Jeanine Pirro's New Role At Fox News Has People Talking

Jeanine Pirro has been a popular figure at Fox News but also a controversial one. The "Justice with Judge Jeanine" host came under scrutiny in 2019 when she unleashed inflammatory comments about Representative Ilhan Oman, who was one of the first Muslim women in Congress. "Omar wears a hijab ... Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?" Pirro said, per ABC News. That outburst earned Pirro a suspension from the network. "We strongly condemn Jeanine Pirro's comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar," Fox News said in a statement at the time.

That forced sabbatical had Pirro worried that her time at Fox News could be coming to an end. "You know I'm worried that suspension was the basis to tee up for anything I do wrong, they'll fire me," she told Sebastian Gorka while appearing on his "Salem Radio Network" show (via USA Today). The Fox News host was upset with how the network handled the controversy. Another person who was displeased with Pirro getting disciplined was then-president Donald Trump. "Bring back @JudgeJeanine Pirro," he tweeted at the time (via USA Today).

Then in March 2020, multiple users on Twitter accused Pirro of being intoxicated on-air during a disjointed airing of her show. Pirro refuted those claims in a tweet, saying the issues were caused by filming remotely. Given these controversies, it's no surprise people today reacted strongly to her new role at the network.

Fox News announced that Jeanine Pirro would be joining "The Five" as a co-host on the popular afternoon show, per The Hollywood Reporter. Pirro will work alongside co-hosts Jesse Watters, Dana Perino, and Greg Gutfeld. The liberal chair will be filled by a rotating host: Harold Ford Jr., Geraldo Rivera, or Jessica Tarlov.

The news of Pirro's promotion was not well-received by her detractors who weighed in on Twitter. "Fox is promoting Jeanine Pirro, one of the networks' biggest pushers of rigged election claims and Dominion conspiracies," one person tweeted. "So, no opposing viewpoints anymore?!? At least Dana is still there; she's at least more moderate than the others," another Twitter user added."

Naturally, there was an outpouring of good wishes from the contingent of Pirro's supporters. Many of these supporters took issue with the choice of rotating liberal chairs "The Five" selected. "Congrats @JudgeJeanine Now, if they can keep Geraldo off the show, that would be great," one fan tweeted. That said, several viewers have voiced their pleasure with one of the new liberal hosts. "Congrats Judge Jeanine ... really like Harold Ford too. He can present alternative opinion[s] while being civil," a Twitter user wrote.