Welcome to the โTODAY Archives,โ where we revisit memories from our show when celebrities and newsmakers started discourse, made us laugh or shaped our culture. This latest installment highlights Judge Judy Sheindlin, who stopped by the show on Feb. 1, 1999 to promote a new book designed to lift up women.
Court shows were nothing new when โJudge Judyโ premiered on Sept. 16, 1996, but she took it a new level.
Her harsh treatment toward those in her courtroom and her abrasive comments made Judge Judy โ real name Judith Sheindlin โ a favorite of daytime TV. By the time she visited TODAY on Feb. 1, 1999, the show was a hit and she was a bona fide star.
โYouโre, what, the number one rated syndicated show?โ Katie Couric asked.
โSo they tell me these days,โ Sheindlin replied.
Sheindlin remained on the show for nearly 25 years before the final episode aired in July 2021. She moved on to headline the Amazon Prime spinoff, โJudy Justice,โ which will come to an end after Sheindlin announced her retirement earlier this week.
When Sheindlin stopped by TODAY, she wasnโt just talking about the law or her program, though. She was promoting her book, โBeauty Fades, Dumb Is Forever,โ which was aimed at helping women.
Why Did She Write โBeauty Fades, Dumb Is Foreverโ?
Sheindlin was befuddled by some of the women sheโd encountered in her courtroom during her career and felt she had to impart some of her wisdom.
โFifty percent of the people in this country are women, and it struck me over the course of my career that they werenโt having half the fun, they werenโt getting half the compensation, they werenโt getting half the appreciation, and there were a lot of dumb things that I saw parading through my courtroom over the last 25 or 28 years,โ she said.
โSo I decided to memorialize some of my thoughts and some of my personal experiences because I didnโt do things right all the time myself, in a book that hopefully people will read, laugh a little bit, and take something away with.โ
What Did Sheindlin Say About Women Being Victims?
Sheindlin marveled at how women โsubjugate themselves in the workplace,โ even if theyโre smarter than men and that they often want to be liked to the point itโs counterproductive. She also urged women to take more responsibility for their own actions.
โStop being a victim. There arenโt victims. If you do something stupid, itโs your fault. Move on with it,โ she said. โIf you allow a guy to move into your house, and he is sucking up all your money, and sucking up all of your energy, and not giving you anything back โ if you allow that situation to continue, itโs your fault. Donโt make yourself a victim.โ
Why Did Judge Judy Think People Liked Her Show?
Sheindlin, of course, did spend some time chatting up her program and just why it appealed to viewers.
โI think people like to see the right thing happen at the end of a trial, and theyโve seen over the last decade, trials that took interminably long and left a very unsatisfying result,โ she said.
โA trial to me was always supposed to be the search for the truth. It wasnโt supposed to be a game, and I like to get there and get there fast.โ