Judge Judy Takes No Sh*t
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Welcome back to Write Answers Mostly, a podcast on what you didn't learn in history class, but you really wanted to. I'm Claire Donald. And I'm Tess Belomo. Hello, Rammies. Happy Monday or whatever day you're listening to. It's so good to see you again. We're almost at summer. It's essentially summer now. Well, so it's supposed to be really warm this weekend. And what I told Tess is this weekend feels like the last week of school, like the weekend into summer, if not like the week of finals. It does.

Yeah, like the work is done and you're ready to party. Teachers are checked out. It's like finally warm outside. You're like, I'm going to hang out with that guy that like I may or may not hang out with this summer. Oh my God, it's so real. Wait, were you a relationship girly? You were really, no, you weren't a relationship girly. In high school? Yeah. No, no.

No. No. Only had a boyfriend going into like summer after graduation, going into freshman year of college. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But that was a very fun summer. It was very like Netflix rom-com summer. You know what I mean? Well, I always broke up with my boyfriends in the summer. Because you were like, honey, I'm trying to have a good time. Well, I was going to summer camp and I think I've told the story before, but I broke up with my eighth grade boyfriend because I was like, I need to focus on God. And it was actually just so I could go to the summer camp boys. Yeah.

A different kind of religion. Of course. Anything for the big guy up there. Well, listen, you can't argue if you're saying I have to focus on God. Like, how are you supposed to argue with that? That's actually a good point. It's like perfectly manipulative. I'm going to start using it for like people that I'm dating now. I'm like, just focus on God, honey. Everyone's like, call 911. Call 911. Call 911. Absolutely. But yes, there's hope in the air. We're having a fun weekend. This weekend, we're having some friends in town. We're going to go out with the girls, the boys.

It's going to be a flirty weekend. And everyone in between, that's all we're going to say. Oh, yeah. Tess's birthday party had to get rescheduled. Yeah, it was pouring rain that day. Yeah. And we tried to sort of make it work. Like, maybe we could have everyone inside all day. And we're like, that is not the point of having a birthday party with a keg and beer pong.

I don't want people in my living room doing that. No, absolutely not. But I am so excited for a keg stand. I think I'm going to need Kunal and his tall friends to hold me, though. We will all support you with what you need. Because you've never done one before, right? No, I've never done one. Okay. Also, this past weekend, we were dancing, and Becca was like, I was just about to go on this guy's shoulders. You should go. And I was like, sweetheart, no.

No. I'm tying that into the keg stand because I need a tall man and I'm never going to be the girl at the concert on the shoulders. I will say, Claire, you have to do the shoulders once like at a rave. It is so fun. Like the only person – I've had my friend from high school, Kevin, do it once and Evan sent it a couple times. And on Saturday I was going to ask Kunal and then I was like, it does hurt their shoulders. Of course. So I was like, I don't want to put him through that.

But I'd like you to do it at a music festival at least one time. I just like have to find the right man. You have to find someone that's done it before. It's really just that. Because I think like once you go up. Who did I try to put on my shoulders one time? And everyone was like, stop, stop.

I would trust me to put other people on my shoulders, but otherwise it'd be like Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively being like, I just should know how much I should be lifting, how much you might. No, I can't wait for you to do it. Just have someone with experience. Yeah. Experience is something we're always looking for. That's all you need.

But if you want any more updates from us, you know where to find us on premium. We have so much to discuss on premium. We're doing celebrity gossip this month because we haven't done like a pop culture catch up. Well, today Bravo was like, I think we're going to be chaotic and drop four new shows. So we're going to be talking about that.

We have so many, I already am like, I have so many feelings. The Met Gala, like there's just so much to talk. Some, I know we need to talk about like some, like we just haven't like gone over like celebrity, like breakups or a little, you know, a little, the rumor mill. The rumor mill. So we're going to do that. And then we're going to do a catch up.

And then, of course, the end of the month is always a fun historical full episode. Exactly. So if you don't know, premium, you get three bonus episodes a month, plus our whole back catalog, plus close friends on Instagram. So you get to see hidden stories and posts. And you can join that in our show notes. The little link is down there. Check it out. It's a gorgeous time. It's a gorgeous time, folks. It is a gorgeous time. But today, Tess... Speaking of gorgeous... Gorgeous women? Gorgeous women. Speaking of gorgeous women, we are talking about today...

Maybe one of the most terrifying women in America, Judge Judy. We never think of this in four years of doing the podcast to cover her. I don't know because she's so ram-coded. And when I say like one of the most terrifying women in America, like it's so ram-coded in the way of like that's the perception and then we will unpack it. We always do. That is our life's work. Exactly. To reframe. Right.

Yeah. I, when did judge Judy come up? Did someone suggest it? Yes, but I feel like it had been in our hearts and in our minds. Like we almost like looked at each other and we're thinking of it, didn't say it for like months.

I kept wanting to order a judge outfit from Amazon and a wig and just show up on the screen, but then I just never got around to it. But I'm really mad that I didn't do that. Oh my God. Well, yeah, I was trying to think of what to wear today to be like judicial. And then I was like, yeah, there's nothing I have in my closet. No. But Tuffy one's dressed up as he has a judge outfit. So we'll put on the carousel.

Because he was RBG for Halloween one year. It was so... Amazing. He was in 2020. He had a little... What's it called? A gavel? A gavel. A gavel and everything between his paws. Oh, so cute. Well, Tess, what do you know about our girl, Judy? I really don't know anything besides the show and that I think it's fake. Okay. Interesting. Interessant. It's not fake. Oh, it's not? It's not fake. We'll get to it. It's not like fake, but it's not necessarily like... Yeah. You guys get it. Growing up,

it was always like oh this is like a scripted show and I've never really watched it and I only know what you've sent me of like some clips of her being a badass and I have no idea like her journey her political beliefs her like why she did why she started this career I don't know where

We're going to talk about all of it. I think we'll talk about her political beliefs. I mean, obviously, if you have a question, talk about it, but I have a whole section for it at the end because it's really interesting. I could see that. I already have a prediction. Yeah. I can't. God, I have loved my journey with this woman. I feel like

I kind of had the same thing. It was always on at school – or not at school, like when you were home sick from school. I was like, they were playing it in Arkansas? Just like, watch this. No, but you know what's crazy? And I'm so glad you brought that up because in Arkansas, what we had was drug court. So in junior high, we got to leave class and we would go to our gymnasium and they would bring –

They would bring drug court. It's like not okay. They would have people who would like literally be in court, but in our gymnasium for drugs. And then they'd be like, see, and they would have people stand up at the end who are like being tried. And they'd be like, just tried meth once and got addicted to it. What?

Whoa. Like literally it was nothing just to shame them and to scare us, which I'm like, you didn't need to bring drug court to my school to scare me into not doing meth. Like I just need to go to the gas station down the street and I'm like, I'm good. You're like, Ben, I've seen it all. Did they get like a lesser sentence if they came to do that? Like that seems almost like I'd be like, I don't want to go to fucking high school and talk about my – Doesn't it seem so cruel to do? It seems humiliating. I know.

