'Judge Judy' Controversies That Made Us Say 'I Object!'

Petri Hawkins-Byrd was a fixture on Judge Judy, serving as Judith Sheindlin’s bailiff for the show’s entire 25-season run. When Sheindlin moved on to Judy Justice in 2021, Byrd assumed he would at least be given the opportunity to audition for the new series. However, Byrd said he only learned he wasn’t coming along after he called Sheindlin himself. According to Byrd, Sheindlin told him he had effectively been “priced out” because his salary would have been too high. Byrd questioned that since nobody had approached him about money or given him the chance to accept a lower salary. Byrd talked about the call in an interview with Entertainment Weekly: The call with Judy ended pleasantly enough. I don't think she understood how confused and dismayed I was after being there for 25 years, from the beginning of her career, and not being at least given the opportunity to say whether or not I wanted to continue that relationship. Sheindlin maintained there was no bad blood, calling Byrd “terrific” while explaining that Judy Justice was intended to be a new program with a new cast. Kevin Rasco, who had previously provided personal security for Sheindlin, ultimately became her new bailiff.

After the enormous success of Judge Judy, Sheindlin's salary skyrocketed to incredible levels. She was earning a salary of $45 million in 2009, which was later increased to $47 million. The entire amount was treated as a production expense. However, the matter of distributing the show's profits became a lightning rod for controversy. Rebel Entertainment Partners, the successor to the talent agency that originally packaged the series, claimed it was entitled to 5% of the show's proceeds. These were disputed, as after deducting production expenses, the company's cut took a major hit. According to Rebel, Sheindlin's salary completely removed its share of the profits, arguing that some of her salary should instead be allocated to the profit participation. Sheindlin and CBS went to court against Rebel over the dispute. The California Court of Appeal ultimately ruled in favor of Sheindlin and CBS, retaining the classification of Sheindlin's salary as a production expense.

Although Judge Judy is ubiquitous in the courtroom show format, it was The People's Court that popularized it. Here, Judge Wapner was known for his fair style, presiding over cases with the same seriousness even if the matter might be bizarre. To this end, Wapner was unimpressed by Judy Sheindlin's more confrontational style. In a statement to The New York Post in 2002, Wapner didn't mince his words in his critique of Sheindlin, saying: She is not portraying a judge as I view a judge should act. She’s discourteous, and she’s abrasive. She’s not slightly insulting. She’s insulting in capital letters! True to her personality, Sheindlin responded back with a fiery retort of her own. In a statement sent to the outlet by her publicist, Sheindlin said: I refuse to engage in similar mudslinging. I don’t know where or by whom Judge Wapner was raised. But my parents taught me when you don’t have something nice to say about someone, say nothing. Clearly, Judge Wapner was absent on the day that lesson was taught. In a 2003 interview with Metropolitan News-Enterprise, Judge Wapner of The People's Court's opinion was even more intense. The judge blasted Sheindlin's entire demeanor, mannerisms, and format of the show, saying: She is a disgrace to the profession. She does things I don’t think a judge should do. She tells people to shut up. She’s rude. She’s arrogant. She demeans people. If she does this on purpose, then that’s even worse. Judges need to observe certain standards of conduct. She just doesn’t do it and I resent that. The public is apt to gain the impression that this is how actual judges conduct themselves. It says “judge” on the nameplate on the bench and she’s wearing a robe.

In 2021, a Business Insider investigation based on interviews with 16 former employees and a review of court records detailed numerous allegations about the show’s workplace culture. Randy Douthit was accused of openly commenting on female litigants' bodies during tapings, referring to their appearances in a degrading manner. In a lawsuit filed by former segment producer Shawn Griggs in 2001, Griggs alleged that Douthit would make pig or cow noises whenever he found a female litigant unattractive, and wanted to "get" with those he did find attractive. The lawsuit was dismissed on summary judgment in 2002, with the ruling later upheld on appeal. In court filings, Douthit said "I don't believe so" when asked about the noises. When asked about the crude comments, he said, "I hope not. I may have, but I hope not." Former producer Kurstin Haynes, for example, alleged that Douthit would mock litigants over characteristics including their weight, teeth, and disabilities. Other former employees described frequent threats of termination and claimed staffers were deliberately pitted against one another. Judith Sheindlin herself was not accused of engaging in the alleged harassment. However, some former employees criticized her continued support of Douthit, who remained an executive producer when she moved on to Judy Justice. Sheindlin publicly praised Douthit and fellow producer Amy Freisleben in 2021. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she said: I am probably the luckiest on-air personality in the history of television to have had Randy Douthit and Amy Freisleben shepherd my program for over two decades. They continuously make me look good.

