He claims he was told his wages would be too expensive — despite never even discussing money with him (via toofab)
The 63-year-old shared that after the production of"Judge Judy" had wrapped that year, he turned all of his energy and attention to his wife, Makita Bond-Byrd, who was a longtime producer of the show, as she was preparing for brain surgery and her third round of chemotherapy.
"I didn't have time to think about or ask about 'Judy Justice'," he confessed. 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, who had served with Sheindlin since the original show's debut in 1996, said he was told he would not be included in her new project, as his asking salary would be too high... despite the fact he never even discussed money with them.
"She informed me I was not being asked to come along on the project. I didn't inquire as to why, that's her choice," he continued. “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.