
The highly recognizable face of American arbitration television, Judith “Judge Judy” Sheindlin, initiated a suit against Accelerate360 Media, parent company of notorious tabloids The National Enquirer and InTouch Weekly. The action was spurred by a story published on the InTouch Weekly’s platform, alleging that Sheindlin sought to assist in procuring a retrial for the notorious Menendez brothers, who were found guilty of their parents’ murder over three decades ago.
The contentious article hit online platforms on April 10, bearing a sensational headline suggesting an insider perspective into “Judge Judy’s Quest to Save the Menendez Brothers Nearly 35 Years After Their Parents’ Murder”. The story was presented as breaking news in the circuit court of Collier County, Florida, putting Sheindlin front and center of a high-profile case she vehemently denies having any connection to.
The tale of the Menendez brothers and the notorious 1989 patricide in Beverly Hills, California, has long been a tabloid favorite, allowing this unfounded story to propagate even further when a semblance of it surfaced on the pages of The National Enquirer, a publication affiliated with InTouch Weekly under the umbrella of Accelerate360 Media.
Judge Judy, whose articulate judgment reigned supreme on the eponymous syndicated show until 2021 and who now stars in “Judy Justice,” has voiced her absence of involvement or opinion regarding the Menendez case. The retaliation lawsuit suggests the two media outlets used elements from a Fox Nation docuseries featuring “Judi Ramos”. Ramos, who was listed as an alternate juror in the initial Menendez trial, saw her commentary misappropriated and falsely attributed to the television arbitrator.
Accelerate360 remained reserved, refraining from instant remarks in the face of the lawsuit. The controversy arose just a year following a failed attempt to sell off the National Enquirer, stirring up another storm for the media conglomerate.
The wrath of the no-nonsense judge came with no precise damage amount requested. However, Sheindlin pulled no punch: “When you fabricate stories about me…with no regard for the truth or the reputation I’ve spent a lifetime cultivating, it’s going to cost you,” she responded fiercely, “When you’ve done it multiple times, it’s unconscionable and will be expensive. It has to be expensive so that you will stop.”
This isn’t Sheindlin’s maiden dance with the Enquirer. In 2017, the publication was forced to retract articles falsely reporting that she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, battling depression, and had been unfaithful to her husband. As the gavel comes down on this latest dispute, the renowned judge stands unyielding in her pursuit of justice.