Judge Jeanine Preempted By Fox News Following Ilhan Omar Remarks
Justice was not served by Jeanine Pirro this weekend.
Fox News preempted Justice With Judge Jeanine on Saturday night and replaced it with a repeat of the docuseries Scandalous. The preemption was not formally announced ahead of time but did reflect on Fox News' online schedule, as well as select on-screen cable guides.
"We're not commenting on internal scheduling matters," a Fox News spokesperson told TVLine on Saturday.
The development comes just days after the cable news network condemned Pirro for questioning the national loyalty of Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar, who is a practicing Muslim.
"Omar wears a hijab," Piro remarked during her March 9 broadcast. "Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?"
Fox host Jeanine Pirro says that Ilhan Omar's hijab may mean that she's against the Constitution. pic.twitter.com/yxGRVoYkQm
— John Whitehouse (@existentialfish) March 10, 2019
The following day, Fox News issued a statement, which read, "We strongly condemn Jeanine Pirro's comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar. They do not reflect those of the network and we have addressed the matter with her directly."
Omar later responded to the network's statement on Twitter. "Thank you, @FoxNews. No one's commitment to our constitution should be questioned because of their faith or country of birth," she said.
According to Variety, multiple advertisers have already announced that they'll be pulling their ads from Pirro's show, including personal-finance marketer NerdWallet, pharmaceutical advertiser Novo Nordis and online marketplace Letgo.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump defended Pirro in a series of early-morning tweets:
Bring back @JudgeJeanine Pirro. The Radical Left Democrats, working closely with their beloved partner, the Fake News Media, is using every trick in the book to SILENCE a majority of our Country. They have all out campaigns against @FoxNews hosts who are doing too well. Fox .....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2019
....must stay strong and fight back with vigor. Stop working soooo hard on being politically correct, which will only bring you down, and continue to fight for our Country. The losers all want what you have, don't give it to them. Be strong & prosper, be weak & die! Stay true....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2019
....to the people that got you there. Keep fighting for Tucker, and fight hard for @JudgeJeanine. Your competitors are jealous – they all want what you've got – NUMBER ONE. Don't hand it to them on a silver platter. They can't beat you, you can only beat yourselves!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2019