Fans of Judge Jeanine Pirro’s highly-rated Fox News program likely recall her brief absence from the air in March, which came after she made some pointed remarks on air about Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) that were deemed by some to be too controversial.
At the time, Pirro’s absence was explained by the network as mere “scheduling matters” — but according to the Daily Caller, Pirro admitted this week that she was suspended for her commentary, and she’s “worried” that the network could fire her if she steps out of line again.
Fear of being fired
Pirro’s admission came during a recent interview with former White House adviser Sebastian Gorka. The judge had called in to Gorka’s radio program, which is also streamed in its entirety on YouTube.
For his part, Gorka reminded the judge that the microphones and in-studio cameras were still rolling on YouTube during a commercial break before asking her if she would be in Washington, D.C. soon to promote her new book. If so, he asked her to come by the studio for an in-person interview.
“We’ll see if they [Fox News executives] let me,” Pirro said. “You know, Fox reviews everything. They’re unbelievable.”
She went on to share that she had been prevented by the network from appearing on a rival conservative network in the past before letting the big admission slip.
“They suspended me,” Pirro said. “You know, I’m worried that that suspension was the basis to tee up for anything I do wrong, they’ll fire me.”
Controversial commentary
Pirro was suspended for questioning Rep. Omar’s patriotism in light of the congresswoman’s insistence on wearing a hijab, in accordance with her Islamic faith.
She openly wondered if Omar’s hijab was “indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution.”
That simple observation was apparently too inflammatory for the executives at Fox — particularly in light of a concerted advertiser boycott campaign that was launched by leftist activists in response.
The network said in a statement that it “strongly condemn[s] Jeanine Pirro’s comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar,” but never admitted to suspending the Fox host outright.
Looks like Pirro just let that cat out of the bag.