‘Judge Judy’: Man Claims Show Outed Him Without Consent, Ruined His Life
A man recently claimed that the reality court show, Judge Judy, ruined his life after he appeared on it last month.
In an interview with Radar Online, David Kohalisky claimed that Judge Judy star Judy Sheindlin “destroyed” him on the TV show during a June 17 appearance.
“She destroyed me on national TV and being on the show ruined my life!”
Kohalisky further explained that the most damaging part of his appearance on Judge Judy was when he was outed on the popular TV show without his permission.
Judge Judy? Ruined My Life! Recent participant says show fakery ‘destroyed me on national TV!’ http://t.co/NZLkLrBATl
— Radar Online (@radar_online) July 20, 2015
David claims that he made it clear to the producers that he did not want to be outed due some of his co-workers being “really homophobic.” However, he apparently found out on the day of the shoot that his wish to keep that part of lifestyle away from the televised courtroom show was not granted.
“On the day of the shoot, I was given a sheet of paper that Judy is given, which basically explains the case. And on that sheet of paper it said that I lived with my longtime life partner. I told them that I did not want to be outed as being gay, and they went ahead and did so anyways.”
In addition to having his sexual orientation exposed on national TV against his wishes, David Kohalisky also claimed that the producers distorted his initial desire for being on the show in the first place. Kohalisky stated in his interview that the Judge Judy producers tried to make him look “money-hungry” by increasing the amount for which he was suing.
“I just wanted what I had paid out for the damages, which was my insurance deductible.”
According to the report, the Florida resident went to the Judge Judy courtroom to sue one of his neighbors for vandalism. David’s neighbor apparently cut down a flag pole, which then allegedly fell on David’s car.
Kohalisky claims that he was only seeking repayment for his $500 deductible, but the Judge Judy producers insisted on increasing the amount and also allegedly lied about the identity of David’s witness.
“The producers kept on and wanted me to raise the amount I was suing for and I kept telling them, ‘No I am not doing that.’… I told them that my witness was not my neighbor and they forced me to say that she was. I told them that this was not true and that she was not my neighbor, but during filming they introduced her as my neighbor.”
Even after the taping of his episode, Kohalisky claims that the show’s editing team used the defendant’s statement claiming that David was evicted from his home — adding one more thing to the growing list of items he had to discuss with his boss upon his return to work.
Kohalisky admits that he “was just trying to get justice” when he decided to be featured on Judge Judy, but is “upset because nobody would listen” to him. On the contrary, he claims that the show just “opened a very big door” for bullying.
[Image Credit: Valerie Macon / Getty Images]
