No other television judge is as popular as Judge Judy. She’s a tough, fast-talking woman, whose show has been on the air for 15 years and number one in ratings for 700 consecutive weeks. In an exclusive interview with ABC News Nigthtline’s Cynthia McFadden, Judge Judy (formally known as Judy Sheindlin) discusses her successful ratings, how her becoming a TV star was an accident and her take on her tough-love approach to judging. The episode will air on Thursday, May 20 at 11:35 P.M. Here are some excerpts from the interview courtesy of ABC news…
On What Makes Her Show Popular:
“There’s a reason that my program has been on for 15 years…that’s because people really want their brethren to act socially responsible. They want the good guy to win, and they are looking for the bad guy to get whoopin’, and they very rarely do.”
Viewers love Judy’s hard-hitting approach. When asked on why no one sees her soft side outside of her home she responds:
“Who is interested in that? Who is interested in the warm and fuzzy? There’s enough warm and fuzzy on television. There are 350 channels of warm and fuzzy…of how to be a better you, how to make the most out of a full figure, how to be happy in your own skin”.
Judge Judy has even beaten daytime giants like Oprah Winfrey.
“I don’t think that Oprah’s a competitor of mine. Oprah is the queen of daytime. I think that she is a phenomenal business lady. I think that she had a tremendous vision. I think that her talents are boundless. I think she works 24/7. I have tremendous respect for her. All of those things. It’s not for me, that’s not for me. I like my life of balance.”
On Living Comfortably To Becoming A Huge Star:
Sheindlin earned a reputation as a family court judge in New York City with her sharp one-liners. Then, in 1993, she appeared on “60 Minutes” and with the vision of interested television executives, she became a sensation.
“My husband and I lived in a studio apartment in 1990 with a Murphy bed. We lived in a studio apartment that faced a brick wall. We had five kids, five kids in school, in college, in law school, in medical school. And that’s where we lived. And we were, you know, pretty happy there. …We had, of course, one bathroom, and …I said if I ever made it, I was never going to say, ‘Could you please hurry up?'”
“The master plan, actually,” for Sheindlin and her husband Jerry, she said, “was eventually to retire, and get as close to the water in Florida as we could.”
Now they have a palatial Connecticut estate, and also that house in Florida, with a private plane to take her and her husband back and fourth.
On The Show Living Up To Its ‘Real Cases, Real People’ Slogan:
The show is a mix of the real and the stage-managed. The cases are real, but awards are paid from the production budget. The audience is also paid to attend.
Randy Douthit, director and one of the show’s executive producers says, “I don’t feel like it’s exploitation. They [the litigants] come here because they want their case heard by Judy. Everyone that comes in, whether they’re a plaintiff or defendant, comes in here because they believe that they’re right, believes that they are going to walk out winners.”
Judy doesn’t “think about it”, she says of the name calling technique she uses in the courtroom.
It’s All About Responsibility:
“The criminal justice system, what they’ve done over the course of the years, is made excuses: ‘Well, they’re going to put them in a program. Well, we’re gonna try probation.’ Probation doesn’t work. Programs generally don’t work,” Sheindlin says.
“If I worked all day, and worked hard, and I was smart at what I did, and I was diligent at what I did; and still, despite my best effort, I didn’t make a positive impact on the group of people that I saw that day, I would come home and I would go after my bathroom. Because then you were able to step back and stay you worked for an hour, but there is something with a result.”
“What we’ve done with these kids who do egregious things is we don’t let them know right from the start this kind of conduct is unacceptable,” she added. “If you tell your child to be home at 11 and they come home at 12 and nothing happens, next time they’re gonna come home at one, next time they’ll send you a postcard from Puerto Rico!”
And Sheindlin admits this is her caricature at home with her own kids.
“I remember saying to my boys, when they went away to college, and to my grandson, who’s graduating from college: ‘If you get pulled over driving drunk, don’t call me. Forget my name. I don’t know who you’re going to call. Sit in jail. Don’t call me. Don’t do the wrong thing.’”
On Her Status On Daytime TV:
Sheindlin is often compared to American Idol Judge’s Simon Cowell with her blunt remarks, but she says there is no comparison on her behavior and Cowell’s.
“There are all kinds of ways of saying that to somebody who’s doing something from their soul and trying to do their best. Not trying to get over on you, not trying to make a fool out of you or your show. There’s a difference. There’s a subtle difference… I couldn’t be Simon Cowell.”
“I appreciate what I do, which is daytime, syndicated television with a message…Women watch and say, ‘I like watching you control your own space. It’s motivated me to do better, to go back to college, to even try law school. My daughter’s been watching you since she’s ten; I love the fact that she’s watching a strong woman who’s in control.’ All of those things are good, positive things.”
Although her original master plan was to be retired by now, her contract is up in 2013, when she has decided to finally retire at the age of 69.
“I think 2013 would be a nice time. It’s nice to leave on top,” she said. “I would consider this a great adventure. I think when it comes down to it … I know a lot of people who have a lot of things. If they don’t have a great family, they’ve got zip.”
See more of this exclusive interview With Judge Judy Sheindlin and Cynthia McFadden on ABC News ‘Nightline’ which airs Thursday, May 20th, 2010 at 11:35 p.m. (ET/PT).
‘Nightline’ is anchored by Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran, Martin Bashir and James Goldston as executive producer. ‘Nightline’ airs on Thursdays 11:35 p.m. (ET/PT) on the ABC television network.