But God, we're all just in the gymnasium being like, well, yeah, just like that sucks. I know. And the judge is her name's Marianne Gunn, I think. And she's so Judge Judy vibes, like took no shit. But yeah, that's what we were doing in Arkansas for like extracurricular activities, I guess. I mean, they did a good job at like middle school, early high school of scaring you off of drugs. And then I think once you start developing some independent thinking skills, you're like still going to do it. So

I'm going to try it. I'm going to try it. Just try it once. I mean, not, you know. Well, that's what they were trying to do with the meth. They were like, just once. You know, there are some drugs that are different than others, and I feel confident in saying that. A hundred percent. And that's, we'll leave it at that.

So yeah, we did not watch Judge Judy at school. We just got the real thing. Wow. You've been through so much. So much. But she was coming up for me on TikTok a lot because she's trending on TikTok, her sounds. And one of my favorites is when she's like, don't push it. I love her. Oh, I just remembered that you sent me a script for today. Oh my God. I forgot that I did it.

I was like, fuck, I was going to do some work because you asked me to play. So Tash will be playing Judy. I'm underprepared, I have to admit. We'll be doing a good cold read, but I think that we should just get into it now. Okay, so Judge Judy, my sources, New York Times. Of course. I watched a two-hour 2009 interview for the Television Academy Foundation where they interviewed her, our stepfather Wikipedia, and the podcast Trashy Divorces. Okay.

Love it. Love it. Okay, so let's get into it. Judith Susan Bloom was born in Brooklyn, New York on, we talked about this, we texted about this. Do you remember what her sign is? Okay, fuck. Libra or Scorpio? She is a Libra Scorpio cusp. She's born October 21st, 1942 and like

tell me astrology isn't real when Judge Judy is a Libra Scorpio cusp. Nothing has ever made more sense. Oof. No, I know because Libras like are very, they're, the sign is the scale so they're very balanced so it makes sense that you'd be in something like law and then a Scorpio, the passion and the ferocity. And the bite. And the bite. Yes.

So that is so Judy. She was born into a German-Russian-Jewish family. Her father, Murray, was a dentist, and Judy said he was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Like, she was just obsessed with her dad. That's nice. Yeah, must be nice. Don't know what that's like, but good for Judy. Her mother's name was Ethel, and when Judy was asked what her mother did, she said, my mother ran my father and the rest of us with a very loving hand.

I can picture the home already. Yeah. So what a queen. She said that her mom was like very meat and potatoes kind of gal. And Judy has always been a little thing. She is only five foot one or five foot two. I saw both.

What year was she? She grew up in the forties. She was born in 1942. Okay. So she's tiny. Her family would call her peanut as a nickname. Oh, shout out to our girl peanut. Hi peanut. Congratulations on your engagement. Yep. That's right. Um, so we have another peanut and the Ram fam and she had a younger brother, David and,

And she just said her parents set a great example and like a moral compass. They had a very loving extended family too. They would go to the country for the weekends and just like all hang out together. We never cover people with happy childhood life. So it is nice to hear. No, Tess, there's like not really one thing in her childhood that I found that I was like, Ooh, like she, and she recognizes later, like what a privilege that was to come from such a loving home. Look more

people should like you know there should be less childhood trauma there really should be so she also said though that her as a child and this is why I'm like she's just so one of us she was a brat she's having a brat summer she's

Judge Judy was having a brat summer. Yeah, she was having a brat summer. She was like hitting the vape and like letting her hair down. I can see it. In the 40s. In the 40s. She said that her father was like very, or would describe her as precocious, which was one of the words on the Torture Poets Department. We love that word. Precocious and that she was a brat.

And she said, oh, she was also a tomboy, which I could see too. Totally. She would get into trouble a little bit. She did ballet and like music as a kid. But if you're a premium member, you know that Tess and I relate to this. She hated to practice. Like you wanted the end result, but you didn't want to do the work getting there. A hundred percent. She was like, this just doesn't fulfill me. And she was like, what did fulfill me? And what I felt like I was just, my natural gift was talking.

Oh, and you have to be a brat to have that. And then look where she is now. No, exactly. It is the, it's the same type of girl who got told that she's a good student. She talks too much in class. She's spicy. Like you were born that way. And we're all in the same club and Rammies. I know you're in here too. We're all spicy little things. True.

Truly, she had the gift of gab. And because of this, she like knew that she wanted to be a lawyer because her father used to talk to her about politics a lot in the world of politics, which I love that. Like I love from a young age, he's talking to his daughter about politics.

Yeah. Actually including her in that conversation. Exactly. And so he thought because she like talked so much and was so interested in people that she would make a great politician. And so she was, she always thought, well, if I, if I become a politician, I have to become a lawyer first. That's just like the steps. Um,

But she realized soon enough that she would have made a terrible politician because she wanted a job where the decisions she made were unencumbered by other people's opinions. Like, she didn't want to have to take into consideration anyone else's opinion but herself. Well, then, being a lawyer is a great choice. Being a judge is, like, the ultimate. Yeah, literally. Yeah.

So she was like, I don't want to have to like worry about other people. So the politician thing is just like not going to happen for me. She got there. And then also with her father, he had a big influence on her with comedic timing. He was very funny. And so she would like watch the way that he would tell jokes, like when he knew to say the punchline, when he knew to be quiet, like the pacing. And she loves that about him. And we'll also see her use that in her life because she's a performer. Yeah.

Of course. And you kind of, I mean, like anyone in that field has to be in a way. Exactly. The good ones are. The good ones are. And like, lastly, she was a great debater. It's such a good quality. I mean, it's an annoying quality, but it's a good quality. It's such an annoying quality, especially for a parent. I can't imagine because she said that she would just debate with her mom on her curfew. So she was just always debating. It's always up for negotiation, ladies. It always is. It's always up for negotiation. It is.

Someone says, no, you're talking to the wrong person. Christian or exactly. Thank you. So she said that she wasn't like very scholar scholarly, which surprises me again. She is a Ramy. She said that math and science always felt like it was being taught in another language.

Talk about it. And it was just very frustrating to her. She didn't get it, but she did love things like social studies because she understood like the nuance of people and how they operated. So she loved that. And,

And she graduated from James Madison High School in Brooklyn in 1961. She graduated high school six months early. So she's like, I'm not very scholar. Oh, my God. What is that? Scholarly is such a hard word to say. Scholarly. Because you want to say scholarly. Scholarly. She wasn't very scholarly. It's the vowels in it. Tess, you want to know who else graduated from this high school? A Ram subject? Not yet, but definitely in the future. Think about Tavi. Okay.

Tevye? RBG. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She graduated from the same high school as Judge Judy. She graduated 10 years earlier than her. Oh, so they didn't know each other growing up? No, but guess who else also graduated? Two more people. Bernie Sanders also graduated from this high school. And Kris Jenner's secret dad. Died.

What is your dad, Christian or Secrets? If you guys don't know, we have this parasocial relationship with some Instagram and TikTok creators. And they're family to us. We've never met, but they are home. I don't even know what Christian or Secrets looks like, but they are our family. I know nothing about them. Me either, but she DMed or they DMed me and were like, yeah, my dad also graduated from that high school. So crazy. What a crew. So a high school full of icons and legends. Hmm.

So she graduates from there, and then she goes on to American University in Washington, D.C., receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government.

