Fox News says Jeanine Pirro’s performance on Saturday night can be attributed to technical difficulties as a result of broadcasting from home for the first time amid coronavirus concerns.
The “Justice With Judge Jeanine” host raised eyebrows on social media Saturday night when she missed the first 15 minutes of her show, wore her hair out of place, and appeared to stumble over words at times.
A Fox News spokesperson told HuffPost on Sunday that there were multiple technical and staffing issues to blame.
“Jeanine Pirro was broadcasting from her home for the first time when she encountered several technical difficulties which impacted the quality of her show, including the loss of a teleprompter,” the statement said.
“As we have previously said, we are operating with a reduced staff working remotely to ensure the health and safety of our employees in these unprecedented times.”
Pirro, one of numerous news anchors now broadcasting remotely during the coronavirus outbreak, retorted on Twitter to commentators assuming she was drunk.
In response to a comment about her “drunk girl hair,” Pirro said her earpiece had grabbed her hair and there was no staff to notice.
And in response to a Twitter user who noted she “looks about 150 proof,” Pirro said:
Among those dropping commentary on the segment was former Fox News personality Gretchen Carlson, who mused over Pirro’s future at the network.
Last week, Fox Business announced network host Trish Reagan was out, following the fallout over a rant in which she claimed coronavirus was another attempt to impeach President Donald Trump.
Pirro was taken off the airwaves for two weeks last year after she questioned whether it was unconstitutional for Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to wear a hijab. Though Trump tweeted in her support her during her absence, the network released a statement condemning the comments.
After she was reinstated, Pirro was overheard complaining on Sebastian Gorka’s radio show about concerns she may be fired if she does something else wrong.