Was a Disheveled Judge Jeanine Pirro Tipsy After Fox News Show Delayed for ‘Technical Difficulties’?
Twittterverse believes that "SNL" impression by Cecily Strong may be closer to the mark than we thought
Thom Geier | March 28, 2020 @ 10:19 PM
Jeanine Pirro’s Fox News show got a late start on Saturday night due to “technical difficulties” — but when the former New York state judge did appear nearly 15 minutes into her show, her usually perfectly coifed hair appeared disheveled and she seemed to many viewers to be tipsy in her verbal delivery.
“We apologize for the technical difficulties,” Pirro said when she finally appeared about a quarter into the one-hour broadcast after anchor Jackie Ibanez covered for her initial absence.
Pirro’s speaking was notably loose throughout the broadcast — which a network spokesperson attributed to the lack of a teleprompter in the host’s first broadcast from home. “Just the other … day the president talked, or was hoping, about the possibility of reopening everything on Easter Sunday, uh, in a way where we could kind of come out of this quarantine, as loose as it may be, that we’re involved in,” Pirro said at one point.
An individual close to the network “absolutely” denied that Pirro was intoxicated and said the former prosecutor does not even drink alcohol.
You can check out the short clip in the tweets below.
Also Read: Trish Regan Out at Fox Business After Coronavirus Comments
“Jeanine Pirro was broadcasting from her home for the first time when she encountered several technical difficulties which impacted the quality of her show, including the loss of a teleprompter,” a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday. “As we have previously said, we are operating with a reduced staff working remotely to ensure the health and safety of our employees in these unprecedented times.”
The insider also said Pirro did her own hair and makeup for Saturday’s show, noting that even in-studio talent is working with reduced hair and makeup staff as a result of pandemic protocols.
A good portion of the Twitterverse quickly had a field day with the episode of “Justice With Judge Jeanine,” with several noting similarities to Cecily Strong’s impression of a liquor-toting, drink-spilling Pirro on “Saturday Night Live.”
“Has anyone noticed that a number of Trump’s most passionate fans (“Judge” Jeanine, Giuliani, Kudlow) often appear to be drunk as a skunk when they defend him on TV?” asked Jeet Heer, a correspondent for The Nation.
New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica suggested that the show could be retitled “Happy Hour With Judge Jeanine.”
And actress Minnie Driver, using a vulgar British term for drunk, suggested Pirro was “the only fantastic side effect of #COVID19 sublime content” on Fox News.
Read more reactions here.
'Bombshell' Cast: Who Plays Whom in Real-Life Fox News Drama, From Megyn Kelly to Rudy Giuliani (Photos)
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
"Bombshell," the Jay Roach-directed film based on the accounts of several women who set out to expose the sexual harassment they endured from Fox News chief Roger Ailes, is loaded with famous faces portraying other famous faces. Here's a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they play.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly: Former corporate attorney-turned Fox News anchor. Two days after it was reported that she confirmed the Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes sexually harassed her, he resigned.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson: On July 6, 2016, the commentator-journalist filed a lawsuit against Ailes, accusing him of sexual harassment. After she spoke out, more than 20 women publicly shared similar stories of encounters with him.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
John Lithgow as Roger Ailes: The media consultant for Republican presidents resigned from Fox News on July 21 amid an internal review into accusations that he had a pattern of making unwanted sexual advances. His exit agreement from what was then known as 21CF was a $40 million payoff. He died less than a year later.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Richard Kind as Rudy Giuliani: The 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001, who turned to Ailes for his media savvy during his first mayoral campaign.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Malcolm McDowell as Rupert Murdoch: The Australia-born American media mogul who founded the multinational mass media corporation, News Corp, which established the Fox News Channel in 1996.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Connie Britton as Beth Ailes: Roger Ailes married former TV exec Elizabeth Tilson – his third trip down the alter – on Valentine's Day 1998. She went on to own and publish two local New York state newspapers, The Putnam County News & Recorder and The Putnam County Courier.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Spencer Garrett as Sean Hannity: The conservative political commentator, host of FOX News Channel's "Hannity" and one of President Trump's most ardent supporters. Ailes hired Hannity in 1996 when he was a relatively unknown radio personality out of Atlanta.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Marc Evan Jackson as Chris Wallace: The veteran television anchor and son of legendary "60 Minutes" reporter Mike Wallace joined the Fox News team in 2003 as the host of "Fox News Sunday."