Yeah, she did this combined six-year program. So where she would do like four years of college and two years of law school. Like it was all kind of combined. So she could just like get out of school and get into the world. God, that's so nice. Because what is usually seven or even like nine? No, I think law school is three years. Or I mean like undergrad plus. Oh, yeah. I think it's seven. And I heard that law school like the second year is the hardest. Yeah.

Isn't that crazy? Like how many years you have to dedicate to like... Which I thank God. And then you have to pass the bar and then you have to like... It's just so crazy. Yeah. Couldn't be me. No, I think the state with the hardest bar is Louisiana because they also have something with like the Louisiana Purchase. Thomas Jefferson. Oh, really? I know nothing about the bar.

California and Louisiana, I think. Yeah. And Texas. Doesn't Texas have a bad bar? Something on Housewives that I can't remember. We're always referring back to Housewives. Probably like Emily on OC being like, Shane, can't take it in that state because it's hard. Or Craig, who has lied about passing the bar so many times, but he's a lawyer and a storyteller. Wow. And there it is. And there it is.

So she, law school is hard for everyone else, not for Judy. She said that law school came very easy to her because it was logical and there was a rhythm to it that she understood. She completed her fourth year of college and her first year of law school at the same time. Good, good, God woman. God woman. I could never. Tess, there was 126 people in her class that year and she was the only woman. Wow, this is in like the mid 60s?

She graduated high school in 1961, so this is like, yeah, it ends up being like the mid-60s. For law school? God, I mean, like, it surprises me in a way, but also the only woman is like, that's shocking. Shocking. Well, she said there were 126 people and one woman, and I found that ratio to be just perfect, just fine with me. She's like, I actually like it because I'm like the prettiest here. She's like, I was busy thinking about boys. That's what it is.

Yeah. She, this is what we will see with Judy. It's giving, you know, it's giving, it's giving. We've seen this a lot in different generations of like, oh, well I dealt with it. So, so you should deal with it. It's giving that. Yeah. And I hope as she's gotten older and I do think that she has evolved more and we'll talk about it some more, um, on like Judy's, I like, um, thoughts on feminism. Hmm.

God, I love our work. Yeah. Yeah. But I think that Judy practices a lot of feminism, but she doesn't realize what feminism is. I see. Okay. Yeah. Well, you know, it's a different generation and I can imagine what it's like to be the only student, like,

person in your field and how lonely that must be the only woman especially with like a career like being a lawyer I feel like that's so much um just like uh what is that what's the male thing testosterone like aggression you know and that all of them probably talking shit about you so she's in law school and while she's in law school she meets this guy Ronald Levy they meet on a blind date arranged by friends and he was a young prosecutor in New York

And they end up getting married in 1964 when she's 21 years old. Oh, damn. So young. Twas the time. Twas the time. She's still in law school.

And it sucks because she is like at the top of her class in law school in Washington, D.C. But this was the mid-60s, and so she just got married. So she has to leave her law school in Washington and go move to New York where he is, even though like she's top of her class. He's just a legal aid in New York that only made $75 a week. Like she definitely has the most potential in this, but she has to transfer to New York because she just got married. Oh.

I know. It really sucks. And she recognizes how unfair that is now. And she was kind of like, that's just what it was at the time. Yeah, like you didn't really have a choice. Yeah. She still kept up academically, but like New York Law School and Washington, D.C. Law School was so different. She said at the New York Law School, they made her feel as welcome as a skunk at a lawn party because she was like one of the only women there.

What was the loneliness like? What was the loneliness like, Judy? I just can't imagine. No. But she ends up graduating in 1965, and she's hired as a corporate lawyer for a cosmetics firm. However, she is repeatedly asked, how fast do you type? And put on administrative work while her male counterparts got to actually practice law.

Yeah. It's like, why would it matter how fast I type? Like, I don't need to type. I'm doing all this stuff. Yeah, like, I'm not a secretary. Exactly. Also, typing fast is fucking hard. Tell me about it. Can't we just say it as a true skill of being like, oh, that's all you can do? It's also very hard. Shout out to Cindy Donald, one of the fastest typers of all time. It's like, in the world. In the world.

Quote us on that. Truly. Quote us on that. So she is feeling very unfulfilled at her first job. And she was like, I did what most women did if they got their first job and they were feeling unfulfilled. I quit and started having babies.

Cause I wonder like how hard it must've been to find other work as a woman then, you know? I know. It's also interesting that her first job was at a cosmetics company. I thought so too. Like, it's like, Oh, put her with like the girly things, like not serious companies, but then make her type.

Yeah, typey-typey. Typey-typey. So she leaves, and she has one daughter, Jamie, and then her son, Adam. And she just, like, starts to focus on being a stay-at-home mom. However, it, like, left her feeling very unfulfilled. Yeah.

by all of it so she enrolls in a graduate's course at NYU Law and takes a night class once a week to keep the juices flowing hot we have covered so many women that take night classes like Shirley Chisholm like so I just can't imagine like especially when you are like a full-time mother and then leaving to go like educate yourself it's like incredible well we've also talked about like

Night classes are hard because dinner time is sacred time. Dinner time is the time that we are the most ourselves, I think. I think so too. And like, I don't want to be in a classroom with fluorescent lights at that time. Even like when I used to work production, like at the office until 730, every morning I'd just be like, the night's already ruined because I'm going to get back at eight and it's going to be rushed because I have to go to bed at nine.

Exactly. It's just very, like, good for you, Judy, because I can't imagine. Even once a week? Once a week. All of you women who are out there taking night classes, like, hell yeah. God bless you. God bless. So then one day she goes to a seminar lecture and she sees a former colleague of hers from law school. And he is supervising an office in the family court counsels, like the family court counsel office. And he's like, hey, what are you doing these days? And she's like, not much.

I'm feeling very bored. And he's like, oh, well, are you interested in coming on and joining? Or he says, oh, well, I have an opening in the family court. Would you be interested? And she's like, yeah. And he's like, great. Can you start in two weeks? And she's kind of like, oh, my God. Okay. I need to get my family together and everything. So she's like, give me three. Oh, my God. And then three weeks later in 1972, she becomes a prosecutor in the New York family court systems. Wow.

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So fast. And this is our second prosecutor that we're covering. Kamala. That's right. It's the first. So she becomes a prosecutor in the New York Family Court cases. She prosecuted cases involving child abuse, domestic violence, and juvenile offenders. So she's covering all of it. Is that like what she wanted?

I think that she felt very passionate about this because I think that she felt like she could make real impacts with families. Yeah. I think Judy sees things as black and white. Like, if you do something bad, you can't blame the system. It just is what it is. And, like, I don't know. There's some nuance to it. Well, we talked a lot about that, too, in our Kamala episode. Yes. And people really, like –

were offended by a lot of those choices. Cause like, you know, being a persecutor, persecutor, persecutor, prosecutor, prosecutor. I love being a persecutor, a persecutor. I'm like, what is that word? I mean, it's, it is nuanced. It is because again, like on some cases like OJ, like hell yeah, Marsha Clark, like love that person. I'm just a persecutor.

Law in general is complicated. It really is. And she was so intense. I mean, we know Judy. She's very no-nonsense. She's like, there's right and wrong. And again, she's saying, I recognize that some of the people that she prosecuted in family court didn't have the same advantages that she did, a two-family loving home.

