Much to his dismay, Bailiff Petri Hawkins Byrd will not appear in the series. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the former TV personality revealed that he actually expected to continue with Judy Sheindlin for quite a while longer than what was offered.“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,” Byrd said. “I didn’t have time to think about or ask about Judy 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 the Judy Justice project?‘”Byrd stated that he didn’t find out about the new project until Sheindlin discussed it while appearing on an episode of The Ellen Show in March, 2020. After no one reached out to him about returning for Judy Justice, Byrd faced the harsh reality: he had been cut from the iconic program.“She informed me I was not being asked to come along on the project,” Byrd explained. “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.”The star has served as Sheindlin’s bailiff since Judge Judy‘s original premiere in 1996, continuing for 25 seasons until the courtroom drama wrapped earlier this year.“The call with Judy ended pleasantly enough,” he says. “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.”Now out of a job, Byrd is on the hunt for new opportunities. He just landed a guest spot on The Bold and the Beautiful, and has signed on for some voiceover work.“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,” says Byrd. “That’s just the way it went. I just know that God has something else for me.”The news that Byrd had been replaced broke when IMDb TV released the first a trailer for Judy Justice. Her new bailiff is Kevin Rasco, who provided personal security for Sheindlin while she starred on Judge Judy.Sheindlin, through a spokesperson, released this statement Friday: “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.”This story originally appeared on Decider and is republished here with permission.
Powered by WPeMatico
