Petri Hawkins Byrd Speaks On Lifetime Achievement Award Presentation Snub For Judge Judy

Photo courtesy of Petri Hawkins Byrd/ Instagram.

Petri Hawkins Byrd claims he was snubbed by Judith Sheindlin, otherwise known as Judge Judy when he wasn’t chosen to present her with her Lifetime Achievement Award back in 2019.

The former bailiff said he was snubbed by Sheindlin in 2019 when he wasn’t asked to present her with her Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmy Awards. Instead, comedian Amy Poehler had the honor and referenced the snub in her presentation.

“I wish Byrd your bailiff could hand you this award the way he hands you photos in court, not making eye contact with the queen he has sworn to protect,” joked Poehler.

The bailiff told Business Insider that he saw not being asked to present the award as a slight.

“So that gives you an idea of, when you talk about slight, that gives you an idea,” he said.

Byrd posted a photograph of himself and the Judge on Twitter back in 2018 to honor the show’s 22nd anniversary. Byrd captioned the post with “friends forever” and “family” hashtags.

“22 Years and Counting,” he wrote. “We look the same don’t we? #judgejudy #teamwork #friendsforever #family #fbf.”

After working as Sheindlin’s bailiff for 25 years during her long-running reality court television show Judge Judy, Byrd said he wasn’t even told about her new show, Judy Justice

. Judge Judy aired on CBS until earlier this year and is being rebranded as Judy Justice on IMDB-TV.

Byrd found out about the new show in March of 2020 when the Judge appeared on an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show and spoke about Judy Justice.

Byrd had been caring for his wife, Makita, who’d been recovering from a brain tumor, and hadn’t heard anything directly from Sheindlin. When he jokingly asked if he needed to look for a new job, he was surprised by the Judge’s reply.

“She informed me I was not being asked to come along on the project,” remembered Byrd. “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.”

Meanwhile, Judge Judy has been tied to allegations of sexual harassment and accusations of Sheindlin drinking on the job and racism on the show from former employees.