But she said that that didn't excuse bad behavior because 95% of other children who are brought up in the same environment didn't go out and hurt people. And if they did, it would be chaos in the streets at all times. Well, that is the point of view that Judy was coming from and has always come from and that a lot of people have been drawn to because she is so like fierce in that. Yeah. And as her career is progressing, Tess, how do you think her marriage is doing? Going down the drain, honey. Not well, bitch. Was he?

Threatened? I would say he was threatened. He wants a... Bread.

Breadwinner he wants. Yeah, no, he thought that her career was more of a hobby. And so he didn't understand why she would be like taking it so seriously. He's like, it's cute that you like this legal stuff, but get back in the kitchen, woman. Well, 100%. I don't know like for sure, but I'm sure he's like, well, why isn't dinner made if she had like a big day or whatever? And so she like grew to resent that, obviously. Is he still like a legal aid, not making any money?

I think he was a lawyer at this point. Well, which is like, well then you should understand even more. Yeah. But those men don't cause they're like, I still hold the power. No, they do not. So, uh, they get a divorce actually in 1976 after 12 years of marriage. So the kids, the kids were young, the kids were young, but then she soon meets defense attorney, Jerry. Oh no. Okay. I, I think it's,

Sheen, Sheen. Oh God. Okay. I misspell it. It's, it's her last name now. And you guys, I know that you're going to be like, how dare you even have this episode? You don't even know how to say the last name. It's so hard to pronounce things, especially when you're like the pressure when you're talking for an hour. It's S H E I N D L I N. Shinlin. Shinlin. Shinlin. Shinlin. Shinlin.

Maybe it might be Shynelan. Anyways, she meets Jerry at a bar, okay? Great. She's keeping it in. She likes dating lawyers. Good for her. And she really does. So he's a defense lawyer. She's a prosecutor. Oh.

Oh, a little rom-com. It's kind of like Romeo and Juliet in a way, you know? Wow, two different worlds, but the same... Star-crossed lovers. Same mission, really, yeah. Exactly, for justice. Wow. They're hot for justice. So Jerry had just completed a murder case as a defense attorney.

And he was at a bar, and this is what he said at their first meeting. Quote, there was a reporter from the New York Post there at the bar, and I was speaking to him about the case. Judy came walking in and put her finger in my face and said, and who is this? And I said, lady, get your finger out of my face. And we've been together ever since. That's very cute. Yeah, that's their energy. He was separated from his wife at this time, but he wasn't divorced yet.

And they've been separated for like three or four years. Um, and so it was like an actual separation. Yeah. It was like an actual separation. Um, and so then Jerry and Judy are dating though. And she, they end up being together for about a year. And she said, I want to see your divorce in the newspapers or don't bother calling again. I mean, at that point it's like, what, what's the holdup? What are you doing? Three years is a long time to be separated. I feel like unless there's like, you know who Judy could go talk to.

Robert Shapiro? I was going to say Kyle and Mauricio. Oh. They're all the same, actually. They're all the same. Our world is just like one black hole that falls into itself. Yeah, Kyle and Mauricio need to...

Cut it off. Let's go. Let's go. Come on. Yeah. So they end up – he gets a divorce, and the two get married in 1977. So she was divorced from Ronald in 1976 and married Jerry in 1977. Damn. She has no time to waste. Were they – either of them hot? Jerry or Judy? Her two husbands. Oh.

not find a picture of Ronald anywhere. I could not find. Jerry is like a very small man. Well, they're a tiny couple. She's small too? Yeah, exactly. So they like match each other's freak in that way. Yeah. By 1982, at 39 years old, the New York mayor, Ed Koch, I think it's Koch, he appointed her as criminal court judge. So 39 years old and she's a judge. That's so young. So young. Wow. People must have been...

Like I feel like when they first looked at her, they're like, she's a small woman. How could she? And then they must've been like, I've never been more fearful of a judge. Well, a hundred percent. Five foot two, like just sitting up there. So, you know, yeah, I can't imagine. She's like a little booster. I've thought about that. Cause you can't tell how small she is behind her desk. Yeah.

Yeah. And you don't want to like you want to like make her seem more powerful. Exactly. And she quickly gets the reputation as America's toughest family court judge. She just did not take any shit. Damn. Yeah. And then again, like it's at this time where we were talking about earlier, family court had a lot of wiggle room and she was like, there shouldn't be all of this wiggle room. People need structure. Kids need structure to feel safe.

I looked for controversies at this time. Like I was like, surely there's some cases that people look back on and they're like, oh God. But there like really wasn't.

Did she always kind of like favor mothers or was she very like? No, she definitely favored mothers. Like in the cases of like spouses support and all of that, I definitely think that she did. I think that she was just like, this is what it is right or wrong. And it's like at this time that we see this juxtaposition because it's in the eighties that she begins to be known for her signature lace collar. Oh, did I always start the lace collar?

Well, that's what I'm wondering because I always think about RBG. Same. But then RBG didn't just have lace collars, though. She also had, like, jewels that are, like, very kind of Countess Luann, like, statement necklaces. Like, you have to make it fashion. Well, she was, like, the men, like, get to wear ties and stuff like that. And, like, I guess they could have, like, a white shirt that shows through. And she's, like, so they look so good. But women just had these, like...

black robes up against our faces. And if we just looked like sleep deprived, if we had a lack of sun, it looked so bad. You got to get some little, a little dainty, something on there. Something. So she's like, I need to spice this up a little bit. So she, and she also used the lace collar as a tactic to disarm people so that they would walk in and be like, oh, look at this lovely woman. And she'd be like, bam. Like, oh, she's so sweet. She's like, no, I'm not. Okay. And this is like now when we can talk about

Judy downplaying her experience as a woman and like an all male dominated court system. Okay. So she acknowledges that things have improved, but this is what's crazy to me is that she'll be like, I've never experienced, um,

What's the word? Sexism. Yeah. She'll be like, I've never experienced sexism or I've never had a disadvantage because I'm a woman. But then she'll tell the story. So she was in the mid 80s. She was at a conference for New York state judges. And it was during a presentation on gender bias in the courtroom.

A female lawyer was explaining to primarily male judges in the room the ways in which their comments in the court were disparaging to female legal professionals. And it was things that male judges said to the female lawyers, like, don't wear pants in my courtroom. I like women in skirts. It's demeaning as a lawyer. Back then, it was standard fare.

So judges would be saying that to women. They'd be like, show off the legs. God, I'm not surprised. What's even worse is that as this lawyer is giving this presentation, talking to these male judges, being like, hey, this is demeaning to women. Like, we need to cut it out. They started saying things to Judy and to the other women in the room like, actually, you better be wearing skirts too.

And they were being like all rowdy and just taking it as a joke. The female lawyer giving the presentation looks straight at the rowdy table of the yelling judges and says, quote, perhaps the whole generation has to die off.

my God, that's actually like iconic. I'm gonna start saying that when men piss me off. Same. Perhaps the whole generation needs to die off. Yeah. Just like, and just smile and then look away. Keep going. And it left a mark on Judy, um, who then said she was right. However, she will not wear the label of feminist. It's because like certain women in that generation feel like if they call themselves a feminist, it's like,

doing a disservice to that, like almost to their own generation for something. You know what I mean? I think if they say, well, I think there's a stigma behind the word feminist of like that. It means that you hate men. That's one.

