Judge Judy Reveals the Inspiration Behind Her Most Iconic One-Liners originally appeared on Parade.
The legendary Judge Judy Sheindlin is known for her zingy one-liners, and when she stopped by Live with Kelly and Mark on July 22, 2025, the first thing Kelly Ripa wanted to know was how the TV icon comes up with all of those quippy sayings. It turns out, they run in the family!
“I didn’t, actually [come up with it]!” Sheindlin admitted when Ripa asked her how she thought of the phrase “Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.”
Instead, the veteran daytime host recalled the first time she heard it from her father upon returning home from American University for the first time. “I had a less-than-stellar first semester,” she admitted. “I was young, I was 16 and a half, I started college in Janaury, and I partied, you know?”
The star said she tried every excuse in the book to avoid admitting the real reason why her grades weren’t up to par. “Everything was wrong, I had an ingrown toenail, I had a planter wart… whatever it was,” she said. “My father looked at me and said, ‘Sweetheart, don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.'”
Ripa and Mark Consuelos cracked up at the story, asking if her dad deserved credit for all of her catchphrases. “Him or grandmother,” she explained. “You know, you find that the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Sheindlin carries on the tradition herself, now as a mother to five kids and grandmother to 13. Her brood is grateful for her wisdom and all that she’s done to support her family over the years.
“Throughout your life and your multiple successful careers, you have created a strong safety net for our entire family,” granddaughter Sarah Rose Levy wrote in a 2021 letter for Good Housekeeping. “This is one of the best gifts you could have given any of us.”
After starring in 25 seasons of Judge Judy from 1996 to 2021, she launched a new show called Judy Justice. In 2025, she announced her new Prime Video series Justice on Trial, which premiered on July 21.
Judge Judy Reveals the Inspiration Behind Her Most Iconic One-Liners first appeared on Parade on Jul 22, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 22, 2025, where it first appeared.
