Icon and my TV mum, Judy Sheindlin (Judge Judy), said that tensions between her and US broadcaster CBS is what caused her to throw in the gavel after 25 long years.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Judge Judy said that CBS “disrespected her creation” when they bumped her show Hot Bench to secondary channels in favour of Drew Barrymore‘s talk show.
“You disrespected my creation,” Sheindlin said about CBS.
“And you were wrong. Not only in disrespecting my creation, but your gamble in what you put in its place.
“We had a nice marriage… It’s going to be a Bill and Melinda Gates divorce.”
It’s true, Hot Bench averaged 2.3 million viewers this season, compared to 719,000 for The Drew Barrymore Show.
In fact, mother Judy had more than one bone to pick with the broadcaster. After negotiating a deal that would give her ownership of episodes starting from 2017, CBS then bought Judy out of those reruns in a $99 million deal.
As part of the deal, Judge Judy agreed to a final 25th season of the show. CBS have now sold TV stations multiple years’ worth of reruns, and seeing as the show has run for over two decades there will surely be plenty of material to work with.
“We have had an incredibly successful relationship with Judy over the last 25 years,” CBS Media Ventures president Steve LoCascio said in a statement.
“It has been an honour representing her show, and just like there has never been another Oprah, there will never be another Judge Judy.”
As it currently stands, Judge Judy is the highest-paid TV personality earning a whopping $47 million USD per year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Judge Judy will continue her legacy on her new IMDb TV show, which looks like it will be called Judy Justice.