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Alanna Ubach as Jeanine Pirro: A former judge and prosecutor, Pirro hosted a weekday, two-shows-per-day television series on The CW Television Network called "Judge Jeanine Pirro," which received Daytime Emmy Award in 2011. After it was canceled later that same year, Fox News picked it up and renamed if "Justice With Judge Jeanine." She is known for her fierce defense of the president.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Ashley Greene as Abby Huntsman: Currently a co-host on ABC's "The View," Huntsman – who is the daughter of former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman -- was a general assignment reporter and co-host of "Fox & Friends."
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
P.J. Byrne as Neil Cavuto: The Fox News' business journalist joined the network in 1996, where he hosts three shows under their umbrella -- "Your World with Neil Cavuto," "Cavuto Live" and "Cavuto: Coast to Coast." He currently holds the title of Managing Editor and Senior Vice President for Fox Business Network and Fox News.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Alice Eve as Ainsley Earhardt: Prior to starting her tenure at Fox News Channel in 2007, Earhardt was a morning and noon anchor at local CBS station in Columbus, South Carolina, and anchored weekday newscasts at KENS-TV. Although she said she "did not know the first thing about politics" before Ailes hired her at Fox News as co-host of "Fox and Friends."
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Bree Condon as Kimberly Guilfoyle: The former San Francisco prosecutor and Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney joined Fox News in February 2006 as host of the weekend show, "The Lineup." She later became co-host of "The Five," where she remained until 2018. Her name was bandied about as a possible press secretary for President Donald Trump, which never came to fruition. She is currently dating first son, Don Jr.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Allison Janney as Susan Estrich: Although Estrich is currently a professor at the University of Southern California School of Law, she is known for being Ailes' legal counsel during the rise of sexual misconduct claims against him. She lost her job shortly thereafter.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Ben Lawson as Lachlan Murdoch: The eldest of media czar Rupert Murdoch's sons, Lachlan is the co-chairman of News Corp and executive chairman and CEO of the Fox Corporation. His net worth is estimated to be upwards of $3.62 billion. That's with a "b."
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Josh Lawson as James Murdoch: Media mogul Rupert Murdoch stepped down as CEO of 21st Century Fox in 2015, and his younger son, James, stepped in. The actors who play Lachlan and James are brothers in real life.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Mark Duplass as Douglas Brunt: Megyn Kelly's husband of 11 years is the former CEO of the cybersecurity firm Authentium and a novelist whose debut work, "Ghosts of Manhattan," is a humorous look at life on Wall Street by an unhappy man who is "too obsessed with money to find a way out."
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Elisabeth Röhm as Martha MacCallum: The Fox News anchor and host of "The Story With Martha MacCallum" joined the network in 2004. After Megyn Kelly's departure in 2017, MacCallum was named host of "The First 100 Days," a program created to replace "Tucker Carlson Tonight" when it moved into Kelly's timeslot.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Tricia Helfer as Alisyn Camerota: The journalist and anchor of CNN's morning show "New Day" has been nominated twice for an Emmy Awards for news reporting. She co-hosted "Fox & Friends Weekend" and, in 2007" and started a blog on Fox News Channel's website called, "In the Greenroom."
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Nazanin Boniadi as Rudi Bakhtiar: Best known for anchoring "CNN Headline News Tonight," Bakhtiar was fired from Fox News after accusing the former Fox News Washington bureau chief, Brian Wilson, of making unwanted sexual advances toward her. Although a settlement was reached in 2007 in which she agreed not to speak of Fox News, in 2016, Bakhtiar decided to share her experience at Fox News in the wake of Gretchen Carlson's sexual harassment lawsuit.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Jennifer Morrison as Juliet Huddy: Huddy co-hosts the midday show on ABC's New York affiliate 770 and the podcast "Juliet: UNEXPECTED." In 2017, she settled a lawsuit with Fox News, accusing Fox anchor Bill O'Reilly and then co-president Jack Abernethy of sexual harassment.
Here’s a breakdown of the actors and the real-life people they portray in the Fox News world
Ahna O'Reilly as Julie Roginsky: The Democratic Party strategist and Fox News Channel contributor filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the FNC, producer Bill Shine and Ailes, who she said offered her a permanent position on "The Five" if she would have sex with him.