It seems that Judge Judy Sheindlin’s decisions are final both in and out of the courtroom.
In testimony given back in July 2016 that was recently released and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Sheindlin described the unorthodox way that she negotiates her salary with CBS.
‘We go to the Grill on the Alley with the president of the company. We sit across the table, and I hand him the envelope and I say, “Don’t read it now, let’s have a nice dinner. Call me tomorrow. You want it, fine. Otherwise, I’ll produce it myself.” That’s the negotiation,’ explained Sheindlin.
One year, a CBS executive did try to present Sheindlin with a counter offer, at which point she informed the man: ‘This isn’t a negotiation.’
In that same testimony Sheindlin, 74, also said that she could produce the show herself if she wanted, earning another $20 million a year on top of her current $47 million salary.
Bow down: Judge Judy Sheindlin (above in June) explained how she and CBS come to an agreement on her salary in testimony from July 2016
Sheindlin’s testimony came in a deposition in response to a complaint filed by Richard Lawrence of Rebel Entertainment.
Lawrence claims that he and his company helped Sheindlin and CBS put the show together back before it debuted in 1996, and as a result are entitled to 5% of net profits, but have not seen any money in years.
Lawrence claims in his filing he stopped seeing in money in 2010, shortly after Sheindlin’s salary increased to $45 million a year for the show.
In went up in 2015 after her most recent ‘negotiation.’
Sheindlin immediately fired back at Lawrence after he submitted his complaint, saying: ‘The fact that Richard Lawrence is complaining about my salary is actually hilarious.
‘I met Mr. Lawrence for two hours some 21 years ago. Neither I nor anyone involved in the day-to-day production of my program has heard from him in 20 years. Not a card, not a gift, not a flower, not a congratulations, yet he has somehow received over $17,000,000 from my program.
‘My rudimentary math translates that into $8,500,000 an hour for Mr. Lawrence. Not a bad payday. Now complaining about not getting enough money, that’s real chutzpah!’
Lawrence called Sheindlin overpaid in his initial filing, no doubt because the larger her salary the less money he and his company would make due to the fact that they receive a percentage of only the profits.
‘And in 2013, when Scheindlin [sic] was reportedly receiving $47 million annually, no one else came close, as the next highest salaries in non-scripted television were Jon Stewart ($30 million), Matt Lauer ($25 million), and Jay Leno ($20 million),’ claims the court filing.
‘In making this deal with Scheindlin [sic], Defendants blithely ignored their contractual obligations to Rebel. As a result, almost immediately after Scheindlin’s [sic] pay raise, Rebel’s backend compensation nosedived.’
Non-negotiable: ‘I hand him the envelope and I say, “Don’t read it now, let’s have a nice dinner. Call me tomorrow. You want it, fine. Otherwise, I’ll produce it myself,”‘ she said
Sheindlin addressed her pay in her July testimony, claiming that her lucrative contract benefited Lawrence.
‘Mr. Lawrence should actually be kissing this right in Macy’s window because my contract with CBS for more than a decade now does not include a last look, which means the following,’ said Sheindlin.
‘Which means they can’t match another offer, which means I can produce this show myself for decades. I choose not to do that because of my age and because of the fact that I like the uncomplicated life I lead.’
She then quipped about the $20 million she was turning down by not producing the show: ‘How much can you eat?’
Sheindlin later spelled things out for Lawrence by stating: ‘It’s very important for you to know, because part of your complaint is that CBS conspired with me to deprive Mr. Lawrence of his backend profit. CBS had no choice but to pay me what I wanted because otherwise I could take it wherever I wanted to take it or do it myself.’
And should CBS try and negotiate, Sheindlin has a response for that at the ready, not thjat she had ever needed it thus far in her career.
‘You have corporate stockholders to respond to. I have nobody except my grandchildren,’ said Sheindlin.
‘You’re going to tell me you’re going to close down my show because you will be making less money this year than you made last year if you double my salary or if you give me another 10 million dollars per year? You won’t.’
She then added: ‘We’re just going to be partners. Because after almost a decade, that’s the way it should be.’