Brian Stelter's book on Fox News reveals 'The Five' was major demotion for host Jeanine Pirro after Dominion lawsuit
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro might be more popular than ever as she continues as a host on one of the most-watched cable news shows 'The Five'. However, this job was all but supposed to be a major demotion for the anchor by the network.
Brian Stelter's expose on Fox News titled 'Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for American Democracy' sheds more light on the controversies surrounding Pirro and why her solo show was canceled.
Jeanine Pirro's contribution to Dominion lawsuit cost her solo gig
Jeanine Pirro did not always share the screen and a half-hour slot with four other people on the panel. She used to run her own show just a year ago called 'Justice with Judge Jeanine'.
While it was a fairly popular show, it ended up getting canceled in 2022. The cancellation closely followed what is considered the biggest defamation settlement faced by a network in the history of the United States, with Fox News right at the center of it.
The case is known as the Dominion Voting Systems vs Fox News Network lawsuit. Several major hosts of the network, including Pirro, made false statements regarding the rigging of the 2020 Presidential elections.
They claimed that the voting machines made by Dominion rigged the election. The lawsuit ended in a settlement that cost the network around $787.5 million.
While the show was canceled, Pirro was quickly placed in one of the seats on 'The Five'. Given the popularity of the show, it expanded her fanbase further. But Stelter reveals in 'Network of Lies' that it was actually intended to be a demotion for Pirro.
In an excerpt released by The Daily Beast's newsletter 'Confider', the author revealed that Pirro clashed with the network's management to the point where she was demoted from her solo show.
Pirro's colleagues badmouth her in 'Network of Lies'
Stelter's book, which is the second in the series that unveils the problems with Fox News, also revealed that the network's management did not particularly like Pirro.
He shared in the book how sources from Fox told her that Pirro was "a problem" because of her "stubborn, slavish Trumpiness" that landed them in the Dominion lawsuit. Pirro is a close friend of Trump's and continues to back him on the 'The Five'.
Stelter also shared that Fox executive producers had "grown tired of [Pirro's] histrionic shenanigans" as she would not take edits to her monologues well, causing "headaches weak after week".
One of the sources told the author, "Nobody wanted to deal with her," and Pirro's own executive producer went on to label her as a "reckless maniac".
'The Five' was not a cushy job for 72-year-old Judge Pirro
While 'The Five' remains the show that pulls in a major chunk of viewers for the network, it is not really a privilege to work on the panel that is shared by several for someone like Pirro.
"Pirro was far easier to manage on a five-person talk show—she wasn’t writing monologues or picking guests anymore," Stelter reveals in the book.
Pirro's show was also just a weekly affair so appearing on all weekdays instead of just Saturdays worked out well for Fox News' viewership.
However, 'The Five' was not the best offer to someone as old and reputed as judge Pirro, as per the book.
"The Five is not the cushiest job for a seventy-something former prosecutor to hold," the excerpt read.
"Pirro was now in the studio five days a week and sharing the stage with the likes of the grandstanding Jesse Watters. Solo-hosting once a week was definitely easier for her—but harder on the managers and lawyers," it further added.