Jeopardy! is known for its fast-paced gameplay, but fans also tune in to enjoy the banter between the host and contestants. Beloved longtime host Alex Trebek was a master of this rapport—and his successors, Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik, now do their best to follow suit. But during the Friday, June 9, Jeopardy! broadcast, viewers were put off by Bialik's back-and-forth with a contestant. Read on to find out why some fans dubbed her "so rude."
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The odd exchange happened during Final Jeopardy!
ABCThe episode was wrapping up on Friday, with "British Novels" as the Final Jeopardy! category. The clue inquired about a 1928 novel, where the title character "briefly takes 'their' instead of his or her" midway through the story.
Vickie Cyr, who was in third place, responded first with the correct answer, Virginia Woolf's Orlando, bringing her total from $3,800 to $7,595. Bialik then turned to second-place contestant Tim Hagood, which is where things got a bit awkward.
When Hagood's handwritten response appeared on the screen, Bialik responded, "What is, I cannot read that."
Hagood began to clarify that he wrote The Importance of Being Earnest, but Bialik cut him off before he could finish, repeating his answer and confirming it was incorrect. Hagood lost $506, knocking him into third place with $6,694.
Returning champ Suresh Krishnan, who was in the lead with $15,800, responded incorrectly with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but because he didn't wager anything, he still came out on top.
Fans didn't miss a beat when discussing the flub.
ABCSocial media users were quick to comment on Bialik's handling of the situation, which they weren't particularly happy with.
"So rude, [to] ask what he wrote," a YouTube user quipped, per The U.S. Sun.
Another sarcastically added, "Unbelievable!! There's something she can't do???!! Say it ain't so!!!"
In the comment section of official Jeopardy! YouTube page, more viewers weighed in. One wrote, "Oh, the humiliation of being forced to read out your incorrect answer because your penmanship wasn't good enough for Mayim Bialik to read..."
In response, however, another viewer sided with Bialik. "Oh get over yourself, I could barely read that," they replied.
Twitter users also shared their thoughts on Bialik.
ABCThe conversation continued on Twitter, where one viewer alleged that Bialik "clearly has never heard of The Importance of Being Earnest."
They continued, "You could see her react only after her producer said it in her ear during Final #Jeopardy. I say all the time that she is awful and has no business hosting @Jeopardy."
But in Bialik's defense, another viewer reiterated that the contestant's penmanship was to blame.
"I've heard of [The Importance of Being Earnest] and still had no idea what was written," a fan responded. "Really difficult to read that response."
Jeopardy! hosts are familiar with criticism.
ABCThe Jeopardy! fanbase is quick to speak out whenever there's any mistake or contentious moment on the show, and both Jennings and Bialik have been on the receiving end of backlash.
And sometimes the controversy happens behind-the-scenes. Jennings has been in the hot seat after it was revealed that he would step in to host the final week of the syndicated Jeopardy! season. Bialik reportedly opted out of hosting to stand in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, which began in early May.
In conversation with The New Yorker, Jennings stated that the scripts were already "locked through the end of the season" by the time the strike began.
He continued, "Now we’re just hoping against hope that the studios do the right thing and make them a fair deal. Because the writers are the engine that runs 'Jeopardy!' More than the contestants, more than the host, it’s a show about the words."
Still, many were quick to dub him a "scab" (a person who crosses a picket line and works during a strike), noting that working on the show at all fails to demonstrate support for the writers.
