Recently, the trailer was released for Judy Sheindlin’s new seriesJudy Justiceon IMDb TV, putting the judge back in the courtroom after her 25-year run withJudge Judy. Many fans who caught the trailer couldn’t help but notice that Petri Hawkins Byrd, who served as the bailiff onJudge Judyfor all 25 seasons, was not included. The new bailiff is Kevin Rasco, who had provided personal security for Sheindlin onJudge Judy.
During the production ofJudge Judy’s 25th and final season, the topic of Sheindlin’s next series never came up. Byrd did not hear about it untilJudy Justicewas announced in the press, learning about it at the same time as everyone else. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Byrd opens up on his absence inJudy Justice, and says the reason he’s not there is simply because he wasn’t invited back.
“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 theJudy Justicenews was first announced, Petri Hawkins-Byrd couldn’t spend too much time thinking about it. He was focusing on the health of his wife,Judge Judyproducer Makita Bond-Byrd, who was scheduled to undergo brain surgery and had just completed her third round of chemotherapy. Doctors were able to successfully remove 95 percent of her tumor. After some recovery, Petri Hawkins Byrd decided to give Sheindlin a call to see what happened withJudy Justice.
“I didn’t have time to think about or ask aboutJudy Justice. It wasn’t until July that I called the judge and asked, ‘Hey, should I look for something else or am I included in theJudy Justiceproject?’ She informed me I was not being asked to come along on the project. 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.”
What’s interesting is that Byrd says his wife was asked to bea part of Judy Justice, though that wasn’t possible because of her health. In any case, while Byrd appears to be disappointed that he’s not involved with the new show, he still says things were left with his former co-star on good enough terms. Even so, he doesn’t really understand exactly why he was left behind, but feels that he’ll find another good gig soon enough.
“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. 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.”
Through a spokesperson, Judy Sheindlin responded to the news in a statement given to EW. Acknowledging the history she’s had with Byrd, the judge said, “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.”
Judy Justiceis scheduled to premiere on IMDb TV on Jun 28, 2025. This news comes to us fromEntertainment Weekly.
