Is Steve Harvey Actually a Judge or Is He Just Playing One on TV?

All rise for the honorable *checks notes* Steve Harvey? Are we reading this correctly? Steve added yet another show to his resume in 2022. This time he tells us more than what a survey says.

Judge Steve Harvey is on ABC and we have all the legal details. We just have one question: Is Steve Harvey really a judge? Fans need to know. Keep reading to find out.

Steve Harvey isn't actually a judge, but that hasn't stopped him from presiding over some pretty wacky cases on his new show, Judge Steve Harvey. The show's trailer, which ABC dropped on Nov. 29, 2021, featured a flashy introduction that could rival any music competition show. "It's always good to come to court when you can't lose," Steve told the audience, and boy did he come to win!

Even though we knew that the Steve wasn't actually a judge, we got the real scoop from drag queen Lady Sham.

"I think [Steve] is fair and unbiased, and from what I saw he genuinely took the time to listen and understand everything about our case as we presented it to him," she told Distractify in an exclusive interview.

According to Steve, he always "speaks the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," and that includes looking at someone standing before him and calling them "crazy." That person's response is enough to get us to watch: "Since when is that a crime?" The show is a mixture of comedy, roast jokes, light helpful advice, and of course, laying down the "law." We're certainly seeing more laughter in this courtroom than in any other.

Perhaps Steve will pull from the numerous self-help books he has published when deciding what to do with the cases brought before him. In 2014, he told Parade that a huge life motivator for him was the fact that he'd flunked out of Kent State during his third year. That followed him for the rest of his life, which is what led him to partner with Strayer University as a paid ambassador. Steve deeply believes in education, but not graduating from college didn't stop him from achieving his goals.

Not having a degree means Steve can't be a judge, but he does have a lifetime of experience, which lends itself to helping others. Steve has worked on a Ford assembly line cleaning carpets, selling insurance, and of course, doing comedy. It was radio where Steve really found himself, which brought him to Family Feud as its host. One could argue that court is almost like a family feud?

All jokes aside, Judge Steve Harvey has a real opportunity to help people. Sure, he hides behind laughter and comedy, but that's the best medicine, after all. Steve also told Parade that he was never meant to be one of those people who retires to a yacht. "My calling is to help people, to teach people, to share with people until I die," he said. "I can never stop doing that. I can’t and I don’t want to." It sounds like he's answering that call now!

The new season of Judge Steve Harvey premiered May 9, 2023, and you can watch it every Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST on ABC. Be sure to tune in and see what Steve gets up to in the courtroom.