Petri Hawkins Byrd, Longtime ‘Judge Judy’ Bailiff, Says He Was ‘Priced Out’ Of New Show

When Judge Judy Sheindlin announced her new IMDB TV show, “Judy Justice,” the one question everyone had was, “Where’s Byrd?!”

Petri Hawkins Byrd, the ride or die bailiff that has stood beside Judge Judy for 25 years, says he was not asked to be a part of her new show. 

As a matter of fact, he found out about the new show when it was publicly announced, just like the rest of us. 

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.

When the show was announced, Byrd was dedicating his time, energy, and focus on caring for his wife, longtime “Judge Judy” producer Makita Bond-Byrd, who is recovering from surgery on a malignant brain tumor.

I didn’t have time to think about or ask about ‘Judy Justice.’

Malika just finished her third round of chemo and doctors successfully removed 95 percent of her tumor. 

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 Justice’ project?’

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.

I’m like if I did something wrong or offended you or brought shame to the show, or if was involved in numerous scandals in the 25 years we were together, I might understand why you didn’t want to bother in the end. That’s just the way it went. I just know that God has something else for me.

Petri Hawkins Byrd is a good man and said he’s not holding any grudges. 

The call with Judy ended pleasantly enough. I don’t think she understood how confused and dismayed I was after being there for 25 years, from the beginning of her career, and not being at least given the opportunity to say whether or not I wanted to continue that relationship.

When I shared the promo for “Judy Justice” I assumed she couldn’t bring Bryd due to some contractual drama with FOX. 

I had no idea she did him dirty and just replaced him with a younger Black bailiff. 

I get she may be trying to cater to a younger audience, but you don’t do your Day Ones dirty. 

Your thoughts?

Source: NY Post