'Judge Steve Harvey': Comedian wields gavel of justice

‘Judge Steve Harvey’: Comedian wields gavel of justice

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Steve Harvey has been a stand-up comedian, a game show host, an author, and even a motivational speaker, and now, he is adding another profession to his long resume.“Judge Steve Harvey,” premiering on ABC, has him following in the footsteps of “Judge Judy” and a long list of others.The star said he didn’t go into this show trying to duplicate anything or anybody. He admits he doesn’t have the wealth of knowledge Judge Judy has, but he is a whole lot funnier.Harvey doesn’t have a law degree and doesn’t even wear judges robes on the new show, but he still manages to play to his strengths.“I’m in the make-people-laugh business,” he said. “I’m in the happy business.“The case are real – and so is the bailiff, former Douglas County, Georgia, bailiff Nancy Price.“Nancy’s from a court where people are in there for kidnapping, drug charges, violent crimes,” Harvey said. “So she has a knack of knowing when to step in.“But she and everybody else are still there for laughs."(I’m) not really interested in the verdict,” Harvey said. “I’m interested in the story. How we got here.“The spectators in the court play a bigger role on “Judge Steve Harvey” than they have in similar shows.“That was a requirement of mine,” Harvey said. “I need an audience for me to perform to my fullest and the best of my ability.“His hold on the audience has long been obvious, and it’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since he was featured in Spike Lee’s documentary “The Original Kings of Comedy.“It’s been a full decade since his last stand-up routine.“Yeah I miss it a little bit,” he said. “But you know, in this culture that we in today, I got out at the right time because political correctness is killing comedy…The freedom of saying what you want to say is gone.“He maintains too many people are too easily offended.“Everybody’s feelings is hurt immediately,” he said. “As soon as you tell a joke, somebody’s feelings somewhere is hurt, and it’s a sad thing because what do you want a guy to do as a comedian? A jokes got to be about something, and it’s usually people. We can’t write jokes about puppies all day long.“Still, Harvey manages to find the funny in primetime. As he says on the show, “In my courtroom, I speak the truth.““Judge Steve Harvey” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on this ABC station.

Fans Can’t Get Enough After Steve Harvey Drops Full Silk Ensemble To Promote Judge Steve Harvey

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The one, the only Steve Harvey has transitioned into his next phase on television: courtroom drama. Well, sorta. He’s not an official judge or lawyer or anything like that in his new ABC series Judge Steve Harvey. It’s more so a play on words as the iconic comedian and beloved Family Feud host judges people’s problems and life stories. Amidst promoting the show recently, Harvey dropped a full-on silk ensemble, and fans can’t get enough of him.

In the much-discussed pic on his Instagram account, Steve Harvey traded in his signature three-piece suit for something more… delicate. The fit is a silk, collarless shirt (blouse?) tied neatly at the hip, with blush pants and white alligator boots to complete it. See the judge himself here:

A post shared by Steve Harvey (@iamsteveharveytv) A photo posted by on

His fans are absolutely loving and living for all the soft textures and colors going on. One person joked, “Come through pastels,” while another said, “Whoever your stylist is deserves a raise.” But it was this comment that did it for me:

Can see him rolling off chairs with all that silk

The audience for Steve Harvey’s ensemble lavished plenty of praise on his efforts. They said Harvey – whose daughter is actually dating actor Michael B. Jordan – was “Big Papa Drip” and “killing the game.” Many also gave respect to his larger-than-life “uncle” persona that continues to attract audiences (and sometimes controversy) after several decades in the industry, with one noting, “Unk be applying pressure all the time!!” But apparently, we can all seemingly attribute Harvey’s silk outfit to the pressures of a certain famous singer. Erykah Badu herself commented on the post, saying:

See , I been trying to get you in some digs like this .. but you just wouldn’t let habib go.

The majority of the commentary on the star’s effortless silk style, though, were curious references to “Blue Cheese.” Now, in case you were unaware (as I was), the phrase harkens back to an iconic episode of his NBC daytime talk show. In it, the Emmy-winning host famously said, “They call me Blue Cheese… [because] I be dressin’.” And fans have not forgotten.

They took it back farther than that even with other reactions to the silky-smooth outfit. Before he was Mr. Blue Cheese, in fact, he was Mr. Hightower on his acclaimed ’90s sitcom The Steve Harvey Show. His character was notorious for signature fitted suits that the real-life actor would later be known for. In the words of a real one who commented:

Mr. hightower has always been fresher than the board of health

The beauty of his new “character” on Judge Steve Harvey is such that what he does best is the entire show. Meaning, if you have watched Family Feud just for Harvey’s commentary in-between bits, then you get that for the full length of the new show. In the most recent one, Harvey was as flabbergasted by the idea of “chitlins in a bourbon glaze” that a couple were fighting over as the collective is by his abundance of silks. Check out new episodes on Tuesdays on ABC or on Hulu!