Which is not true. And then I think that they also almost think it's like admitting to being weaker. If you're saying that I was at a disadvantage, but I still overcame it, they want to be like, I wasn't. Yeah. And it's like, I think for Judy, it's like a self-protection thing. I mean, I think anyone that says, I mean, clearly every woman has gone through sexism and has been treated unfairly, especially in the workplace. And I feel like for her, she's like, she wants to protect herself almost, like not admit it.

Well, I think that she's like, I don't want anything setting me apart from these men because I've already like kind of the black sheep here, you know? So it's like, if she admits that it was hard or difficult, then she's like, then I, yeah. And it's like, it sucks because it really is terrible that most women and men won't just say, yeah, I'm a feminist because it truly just means being equal. But it makes me sad too that a lot of women, especially women of that time feel like they can't because that it puts them like it.

at a disadvantage. It's so upsetting. Especially when they're feminist icons, really like Judy being the only woman in her class being like a female judge at 39. Like that is feminism. I know. I know. It's sad that it has such a negative connotation. It really does. And she even said on the label of feminist, she says, quote, I don't feel as if anything that has happened to me in my life was sidetracked because I was a woman. As for the feminist label, I don't think so. I don't think

So I don't know what that means. I actually don't know what that means. You should know what that means. You can look it up. Exactly. That's not a cute look. And I just think it's like so – it's so of that time, you know? So much projection, so much like –

Fear. Fear. Exactly. It all derives from fear, really. But four years later, she was promoted to supervising judge in the family courts, Manhattan division. Okay. But it's at this time. So her career is thriving. But in 1990, her father, Murray passed away at the age of 70. Oh,

And we know like how close they were. She was just extremely devastated. And it was at this time that she felt like her husband, Jerry, wasn't supporting her through the grief in a way that she needed. Kyle Mauricio. Exactly. Wow. Kyle Mauricio. Who would have thought they would pop up so much during judge Judy's.

Put them on for their divorce case. Let Judge Judy mediate it. Literally. The world will – oh, my God. That would be iconic. No, call us. Like, we are producing geniuses for that. The next Bravo show. The next Bravo show. Wow. So dark. We're workshopping. Okay, so it's at this time, Tess, if you want to pull up your script. Oh, my God. Okay. Also, how did her dad die? Because 70 is so young. I actually don't know how her dad died. Maybe a heart attack, maybe a stroke, because, like –

I mean, we've come a long way even from the 90s with that. Yeah, that's true. Okay. Script time? Oh, God. Oh, God. Script time. Okay. So they were in a documentary together called What Makes a Marriage Last? And so we're going to read this script now as if Tess and I are sitting kind of like, you know, and I'll say this in your terms, when Harry met Sally, when the couples are talking. That is literally what I was just thinking. Wow.

Exactly. So we're going to kind of read it as if, you know, we're talking to each other, but we're also doing a documentary. I would like for Tess to be Judy. I will be Jerry. Okay. Oh God. Um, is there tension at this point? They're, they've moved past it, but I think, you know, bring that tension in because they are reliving a very tough time in their relationship. Okay. Okay. I'm ready. Okay. In a desperate need, need of role reversal. I said, I've been taking care of you for 12 years.

Now it's your turn to take care of me. And he was totally unaccustomed to that role. I wasn't asking for anything unreasonable and he wasn't being unreasonable and saying that he didn't really know how to do that. He was 55 and he lived in a certain way his whole life. He couldn't even conceptualize taking over that role. He just couldn't.

What she said was, unless you change, we can't stay together. I said, tell me what you want me to do. You can't just say, take care of me. What does that mean? Do you want me to carry you from place to place? Do you want me to buy you things? Do you want me to feed you? Do you want me to keep you warm? What you have to do is tell me, use your words and tell me what you want me to do to take care of you.

Just take care of me. I don't know how to do that. If you can't maneuver this, I'm going to divorce you. Oh, yeah? I dare you. The next day, I got divorce papers. So that was the end of that. I had just come to terms with the fact that men of that generation are different. They expect, even if they have no right, they expect to be taken care of. No, to catered, to be catered to. Like they say, don't try to teach a pig to sing. It doesn't work. Just annoys the pig. And scene.

Iconic. Don't teach a pig to sing. It doesn't work and it just annoys the pig. Wow. Huh. I have to think about that. No, it's like unpacking all of that. I feel so bad for her. Oh my God. She's like, just be a fucking partner and be a good husband. I have been taking care of you for 12 years. Take care of me. And he's like, what do you want me to do? You want me to feed you? Like, and I kind of see his weakness.

of like, you have to like tell me in the way that I can show up for you, but I don't want to be in a partnership where I have to tell the person how to show up for, to be with me through my grief. It's true. I mean, it's giving the breakup, you know, Janet Aniston, I want you to do the dishes. I want you to want to do the dishes. And there it is.

Yeah. I, you know, okay. Not to get like too dark, but I just like, this has always really stuck with me. I saw this on TikTok once and someone was like, the person that you want to marry, make sure there's someone who can give you, get you through the grief of losing your parents. I know that's like so heavy, but like this reminds me of that too. Like that is one of the hardest things you will ever have to go through. No, a hundred percent. And yeah, you just, you want someone to that, like you don't,

that knows your love language, knows how to show up for you and like without even asking like during those hard times, like what do you need? They're like, okay, she's depressed. She's mourning. This is what I'm going to do because there's nothing worse than when you're grieving and someone's like –

What can I do? And you're like, you should, at this point after 12 years, you should know what I need. And I think that he was so used to her just being so strong and she was weak. Not weak. She was vulnerable for like probably one of the first times and he couldn't handle that. And that makes me so sad for her. It's literally like Kyle and Mauricio where she was like going through the darkest time. Her friend had just passed and she was like, Mauricio was going out every night. He didn't come with me to her, you know, her ceremony of life.

Insane. And good for Judy, though, if she's like, oh, yeah, you're going to divorce me? And she serves him divorce papers the next day. I mean, nothing's more heartbreaking than someone letting you down during that, during losing your parent. Don't tempt a woman in grief. Oh, my. Oh, no, no. Nope. Don't do it. So they get divorced in 1990. However, they get remarried in 1991. Wow.

Okay. So do you think it was more like she was like, I'm going to show him and then she's like, but I do love you. I think that they both realized like they're still married today. Like I do think that they are OTP one true pair. Um, but they just didn't know how to navigate that together. Well, I mean, that's fair too. Like no one and who really does until that comes up and you know, a hundred percent. So they found their way back to each other now back to court.

So she's running things at family court. And one of the things that she decides to do is open her courtroom up to the press because she believed that the only thing that closed courtrooms could do is foster bad judging and bad lawyering. She said the public pays for a very expensive judicial system and the public has a right to see that the law is being dispensed appropriately. Fair. I love that. Right? Yeah. To me, I'm like...

yeah, why not then? Because she opened her courtroom, there was a reporter in 1993 that he comes and listens to her court and he starts writing a Los Angeles Times article. His name is Josh Gatlin. His wife, Heidi, was a reporter. And so she would go to Judge Judy's courtrooms regularly and she was like, this woman's amazing. And so Josh comes in. He's like, wow, she's great. He writes an article for the Los Angeles Times article.

