The Hit to Hollywood

THINGS DEGENERATED FAST IN THE entertainment industry after President Trump declared coronavirus a national emergency on March 13. That morning, for instance, a “miniriot” erupted on the set of Judge Judy after producers demanded employees show up for work even though CBS brass had sent an email asking them to stay home. “It was quite a fiasco,” says a staffer who witnessed the commotion. “People were screaming at each other.” Three days later, Judge Judy became one of Hollywood’s many shows to go on hiatus. A CBS spokesperson declined comment.

Days earlier, in what looked to be a joke, judge Howie Mandel, a self-proclaimed germaphobe, had shown up for a taping wearing a full hazmat suit and gas mask. Since