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It’s not uncommon for varying celebrities to share birthdays. Marvel stars Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo celebrate on the same day. Steve Harvey and Betty White also shared the same birthday, with White hitting milestones that Harvey had said he also hopes to hit in the years to come. That birthday, January 17, falls this week, the newly dapper Steve Harvey looked back at the big day he shared with the star, who died just shy of her 100th birthday .

Speaking on the Steve Harvey Morning Show in its 2022 return episode, Steve and the gang opened up about Betty White making it to 99 and Steve noted that the two shared the same birthday, with the Celebrity Family Feud host mentioning “she was just a few weeks away” from hitting the milestone century mark when the Golden Girls star passed away. In fact, she was just 17 days shy of her shared birthday when the news broke. While Harvey didn’t get into his feelings beyond a general sad-about-her-passing vibe during the segment, this wasn’t actually the first time Harvey has spoken out about sharing a birthday with Betty White.

Back in 2018, on Betty White’s 96th birthday, Steve Harvey opened up on Steve Harvey about their shared birthday on January 17th and how White always trends on that day while he doesn’t, though he also said she’s given him goals for his own aging future.

The other day I celebrated my birthday, man. Turned 61. I was feeling really good about that too, still am, you know. But I was on the Internet and I noticed that Betty White was trending. Because Betty White – I’ve known her for a long time – we have the exact same birthday. Mine wasn’t trending. Betty White’s birthday was trending, because Betty White turned 96 years old. Man, and she is still so sharp, man. Betty White interviews still sharp, man. I want to be 96 one day. My goal is 104, but I’m looking forward to 96. I really am, man.

White’s sharpness in interviews was noted by comedians and actors like Ryan Reynolds and her fans alike. Things could be worse for Harvey than getting outshined on his birthday every year, however. In fact, Steve Harvey seemed a bit in awe of White and mentioned at the time that there’s something about getting up toward 100 that’s really special. In fact, during the episode of his daytime talk show, he mentioned that White had actually been around longer than sliced bread and many, many other innovations.

She was born in 1922. In 1922. That means that Betty White is older than a lot of things. 1922, you’ve been here for a while, man. Betty White is older than sliced bread. No listen to me. Sliced bread came out in 1928. That was the first time they came out with sliced bread. Before that, if you wanted a sandwich, you just had to tear off the loaf. You’d just tear another end off, find the peanut butter and just mash it together. She older than sliced bread man. In 1923, they invented hearing aids. Betty White is older than hearing aids. Back then, when they said ‘Say what?’ they wasn’t trying to be cool; they really couldn’t hear you.

It’s worth noting Betty White lived through myriad wars and changes in the TV landscape, including the notable time she defied the network’s expectations and put a Black tap dancer, Arthur Duncan, on TV. Oh, and she also survived through the early days of COVID-19 and quarantine . She saw a lot during her time on earth and many, many paid tribute after her passing .

Steve Harvey says ‘political correctness’ has ‘killed comedy’: TV winter press tour

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Steve Harvey, who takes on an unlikely role in the new ABC primetime show, “Judge Steve Harvey,” says “cancel culture” plays a big role in why he no longer does stand-up comedy specials. Harvey, who was discussing “Judge Steve Harvey” in a session during the virtual Television Critics Association 2022 winter press tour, was asked a question about whether he might return to stand-up comedy.

“The only way I can do one more special is that it would have to be at the end of my television career, because it will end my television career,” Harvey said. “See, we’re in the cancel culture now. And nobody, no standup alive that is sponsor‑driven, can say anything he wants to. Chris Rock can’t. Kevin Hart can’t. Cedric the Entertainer can’t. D.L. Hughley can’t. I can go down the list. The only person that can say what they want to say on stage is Dave Chappelle, because he’s not sponsor‑driven,” Harvey said, referring to Chappelle’s specials on Netflix. “He’s subscription‑driven.”

(How to watch: “Judge Steve Harvey” airs at 8 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC; stream the show on fubo TV, which offers a free trial)

Harvey went on to say that one of the reasons he stopped doing stand-up comedy was because “my wife had informed me that God was about to do something,” which turned out to be launching Harvey on his TV career, which has included hosting such shows as “Family Feud,” “Celebrity Family Feud,” “Little Big Shots,” and more.

Taking on his various TV jobs has been “the best thing that happened to me,” Harvey said. “But if I had tried to continue as a standup, there’s no way I could maintain the TV career because of the political correctness (that) has killed comedy. It’s killed it. And, you know, every joke you tell now, it hurts somebody’s feelings.”

