 1993 when the story of Lorena Bobbitt cutting off her then-husband's John Wayne Bobbitt's penis with a kitchen knife made news headlines.

After the attack Lorena panicked, jumped in her car and drove around her hometown in Virginia before throwing the severed appendage out the car window. Police later uncovered the penis in a field and doctors successfully reattached it.

The ensuing trial was a media circus. It (unsurprisingly) marked the end of their marriage and Lorena was eventually acquitted by reason of temporary insanity.

It's been 23 years since the attack, and John, 49, will appear on US TV show Scandal Made Me Famous on Saturday to talk about what his life looks like today, reports People.

Lorena and John met in 1989. Originally she found him "charming", however after they were married she said he became physically and sexually abusive, slept around and took up drugs and alcohol. She said she soon suffered from battered woman's syndrome.

Then, on June 23, 1993, she "snapped." Lorena hacked off half of John's penis as he slept at their Virginia home.

In the upcoming TV episode, John - who works as a driver, but is currently recovering from a back injury - says he initially didn't realise the severity of the attack, but soon realised what had happened.

Bobbitt during the trial. Photo / Getty Images

"I looked down and there was blood everywhere ... It was a devastating thing to happen to you suddenly. Suicide seemed like the only answer."

After his penis was reattached, John was relieved to find that he hadn't lost his ability to perform sexually. He acted in a handful of adult films, which he notes were some of the best-selling porn movies in history.

He made dozens of television appearances, and became a mainstay on shock jock Howard Stern's radio show. (Stern paid for a penile enlargement for John.)

He says he holds no ill-will against his ex, saying "I don't blame Lorena," he says. "We both hurt each other. I wish her the best."

Lorena kept a lower profile following the court case and reverted to her maiden name.

She remarried and founded Lorena's Red Wagon, a non-profit organisation that helps victims of domestic violence.

Late last year she appeared on the Steve Harvey show last year to share her recollection of that fateful evening.

"I found myself in the street with a penis in one hand and the knife in the other," she told Harvey.

"So yeah, that happens ... I'm here to tell you and to tell everyone what happens when a woman gets abused by a man.

"We understand that my story actually has humour, but we also shed light on domestic violence, as well."

She also said that John had tried to contact her several times over the past two decades.

"He tried. But I always deleted his number," the then-46-year-old said. "I have a new life now. I surround myself with positive people."