Film + TV

Remember when Johnny Rotten was on Judge Judy?

by Jeremy Mersereau

For 20 years, Judy Sheindlin has been dishing out her personal of brand of no-nonsense, all-strident courtroom action. As only two other court-based reality shows preceded it (The People’s Court and Jones & Jury, both of which were promptly cancelled), Judge Judy quickly became the syndicated empress of arbitration reality shows, for better or for worse.

In its early years, appearances on Judge Judy were the exclusive province of small claims seekers looking for their moment in the spotlight, and some scheming fakers… and a Sex Pistol. When the shows’ producers asked former Pistol John Lydon, alias Johnny Rotten, to air out his dirty laundry concerning a claim against a drummer on the program, no one was more shocked than them to hear Rotten’s response upon accepting their offer: “I love this country!”

Lydon’s complaints centred on the drummer he brought on board to tour his 1997 solo album, Psycho’s Path Robert Williams, who has played with a diverse roster of acts including Captain Beefheart and Elvira, as well as stints with Lydon’s post-punk group Public Image Ltd. Williams was hired for the duration of the tour, but then was either abruptly fired (Williams’ contention) or quit, leaving Lydon and co. in the lurch (Rotten’s take).

Williams also claimed Lydon assaulted him; Lydon and his label asserted that Williams had somehow bumped his head on Lydon’s chin (lol, because that’s a thing that could obviously happen). Williams filed a lawsuit for assault and lost wages, and also agreed to appear on the program, because no one is immune to the lure of the great Judith Sheindlin, and also a hefty appearance fee.

Judge Judy, for her part, definitely has no idea who the Sex Pistols or Lydon are, a fact made clear during the episode. “This last band I heard was Lawrence Welk… Jimmy Dorsey… Tommy Dorsey… I don’t know. Those are bands!” she says at one point.

Rotten’s usual antics don’t truck with the Judge, who actually gets him to apologize for his behaviour, and he appears genuinely contrite at a few points throughout the episode. The only thing more powerful than the legendary punk Johnny Rotten: a grumpy celebrity TV judge.

Watch a clip from the episode below to find out if Williams wins his suit: