On Saturday, March 30, 2019, Fox News host Jeanine Pirro returned to the air. Her weekend program, “Justice with Judge Jeanine,” had been off for two weeks. It was her first broadcast since a March 9 opening monologue that drew widespread criticism and led to a suspension the network never formally announced.
The return night produced strong prime-time ratings. Nielsen-measured figures reported afterward put the episode at a total audience of 2.563 million viewers, with 354,000 in the key advertising demographic. Those figures were well above her recent norm: from February 23 through March 9, the show had averaged 1.987 million total viewers and 239,000 in the demographic.
What led to the absence
On her March 9 broadcast, Pirro delivered a scripted commentary questioning whether Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, was loyal to the United States. She also said that Omar’s practice of wearing a hijab might be antithetical to the Constitution, according to The Hollywood Reporter. CNN reported that the commentary was widely criticized as Islamophobic, including by some people inside the network.
The next day, March 10, Fox News issued a rare statement of disapproval. It said it strongly condemned Pirro’s comments about Omar.
The show did not air on March 16 or March 23. On March 16, a rerun of the docuseries “Scandalous” ran in its slot. A special about the Mueller report, hosted by Ed Henry, replaced it on March 23. When the first preemption happened, a Fox spokesperson told TVLine, “We’re not commenting on internal scheduling matters.”
CNN, citing a source familiar with the matter, reported that Fox had privately suspended Pirro. The source said the suspension was always meant to last two weeks, which pointed to a March 30 return. The network declined to confirm or deny her status. The Hollywood Reporter noted that Fox never announced or acknowledged any disciplinary action.
The reaction before the return
President Donald Trump, who has known Pirro for decades, publicly urged the network to bring her back. In a Fox News interview the Wednesday before her return, he said he hoped she would be back soon. Host Sean Hannity replied that she would return Saturday.
CNN also reported that some of Pirro’s fans criticized Fox on social media and some vowed to boycott the network. The same report said the network as a whole had not taken a noticeable ratings hit. Her Saturday time slot had drawn lower ratings than usual during the first week she was off the air.
Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly told One America News Network that he was surprised by the suspension. He said, “I know Jeanine, and I know she was hurt by it.”
The return broadcast
Pirro did not address her absence or the earlier remarks on the air. The Chicago Sun-Times, citing the Associated Press, reported that she thanked her viewers but did not directly discuss the apparent suspension. Her guest Rudy Giuliani congratulated her on being back. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she smiled and said “Thank you” without adding anything.
The show’s opening monologue that night turned to the Mueller report, according to a recap of the broadcast.
Ratings after the return
The audience stayed above its pre-suspension level in the weeks that followed. Nielsen-measured figures published in mid-April 2019 showed the show averaging 2.184 million total viewers and 258,000 in the demographic since its return. That was a 10 percent rise in total viewers and an 8 percent rise in the demographic compared with the three weeks before the suspension. The return episode accounted for much of the gain. The most recent weekly broadcast in that report, at 2.208 million viewers, also topped each of the weeks before the suspension.
In January 2022, Fox News announced that Pirro would become a co-host of the network’s weekday program “The Five.”