Former Judge Judy producer Jonathan Sebastien was dismissed from the show and subsequently made serious allegations. He alleged that executive producer Randy Douthit would deliberately attempt to prevent bringing Black litigants to the program during the screening process. According to him, his firing was directly a result of raising objections against Douthit. In the lawsuit, Sebastien said Douthit's statements included saying, "We're not doing any more Black shows" and "I don't want to hear Black people arguing." Douthit denied all the allegations. Sebastien's lawsuit was ultimately dismissed in June 2009. In a 2021 statement to Insider, a producer told the outlet: I guess they felt like Judy’s demographic were middle-aged white people at home and they wanted to continue to skew to that demographic.

Judge Judy may be a hit with audiences, but legal professionals aren't unanimously ruling in its favor. Certain high-profile figures have offered sharp opinions about Sheindlin's abrasive style, with many saying it goes against how a judge should behave. In a 2018 interview with News Center Maine, then-Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court Leigh Saufley bluntly called the show, among other similar series, "horrible." She further said: The way some of the judges talk to the litigants is so disrespectful and rude. And then, of course, the litigants start engaging in all that, too. We don’t talk to each other like that. It’s just not going to happen. The distinction between Sheindlin's television persona and the conduct expected from real judges has also been highlighted by the National Judicial College. Responding to a judge who asked whether they could adopt a similarly tough approach, Judge Michael E. Keasler stressed that real judges are expected to remain "patient, dignified, and courteous." He contrasted those standards with television judges who can come across as rude, harsh, arrogant, impatient, and antagonistic, noting that Sheindlin is acting as an arbitrator rather than serving as a judge in an actual courtroom.

Judge Judy was based on real-life problems escalating into arbitration. While Sheindlin's blunt persona has worked well with audiences, some critics have claimed it crosses into classism. Judy Justice, in particular, has faced criticism for highlighting this approach. In its review of the show, In These Times said that Judy Justice regularly makes personal and financial struggles of working-class individuals into fodder for entertainment. One case involved a 26-year-old mother talking about receiving $600 a week in unemployment benefits, to which Sheindlin claimed it showed there was "something wrong with the government. Her harsh critique of the woman having four children at her age and having little incentive to work due to her benefits was one of the reasons In These Times felt Sheindlin treated poverty the same as bad individual choices,

In 2009, former associate producer Karen Needle filed a lawsuit against Judge Judy producers Randy Douthit and Tim Regler and the show's production company. Needle alleged that she was fired due to her age, citing wrongful termination. She said she was told her firing was due to an unspecified conflict involving her audience work, but she disputed that reasoning. Needle further claimed her request for a new chair was ignored. According to her, she suffered from severe back pain, which even required her to lie on the ground at times. Her concerns were reportedly denied. She also said she had taken four days off to care for her elderly mother just two weeks before her firing, the timing of which was notable. Similarly, after former senior producer Jonathan Sebastian sued the show, Needles said in an interview with ABCNEWS.com: There is a lot of terrible stuff going on if two people file separate lawsuits. "It's a toxic situation over there. This is supposed to be Judge Judy, the voice of justice, and yet her own staff isn't treated well. What is she getting paid all that money for if her own staff is treated with such little decency? Needle's lawsuit was ultimately dismissed in 2009.

In an ironic turn, Judy Sheindlin was the one to file a lawsuit against someone else in 2014. The judge sued Connecticut lawyer John Haymond and his firm for over $75,000. Sheindlin alleged that Haymond's firm had used footage of her in advertisements without her permission or endorsement. In the commercials, Haymond and his daughters could be seen along with clips from Judge Judy. Sheindlin's lawsuit alleged that the nature of the footage made it appear that she was associated with his law firm. A statement on the lawsuit clarified further, stating: By trading, without consent or authorization, on Sheindlin's well-known persona, the Haymond Defendants have irreparably harmed and damaged Sheindlin's hard-earned professional and artistic reputation, dignity, and prestige. The case was eventually settled after Haymond had initially countersued Sheindlin. The terms of the resolution were kept confidential after both parties reached an agreement.

Judge Judy came to an end after 25 seasons in 2021. Her relationship with CBS ended on frosty terms after Sheindlin announced her show would be moving over to a new show, Judy Justice. Sheindlin was reportedly unhappy when CBS-owned stations moved Hot Bench, another show she had created, to make way for The Drew Barrymore Show in that slot. Sheindlin was so enraged she even confronted CBS, saying, "You disrespected my creation." Sheindlin sold the rights to Judge Judy material to CBS, but took Judy Justice to Amazon.