And it profiled her as a woman determined to make the court system work for the common good. Okay. And so then ring a ding ding, 60 Minutes calls, and they're like, we read the Los Angeles Times article, and we'd like to come into your courtroom, see how you run it, interview you, yada, yada. And she's like, all right, you can come in with like one camera, one light, blur out the faces of the minors, but yeah, come in. Yeah, she's like, I'll make sure to do my makeup that day. It's fine.

I also do think like, I do think Judy's intentions were pure of like having an open courtroom, but I do think she, she's a performer. She wants people to see her. Of course.

exactly. She, she knows the comedic timing, all of it. So she's like, everyone come in and see, but she did take a risk with 60 minutes because it's like, they can profile her in any way they want to. And it's like a very strong woman. It's like most likely not going to be in a kind way. Yeah, that's so true. So they come in, they do an interview. Um,

And on the interview that I was watching of her, the guy asked her, did you have any reservations about speaking your mind during the 60 Minutes interview? And she said, I never have any reservations about speaking my mind ever. Love. Love. Take notes, girlies. Truly. So the 60 Minutes interview comes out the piece, and it's actually very favorable to her. And then she gets a call a couple days later from a literary agent being like, I think you should write a book.

I didn't know she had a book. She has quite a few, but her first book test is called Don't Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It's Raining. Don't bullshit me.

I've never heard that expression before. Me either, but again, iconic. But once again, going to write it down, going to start saying it. Write it down. So that was published in 1996, and it's at this time that she retired as family court judge the same year after having heard more than 20,000 cases. In a year? I think that. I just said that. I was like, there's no way. That has to be happening with that future. That has to be happening.

I was like, what's... I'm going to do some quick math. What's 20,000? Divided by... That would be 54 cases a day. Did you divide that by 365? Yeah. Well, that's like not even counting weekends and holidays. God. Right. Yeah. 20,000.

I was like, that's in a day, actually. Oh my God, that's so funny. Well, I wouldn't be surprised. Yeah, me either. Like, she keeps it going. So 1996 was actually a major year for Judy because then she gets approached with an offer to star in her own courtroom reality show. And there it is. Judge Judy is, you know why we're connected to her? She is highbrow, lowbrow. Wow, that's so true. She's a judge, but she's a judge on reality TV. Yeah.

It's so us. It's so Ram coded. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. That's why we feel connected to her. You're so right. She, uh, there are been shows like courtroom shows, like the people's court, which was very similar to what we will see with judge Judy. So she's kind of like, why the hell not? Let's give it a go. She flies out to California for a couple of a couple of days. They make a pilot.

And she said the pilot was awful because they presented her with these ridiculous cases. And she was like, it feels very fake. And I need to deal with reality because I work off of people. And if they're not real, it's hard for me to get into it.

That's, yeah. She's like, what is this? This is like foreign to me. It's ridiculous. Like I can't, she, you know, she doesn't do well with ridiculous. Right. So they put, instead they put together a sizzle reel and present that to the network. And she goes in, she smooths this, the station managers and it works. And her syndicated court show judge Judy debuted on September 16th, 1996. Wow. It's so much earlier than I thought.

1996? I thought it was like 2005 or something. Well, it's because it goes on for like 23 years. Does it really? Yeah. It's crazy. And we'll get into all the stats on that. But it starts in 1996. She's accompanied by her bailiff Pete...

Okay, I died at this name, Petrie Bird, because Petrie from Land Before Time, I mean, he's a pterodactyl. But still, bird-like. That sounds like Petrie Bird. Petrie Bird, what an icon. So Petrie Bird, or Officer Bird, he became the longest-serving bailiff in courtroom programming history. There was some drama there.

I guess he got let go from the show later on in a way that I think would feel very disrespectful to someone who's been with you for so long. So I think there was some drama around that. Tough. But he served as her bailiff in the Manhattan family court system. So he literally has been with her for so long. Wow. Yeah. It feels like it's a New York show, but it's actually filmed at Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood, California. Have you been to the Bronson Studios? Yes.

I don't think so. It's off Bronson Avenue. I think I've been there for some like low budget auditions. Of course. I mean, then maybe I have. Yeah. If it's low budget, I was there. I just walk in the gates and be like, oh yes, this is all very clear. Yeah, they're like, just bring her in. She's not going to get anything, but just bring her in.

We've got time. Yeah. I have a very similar story to that. I think that's also where they might've filmed the Jeff probes show, which I went to and sat in the audience by myself. Love. She's an icon. So anyways, just Judy's film there. Okay. And this is the format of judge Judy. So there's usually two cases per episode and they find these cases. There's 65 researchers who sift through national small claims court motions. So I guess they're looking from like all over the country of small claims court. So it's nothing like crazy. Um,

Yeah. The litigants defend themselves and the show pays any judgment Judy renders as well as travel and lodging on the condition that they won't appeal the judge's decision in real court. So even though Judge Judy was a real judge for decades and the context of the show, she serves as an arbitrator, which is crazy.

Kind of like a mediator, but you get to say at the end, right or wrong. Right, okay. So the show pays for their lodging, and I believe if they owe child support or they say, I don't know,

What is the word? Vandalize someone's car. I think the show ends up paying for those fees. Oh, wow. Which is probably like how they get so many people to do it. Yeah, that's true because I was like, who is trying to do this publicly? Well, actually, there's people that would. I don't know what I'm saying. Like, look at our country. Look at our country.

look at our country. Yeah. But it's so interesting. The like logistics of all of that. And like, imagine being, we would be good at that. It's like sifting through some court cases and be like, Oh, this is interesting. This is juicy. This is juicy. New dream job. Truly. So, and then the people in the audience are actor type. So they're like, uh,

Hired for a steady gig. So I think actually it seems like it's consistently like a lot of the same people sitting in the audience. Hey, more than we can say for an acting gig. Yeah, I've never had a consistent acting gig, but here we are. No.

And then Petrie Bird was her bailiff. An icon. We have to put Petrie in the carousel. So the show continues to grow and build, and then it just takes off, Tess. Judge Judy remained the top-rated court show and regularly drew 9 to 10 million viewers daily.

How much money was she making? So in early 2005, Judy's salary was reportedly $25 million per year. Her net worth at the beginning of 2007 was $95 million. She ranks number 13 on Forbes list of the 20 richest women in the entertainment business. In 2013, when Judy's contract was renewed, her salary increased to $47 million per year. Oh my... I mean, guys...

47 million per year. The biggest movie stars of all time.

usually per movie get like 25. Well, let me put this into perspective. Okay. So she's making 47 million per year in 2013. The next highest salaries in unscripted television was Jon Stewart at 30 million per year. So she's making 17 million more than the highest paid male unscripted. Matt Lauer at 25 million per year and Jay Leno at 20 million per year. She was the richest woman on television. Judy said, do I want equal pay with men? Absolutely not.

She's making so much money. She's like, I don't want to be poor like them. It's crazy. She has so much real estate everywhere, like Connecticut, Florida. She has like a penthouse in Beverly Hills. It's so crazy. These are all places I imagine her. Like, of course she would go to Florida and Connecticut. Of course she would. Like, of course. So when she would negotiate with CVS on like her contract,

They would go to lunch, and she would write down the salary she would want. She would seal it in an envelope and present it at the end of the meal. Once the president presented her with his own envelope, she refused to open it, and she said, this isn't a negotiation. And she would say something like...

