'Jeopardy!" Fans Are Having Mixed Reactions to Mayim Bialik Taking Over as Temporary Host
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Jeopardy! Season 38 is on its way—and so is our second round of Jeopardy! guest hosts.
Yesterday, the Jeopardy! team announced that Mayim Bialik, who was originally slated to share the gig with Mike Richards, will step up to the plate as the first in a new series of temporary guest hosts. Bialik is scheduled to tape three weeks of episodes, meaning fifteen episodes total. After her fifteen episodes air, Bialik, a neuroscientist and actress best known for Blossom and The Big Bang Theory, will return to her main Jeopardy! gig: handling primetime specials and spin-offs, like the upcoming Jeopardy! National College Championship. Meanwhile, following Mike Richards’ disgraced exit, the show will line up other as-yet unannounced guest hosts to take the baton from Bialik.
For some Jeopardy! viewers, Bialik was always their horse in the permanent host race, so her temporary ascension to the nightly podium is welcome news. For others, Bialik isn’t so different from Richards, in that she too comes with her own share of backlash. Outraged viewers have pointed to Bialik's controversial history of vaccine skepticism as disqualification for the gig; TV critic and journalism professor Jeff Jarvis tweeted, "Mayim Bialik, though vaccinated, spreads vaccine doubt and hawks brain quackery. She is no representative for a show about facts and authority." Others pointed to a New York Times op-ed she penned in 2017 about the survivors of Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse, describing Bialik's arguments as victim-blaming.
Is your head spinning yet? That’s okay—Jeopardy!’s game of permanent host musical chairs is a lot to take in. Maybe they should give up on the quiz format and just play musical chairs forever. In any case, we’ve sifted through some of the best tweets about Bialik’s ascension, to help you make sense of what’s going on.
at last a host free of controversy
[googles Mayim Bialik]
oh no https://t.co/7vycUgM3PG— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) August 23, 2021
Mike Richards should be removed from his role as producer on Jeopardy and Mayim Bialik should be ousted as well. I can’t full celebrate until this happens.
— Hello, Peter. (@IWriteAllDay_) August 20, 2021
Great, now do Mayim Bialik! https://t.co/9MVSfjZqqZ
— Mari Brighe (@MariBrighe) August 20, 2021
And while we're at it, keep in mind that Mayim Bialik, though vaccinated, spreads vaccine doubt and hawks brain quackery. She is no representative for a show about facts and authority. Replace the executive producer. Fire the executives over him. And give @levarburton the gig.
— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) August 20, 2021
Mayim Bialik, Aaron Rodgers and LeVar Burton should play a round of Jeopardy and the winner gets to be the host and do I have to think of everything around here jfc
— connectpoliticditto. (@cpoliticditto) August 21, 2021
when do we get to have the conversation about how controversial Mayim Bialik is
— Tomato Account li'l 🌳 listen to @onbeliefpod (@karengeier) August 21, 2021
When you spread dangerous anti-vax propaganda that makes a population leery of vaccines then ONLY retract your stance Mid-pandemic when you face losing work? I don’t want you on my TV. https://t.co/u5TD6sf1wr
— That’s Organizers, MPH, to you, peasant. (@HTTOrganizers) August 21, 2021
Well, they have managed to disgrace @Jeopardy so much that it's in the news every day. Good luck to @missmayim but I won't be watching. The grief for me is still too near.
— 🤠 Li'l Mama Bootstrap 🤠 (@goldiestilson) August 24, 2021
can Mayim Bialik at least act like Alex Trebek, I mean she's an actor right
— Ben Horst (bluecheck.jpg) (@MoriaMarmalade) August 24, 2021
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