Judge Judy Opens Up About Feminism [Video]

Judge Judy has gone on record about whether she considers herself part of the feminist movement.

When asked if she is a feminist, the feisty former New York City family court judge, who first gained national prominence on 60 minutes, responded, “I don’t think so.”

She “revealed she has a unique perspective that does not fit with modern feminism,” Western Journalism noted.

In an interview with TMZ’s Harvey Levin for his Fox News series Objectified, Judy Sheindlin, 74, the star of the Judge Judy court room show, further explained that her father inspired her to go against the grain, even in an era where there was societal pressure for women to remain housewives.

“I don’t think in terms of sex when it comes to success…I knew that if I felt that if I worked hard, I could have both — I could have a family, because that was important to me — and I could have a career.”

She was the only woman in her law school class in her first year, but Sheindlin insisted that “I never had an issue with gender” as it related to her male classmates.

Judge Judy added that, in general, there are innate differences between men and women, with most women typically taking on the nurturing function even today, when both spouses often work outside the home.

For starring on the courtroom-themed reality show distributed by CBS, Judge Judy banks about $47 million a year, and is under contract through the 2020-2021 season, which will mark the program’s 25th year on TV. Judge Judy is the top-rated show in syndication for the past eight years, pulling in about 10 million viewers a day.

Ironically perhaps, Harvey Levin also conducts the man/woman on the street interviews for Judge Judy competitor The People’s Court, which at one time was presided over by Judge Judy’s husband, Jerry Sheindlin, also a retired judge. Since 2001, ex-Florida Judge Marilyn Milian hears cases on The People’s Court.

The People’s Court and Judge Judy (and other shows in this genre) have the same premise. Litigants who have filed real small claims cases agree to drop their lawsuit and allow their dispute to be resolved more quickly on TV by a retired judge in the form of binding arbitration.

Although both judges engage in lots of grandstanding and short-circuiting of testimony, Judge Milian (unlike Judge Judy) routinely explains how specific and established legal principles apply to each case, rather than just berating the litigants.

Separately, Judge Judy recently obtained an apology from the National Enquirer for a false story that she was suffering with Alzheimer’s disease, the New York Post reported.

With a donation in an undisclosed dollar amount, Judge Judy and her husband recently created the Sheindlin Forum at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communications, Variety reported, to encourage open debate and the exchange of ideas on campus.

“College campuses have historically been progressive places where a thinking person can listen to all sides of an argument. If you only want to listen to voices that support your opinion, I think that makes you small-minded,” Judge Judy remarked.

Watch Judge Judy discuss feminism with Harvey Levin in this clip from Objectified.

https://youtu.be/IiocPXQA4lQ

[Featured Image by Evan Agostini/AP Images]