There’s apparently no “Justice” for an old bailiff. Petri Hawkins Byrd, who was the longtime courtroom bailiff for Judge Judy Sheindlin, won’t be part of her new IMDB show, Judy Justice.
Byrd told Entertainment Weekly that he was never asked to be part of the new show. He claims they never talked about any future role for him in the new show as they produced the 25th and final season, which saw Sheindlin appear in New York, while Byrd and the rest of the crew stayed in Los Angeles.
“My assumption is if you were going on to do something else, that you were at least going to ask me if I wanted to have the opportunity to audition for the role,” Byrd said to EW.
Worse, after the season’s production wrapped, Byrd’s wife and longtime Judge Judy producer Makita Bond-Byrd underwent brain surgery. “It wasn’t until July that I called the judge and asked, ‘Hey, should I look for something else, or am I included in the Judy Justiceproject?’”
The news was not good.
“She informed me I was not being asked to come along on the project,” said Byrd. “I didn’t inquire as to why, that’s her choice. But she did inform me that fundamentally, I was priced out as the new bailiff on her new show. My salary would have been too much. I was curious: How would she know? She didn’t ask me. She didn’t give me an opportunity to have accepted a lower salary.”
Sheindlin issued a statement on Byrd’s ouster. “Byrd is terrific and we had a great 25-year-run. This is a whole new program with a whole new cast and an exciting energy.”