You I can do this without you. You can't do Judge Judy without me. Literally, she has all let this be a lesson when you have the power. You don't have to negotiate. No, 100 percent with a bunch of men. And she ended up selling the rights to the show's life. She ended up selling the rights to the show's library to CBS in 2017 for a reported ninety five million dollars.

God, but that's really only two seasons of the show for her. Oh, that's so true. That actually seems low. I was expecting you to say like 400 million or something. I mean, honestly, it should be. It's great. But it's, I love that she would bring an envelope, put her, put hers in there. He would present hers. And she's like, I'm not looking at that. Take it. What do you think her drink of choice is?

want to say a martini, no. Because I'm imagining her just like at dinner slowly, just like giving someone like uninterrupted eye contact, drinking a dry ass martini with a twist. Not dinner, lunch. Oh, of course. Lunch. She is a lunchtime martini girly, isn't she? 100% lunch, like at a grill in Beverly Hills. Like that one that we went to. What was that

The Honor Bar. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. That was Honor Bar. Yes, exactly. Yep. Yep. So that's what she is giving to people. Good for her. So she is rich, bitch. Oh, she also has homes, New York City, Newport, Rhode Island, and yeah, Naples, Florida. So, and Greenwich, Connecticut. Oh, Greenwich. She bought a $10.7 million five-bedroom condominium at the Montage, the hotel in Beverly Hills. What?

She's so rich. As she should. She like has like, fuck you money is what we like to call it. She has fuck you money. And it's because she, the show was so successful, Tess. Um,

So two years after it debuted, Judge Judy started to beat the Oprah Winfrey show in ratings, and it continued to beat Oprah's ratings for 13 years straight. Oprah doesn't like to talk about that, does she? No, why would you? Yeah, no. Judge Judy was the highest rated show in all of daytime television programming. 2013 was a huge year for her because on June 14, 2013, she won her first daytime Emmy Award after receiving 15 nominations, which is crazy.

She then wins again in 2016, 2017. Also, this is so crazy. We're seeing 10 million people watching her a day in their home. A 2013 Reader's Digest poll revealed that Americans trusted Judge Judy more than they did all nine justices of the United States Supreme Court.

The power that this woman has. My God, I had no idea. God, there are some members on the Supreme Court now that I would absolutely trust Judy more than. 100%. 100%. Yep. So I get it. It's actually crazy though too because the show was 52 days of filming. So she would film two days a week every other week.

What a dream job. A dream job. And you're getting paid that much money. Also, she never had an agent test. She said she only had a lawyer. So she got to keep most of that.

The lawyer would take their chunk, I'm sure, with the negotiations. But yeah, she didn't have an agent taking any money. Oh my God. Or like a manager. Because at the end of the day, then you end up losing like 40% of what you're making. Right. And it's like, because she's not looking for other shows. You know what I'm saying? What a gorgeous thing. She's like, I have my steady job. I get paid so much money. I'm not trying to be an influencer or an actress. And I'm sure at this point, it's not a script to her. But I'm sure she knows what she's going to say and do. Yeah.

After a few months, it's like all in there. Yeah. It's easy. It's all in there. She received the Emmy Lifetime's Achievement Award in 2019, and Amy Poehler was such a fan that she requested to present Judy with her award. RuPaul, who has cited Judy as a major inspiration, he described Judge Judy to me as a sanctuary for rational, critical thinking. RuPaul did not describe that to me. That was a quote from the New York Times. Damn it.

I just called RuPaul up. I was like, what do you think about Judge Judy? Just make it up. So, okay. Then I just wanted to say some of Judge Judy's best lines. Yes. Quote, on your best day, you're not as smart as I am on my worst day. Love. Another one. I want first time offenders to think of their first appearance in my courtroom as the second worst experience of their lives. Circumcision being the first. Oh my God. I was expecting that one to go.

She's so scary. Judy, you spicy little thing. Once she threatened to kick an entire audience out for not taking the case seriously. Another time she cackled so manically that the young man in front of her ran from the courtroom saying he was going to be sick. He's like, she's a witch.

And we just found this article that I guess Judge Judy and Justin Bieber were neighbors. Well, Beverly Hills. Oh, he's in Beverly Hills. And she was like, he was so terrified of me. If I were like a kid or like a teenage boy, a young boy, I'd be very scared of her too. A hundred percent. And we love that.

On Judge Judy's 23rd season, nearly 10 million Americans watch her each day. By comparison, Ellen averages about 2.9 million viewers and Dr. Phil about 3.9 million viewers. Damn. You know, Ellen's not happy about that. Well, has she ever been happy? No.

The only woman scarier than Judge Judy is Ellen. I actually think that Judge Judy is like, I really don't think that she's scary. I think Judge Judy is strict. I think Ellen is scary. There is a difference. She's harsh but fair almost. Yes. And Ellen is a monster. And you guys, if you don't know, I don't even care about saying it. I mean, it's such a known thing in Hollywood that she's such an evil person. Yeah, exactly. We have lore with the family.

We cleaned out Ellen DeGeneres' mom's apartment. And heard some stories. And we, I don't have, I used to have my dish rack was Ellen DeGeneres' mom's. I know. I used to have like a lot of little trinkets and I think I got rid of them in the last move. I was like, I don't need to keep these.

She like, um, we told the story on ran before though, but obviously, you know, Ellen had like a contract with cover girl. And so her mom was giving us, um, and her mom was lovely by the way. Also angel Betty, Betty. She also turned Ellen on like watching TV, like live. It was like in the midst of us cleaning. And then she was like, do you guys want this lipstick? And it was like a half used lipstick from her. We were like, Oh, it's okay. It's cover girl. And we were like, no, it's okay. And she was like, you don't want it. And just stare at us.

Oh, that's the story you're about to tell. I did not mean to hijack it. No, no, no. This is storytelling. We bounce off of each other. Wow. And we were like, okay, we'll just take it then. It's CoverGirl. You don't want it? Just like looked at us. We're like, sorry. And then I feel like we like went out to drinks after that because we really had to like decompress. Decompress. Katie was there with us, our friend Katie. It was quite a time. It was quite the day. It was so hot that day.

The lore, the lore. Yeah. So we're connected to Ellen in a way you could say we're connected to Betty for sure. Betty DeGeneres. She'll have her number on my phone. Love her. Love that queen. I'm like, do I? If you're watching on Spotify or YouTube, I am showing the contact. Betty DeGeneres. I mean, not her actual number guys. Don't worry. Just her name.

We would never violate her privacy. We just tell stories about her, but never her phone number. Of course. We draw a line. We draw a line. So Judge Judy ran for 25 seasons, Tess, until July 23rd, 2021. One thing that really shook people up was that she changed her hairstyle. Her signature look, she now wears a clip-in ponytail.

And when her first episode aired with the hair change, so many people complained about Judge Judy's ponytail that the moderator in one of her Facebook fan groups that had 15,000 people in it posted a stern warning. Quote, we've had enough of dealing with the negativity surrounding Judge Judy's choice to change her hairstyle a month ago. We will no longer be approving any further posts about this change and any comments about it will be deleted.

