• A top "Judge Judy" producer regularly made crude remarks about litigants, according to interviews and claims in court records.
• Ex-employees said Randy Douthit discussed if litigants were "too ugly" or "too fat" and commented on their teeth.
• Through his lawyers, Douthit denied "racism or any other abusive conduct towards members of the show's production or its participants."

Judith Sheindlin's long-standing executive producer Randy Douthit routinely mocked and made crude comments about litigants who appeared on "Judge Judy," according to conversations with former employees and claims made in court records.

In the control room, Douthit openly talked about female litigants' breasts during show tapings and discussed whether they were "too ugly" or "too fat," according to allegations in a lawsuit filed by a former segment producer named Shawn Griggs in 2001. Griggs said Douthit made pig or cow noises when he found litigants unattractive, called a Black guest a "ho," and said he wanted to "get" with litigants he found attractive.

In court filings, Douthit denied calling a Black litigant a "ho," and said "I don't believe so" when asked whether he made pig noises. When asked if he ever made crude comments in the booth or on taping days, he said, "I hope not. I may have, but I hope not."

That case was later dismissed by the judge on a summary judgment motion. In response to questions about the Griggs lawsuit, Douthit's lawyer wrote that "the allegations pertaining to Mr. Douthit in this lawsuit were completely false." He also noted that "the trial court determined that based upon the undisputed material facts, [the plaintiff's] claims failed as a matter of law."

As part of a longer Insider investigation into "Judge Judy," seven former employees said that Douthit made crude comments about the show's guests, many of whom are of limited means.

"He'd make comments about their weight, he'd make comments about their teeth… or if they were disabled," Kurstin Haynes, a former producer who left the show in 2021, told Insider. According to a sampling of written reports from Douthit in which he graded producers' cases, and which were reviewed by Insider, he called litigants "gross" and "low rent."

"He definitely didn't talk about them like they were people, it was like they were subhuman," one former associate producer said.

Douthit's lawyer told Insider that Douthit categorically denied engaging in "racism or any other abusive conduct towards members of the show's production or its participants."

"Mr. Douthit has always fostered a supportive, productive, safe and inclusive work environment for everyone involved in the show. It is apparent that Insider is relying largely, if not entirely, upon questionable uncorroborated sources, disgruntled former employees, and unfounded allegations, the vast majority of which date back fifteen to twenty years, to paint a false narrative regarding Mr. Douthit and the show."

According to former employees, they were required to submit photos of litigant candidates to Douthit and Victoria Jenest, the show's supervising producer. These people said that Douthit was particularly concerned with the show's guests' teeth.

"There were many times people would show up without teeth and it was a nightmare, since you'd get in big trouble if that happened," the associate producer said. "[Douthit] would be like, 'Who is this disgusting person?'"

According to another lawsuit, filed in 2009 by a former senior producer named Jonathan Sebastien, Douthit also told producers "We're not doing any more Black shows" and "I don't want to hear Black people arguing."

In a deposition taken during the case, Douthit said he screened litigants in an attempt to mirror the population of the country. Asked whether he remembered telling producers to screen out Black litigants, Douthit said he couldn't recall.

Sebastien was fired in March 2007. He reached a settlement agreement for an undisclosed amount in May 2009. He did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Douthit's lawyers told Insider that "the allegations concerning Mr. Douthit in this lawsuit were entirely false."

Six former staffers told Insider that Douthit told employees he didn't want too many Black litigants on the show; one said this behavior continued into 2021.

"I guess they felt like Judy's demographic were middle-aged white people at home and they wanted to continue to skew to that demographic," one producer told Insider.

Read Insider's full investigation here: 'Judge Judy' was plagued by sexual harassment claims, drinking on the job, and racism, former employees say. They worry the new $25 million Amazon streaming show will be more of the same.