Harvey said what people don’t understand about comedy is that “the joke got to be about something. It has to be about somebody. We can’t write jokes about puppies all the time.”

In his latest TV venture, Harvey serves as the judge and jury, weighing in on people’s civil court disputes on “Judge Steve Harvey,” which an ABC publicist said debuted as ABC’s most-watched unscripted new series in a year. Harvey, who has no judicial experience, said he had come up with the idea of doing a judge show about 12 years ago, but kept it to himself until recently.

That changed, Harvey said, when he was on a Zoom call during COVID with ABC executives, who Harvey said were pitching him on a sitcom. The idea for the show was a good one, Harvey said, “But I wasn’t that enthusiastic about doing a sitcom anymore.” So, when asked what he wanted to do, Harvey said, “‘Well, I always wanted to be a judge on TV.’ And the Zoom got kind of quiet because they went, like, ‘A judge?’”

Harvey said he told the executives “I wanted it to be funny. I wanted to be insightful. I wanted it to be not about the verdict, but about the story. And the next day they green‑lit it.”

Steve Harvey and “Judge Steve Harvey” showrunner and executive producer Myeshia Mizuno discussed the show during a virtual ABC Television Critics Association press tour session. (Photo: ABC) ABC

For the press tour discussion, Harvey was joined by Myeshia Mizuno, an executive producer and showrunner for “Judge Steve Harvey.” Mizuno’s resume includes many other courtroom shows, including “Judge Judy.”

“I’ve done court forever,” Mizuno said. “I started with Judy in the early days. I was with her, like, Season 5, so that tells you how long I’ve been doing court. And I’ve done everything from ‘Judy’ to ‘Divorce Court,’ created ‘Money Court’ for CNBC, ‘Paternity Court,’” and more.

The important element for a court TV show, Mizuno said, is to start “with a good case. “You need the litigants who have a good story, and you want someone to have a defense. I think the difference here is, as Mr. Harvey said, allowing them to tell their story. Something like ‘Judy,’ Judy doesn’t care about your story. She wants the facts ‑‑ get to the point and get out. And that’s what makes her Judy.

“Here, the difference is we take the time to understand the story, which, I think, a lot of times explains why these people get into the situations they get into it. And that, along with Mr. Harvey being able to weave how they’re telling the story and then come to a summation and verdict, is what’s going to set ‘Judge Steve Harvey’ apart from everything else.”

Harvey praised Mizuno’s abilities, and added, “Since Myeshia said court is in her blood, I would like to say that court is in my blood also because I’ve won four federal cases…and I lost two major divorces. So, court is in my blood, too.”

Asked what his experience in courtroom proceedings had made him think about the court system, Harvey said, “I mean, the court system in America is what it is, you know, but it’s based around the law. Just because it’s the law don’t make it right.”

Not every law, Harvey said, is a “correct law. We have a law in this country that everybody has the right to bear arms. Well, everybody shouldn’t bear arms. I mean, come on. That’s the law. But if you listen to the story, everybody shouldn’t have a gun. That’s clear to me. You know, stand your ground ‑‑ everybody shouldn’t be told to stand their ground. So, I mean, the law is the law, and that’s why I’m glad it’s not that type of court that we have, and we’re doing small claims court, where I’m able to find humor in most of it.”

– Kristi Turnquist

kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist

Steve Harvey Reacts to Daughter Lori’s Steamy Photo with Michael B. Jordan - Watch!

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Steve Harvey is making an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show!

The 65-year-old Family Feud host stopped by the daytime talk show for an interview that aired on Tuesday (January 18).

During the interview, Steve talked about Christmas at the Harvey house, and Ellen mentioned if Steve‘s daughter Lori Harvey brought boyfriend Michael B. Jordan around for the festivities.

Ellen then shared a photo of Lori, 25, sitting on the 34-year-old Black Panther actor’s lap, and Steve wasn’t exactly thrilled to see the photo.

Click inside to see how he reacted!

“Look at that,” Ellen said while pointing at the photo. “That’s happening in front of you?”

“I’ve never seen that picture before,” Steve said. “I’m very uncomfortable with that picture right there. I’m not really feeling that picture.”

Steve then went on praise Michael for his gift-giving skills.

“That’s why I like him,” Steve said. “That boy come through. He [is] trying to impress the family. I’m a father, so he bought me this big 100 [pack] cigar box of the most hard to get cigars. 100 of them in this big box and he gave that to me.”

“He gave my wife some skis. Who do that?” he added. “Only way you give your potential mother-in-law some skis is because you want her to be your mother-in-law.”

Find out how Michael surprised Lori for her birthday earlier this month!