You guys, it's giving Felicity when she chopped off her hair and she lost everything. Hannah, if you're listening, this is for you. I literally thought I was like, it's giving Felicity. Why do people care so much about women's hairstyles? Like, and you know, it's funny and it's just like represent so much. One of the most powerful, richest, self-made women in entertainment and as a judge. And that's what fucking does it. That's what kills people. Is it like a Kardashian ponytail? Like a high pony with like a really slicked ponytail.

No, I actually love the clip in ponytail. I think it's so cute. And it's like, I remember because Judge Judy's hair is very specific. It's like verging on Lisa Rinna's hair. Isn't that crazy? Show me. Like this? Yes. I think it's so cute. Oh, I do. I love it. But I remember the first time I saw it and I was like, oh.

It's always shocking because you're also like mama, like papa. You want, you know, a parental figure that you're like, I want you to stay the same. Please never change. And that's clearly, clearly what these 15,000 people were going through in the Facebook group. Look, I get it. But also calm down. I know. Let her just wear the clip in ponytail. The New York Times article, I was kind of like, you guys, like we're taking up four paragraphs about it. They talked about it a lot. But Judy was like, yeah, I just love it. I clip it in the morning. It takes me five minutes. I'm like ready to go. That makes me want to sob. Yeah.

So Judy, if you're listening, I love the hairstyle. Go off queen. Go off. Her new show. So Judge Judy ended in 2021. Her new show. It's like basically the exact same thing as Judge Judy. It's called Justice Judy or sorry, Judy Justice. And it premiered in 2021, the same year. But it's through the streaming service Freebie. Freebie.

On Amazon. But I'm sure that Amazon gave her... I'm sure she makes a lot of... Yeah, she's like, whatever. Also, like, everyone goes to streaming, and I'm sure they treat her just fine. She's like, whatever. She's like, I have, like... At that point, you don't even need more money. No, 100%. Like, it's crazy to me that she still wants to work. Like, I think she's, like, 80... She was born in 41 or 42? She was born in 42, so she's, like, 83. 83? Goddamn, good for her. Yeah.

It's crazy that she still wants to work, but that's so her. I love that. Same. Okay, so her new show. Yeah, so that's her new show. Now, to wrap things up, I was curious about her political standings. Yeah. And I was nervous about it. Like, I didn't want to Google it. I wanted to, like, kind of make assumptions on my own from her practice, you know? Uh-huh. So Judge Judy is a registered independent. Yeah.

which i see for her totally she supports abortion rights same-sex marriage she supports stricter gun laws including background checks and regulations on assault weapons love it so far love um in 2020 in the 2020 election she supported mike bloomberg and then in 2024 she supported nikki haley

Why? I don't know because Nikki Haley is definitely not running all those things that she's supporting. That makes no sense to me. Also, she does not like Donald Trump, which is a relief. But Nikki Haley, it's like so much better. Nikki Haley would not say that the Civil War was about slavery, and that's a problem. She's not a smart woman, and I feel confident to say that, and that shocks me for Judge Judy. Same. I think she said something about how she was like,

quick and spirited or something like that with Nikki Haley. Is she even spirited? I'm like, she's like soulless to me. I'm just, I'm shook. Well, she said on Donald Trump, she says, quote, I don't think that Donald ever should have been president. And I don't even think that Donald thought he was going to be president. So she is definitely like against Donald Trump being president. That's good.

Yeah. And then like she spoke on the Me Too movement. She said for so many years, there was no consequences for bad behavior. Now you lose your jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars and you can't make money for a while and you can't get a gig at a club. What? What club? This is why you should review your notes before. You said it with such confidence and you just looked like, wait.

Been there. You can't get a club. I mean, she said it. Some men have lost their jobs at clubs, I guess. Or some women have. I don't know. She says, and we don't care who you are. Nobody is indispensable. So it's true, though. That is true. That is true. That is very Judy again, like there's wrong and there's right. And if you're going to do something bad, you have to have consequences for your action. Totally. And sometimes you can't work at the clubs.

Get to the clubs. I mean, really? And that's Judge Judy. Wow. What a fun, ram-coated episode, Claire. I loved it. Thank you so much. Yeah, she is... I think she is mainly living in Florida these days. That... You know, the Mike Bloomberg thing, actually, now I'm just like... It doesn't... It all makes sense to me. It does. Now I've, like, calmed down. It makes sense for who... You know, I just picture in Florida right now, like...

A hundred percent. That's all I need to say. And she's still like a multi, multi-millionaire.

Exactly. I think, did I make this up that her net worth is like $400 million on judge Judy net worth? I mean, that sounds like it based off of. Oh, her, her network is $480 million. That is crazy. God, her kids are going to be that family. She's going to be rich for a long time. Most of her. So she has two kids and then a lot of stepkids and then like 13 grandkids or something. And they're basically like all in law.

I mean, if that were my mom or grandma, I'd be like, I need to be there too. I'd be like, I'm going to get a lot of followers and be an influencer. Like make videos of Judy and just put them on the internet. I would write her coattails. Oh my God, same. So that's Judge Judy. What a treat that was. I'm so glad we finally covered her. It was so fun. I respect so much about her. Yeah, I think she is someone that I really do. I mean, I admire her. She just seems like...

she seems like your grandma, that you're like, grandma, you're wild. Yes, and that she just says whatever, and she doesn't care, and it's really refreshing for women. 100%. You know that she has caramels and peppermints in her purse. I can smell her right now. Me too. It's like very strong. Very strong. You can only take so much of it, but you're still like, it is comforting to me. And she still drives, and she has like really big sunglasses, and her hands are, both hands are on the steering wheels, and like her shoulders are up. Yes, her back is on the steering wheel.

And she just like curses people out like left and right.

Oh, what I would do to have a martini with Judy. Same. Put on the list. Put on the manifestation list. We're going to get there. Add it to the list. Gorgeous Claire. Thank you, Tess, for listening. That was so fun. I loved every second of it. What a fun little ride. Yay. Guys, we hope that you liked it. If you did, please share this episode with your friends. Like the word of mouth, spreading the word about RAM just helps us so much. Truly. Put it on your story. Send it to your group chat. Send it to your gal. Send it to your boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever.

Please send it. Send it. Also, if you do want to take a moment to write a cute little review and give us five stars, we'd appreciate it. We'd love it. On Apple Podcasts. Also, leave a little comment on Spotify. Y'all have been really good about that lately, and I love it. Same. The Meghan Markle one, I think we had like 25. It's amazing. Let's get the conversation going. We'd love seeing what you guys are thinking, as long as it's nice. Yeah, please. You guys. Just publicly nice. You know personally that we can take it in the DMs. Yeah. You guys know. Publicly. You guys know. Please. Please.

Um, you guys, we love you. We will be back next week. Um, we don't know what we're covering yet, but Oh yes, we do. Yes, we do. I think we're finally going to tackle the Haley, uh, Justin Selena timeline of it all because we just want to get more threats. Yeah, exactly. And Ram has range. Exactly. And it's just, it's time. It's time to get into it. See what you guys think.

All right, you guys. Well, I think that's about it. There's still merch available on the show notes, and I'll leave you with that. We love you guys so much, and we'll see you next Monday. Love you. Bye. Bye-bye.