Judy Sheindlin stopped watching herself on TV because she started assessing things on a “very surface” level.
Judy Sheindlin refused to watch herself on Judge Judy
The 83-year-old star, whose iconic courtroom show Judge Judy ran from 1996 to 2021, admitted while she used to watch in the early days, she realised it was best to leave that to the viewers.
She told PEOPLE magazine: “I don’t watch myself on TV.”
She added: “I did [watch] in the beginning. And then I realised that, in looking at myself, I was not only looking at the substance of what I was saying, but from a very surface position.
“I was looking how my face looked and how my neck looked and what my best angle was. I found that I would think about it if I watched it myself.
“I would think about it and say, ‘You know what? Don’t look up like that. Don’t look down like that. Your face doesn’t look good.’ And I didn’t want that to be part of the way I worked.”
She found herself becoming overly critical, and didn’t want that to “interfere with the process” of her work.
However, Judy admitted she does watch the odd clip if something appears on her social media feed.
She said: “It comes up occasionally on my Instagram, but just for a second, just for a minute. And then I look at myself and I say, ‘You know what? That was pretty smart.’”
The Judy Justice star is planning to retire from television next month, and her career with be celebrated with a 90-minute special – Judge Judy: Unfiltered, Unforgettable – on CBS this evening (22.09.26).
She’s still keen to keep working, and she’s developing an animated series aimed at adults inspired by the AI ‘Baby Judge Judy’ viral videos.
She added: “You remember Andy Rooney? And you know the end of 60 Minutes, he complained about things that irritated him for a minute? Well, I’m going to do that in a half hour.”
While generations have been entertained and fascinated by Judge Judy’s courtroom antics, she previously revealed her one-time neighbour Justin Bieber was “scared to death” of her.
She used to live next door to the Love Yourself hitmaker, but they rarely spoke because the pop star used to try and avoid her, and even had his security team warn him when she was outside.
She told Access Hollywood: “He’s scared to death of me.
“There was a period of time before he grew up — when he was foolish, and doing foolish things.
“I must have said something about it, and then, I understood that he was paying the front door people to let them know when I was there, coming and going, so he wouldn’t have to bump into me.”
