Rumors have been swirling for weeks that Ken Jennings is about to lose his job hosting the beloved game show Jeopardy! and be replaced by the Saturday Night Live! star Colin Jost.
Now, a source close to Jennings is speaking out to say that he is “desperate” to stay on Jeopardy!
Jennings Addresses Jeopardy! Rumors
“[Ken is] desperate to make it work and has no intention of leaving of his own accord,” the insider told Closer Weekly. “Ken’s well aware of the noise and tittle-tattle, and privately he would acknowledge these are tough times – especially with Colin Jost coming on to host Pop Culture Jeopardy! and fans calling him awkward, which is hard to take.”
The source then threw the production team under the bus.
“But he’s insisting there’s a share of blame here,” the source continued. “He doesn’t write the lines or pick the questions and contestants, and won’t be made a scapegoat!”
The insider went on to say that Jennings, 50, is very upset by these rumors.
“He’s calling on bosses to be more supportive and warning people not to trip him up,” the source concluded. “Ken doesn’t understand why viewers think this is all his fault, because it’s not. He believes others need to take responsibility. He’s done playing Mr. Nice Guy!”
It might be a hard sell for Jennings, considering he would have to admit he’s doing little more than just reading a teleprompter.
Jennings rose to fame as a contestant on Jeopardy! back in 2004. He still holds the record for the longest consecutive winning streak with 74 games. In 2021, Jennings was brought on as a guest host of Jeopardy! after the death of longtime host Alex Trebek. He then became the game show’s sole host for Season 40 when it premiered back in September of 2023.
‘Keeping Their Options Open’
Jennings has received criticism from fans as of late for various mistakes. These include accepting an answer that was mispronounced and not accepting an answer that was just one letter off. Jennings also made a joke about the elderly that was deemed to be tasteless.
Another source told The Sun that Sony executives currently have no plans to fire Jennings. However, they are “keeping their options open.”
It should be noted that Jennings does not have a long-term contract for his $4 million hosting job.
Related: Here’s Why No One Should Replace Alex Trebek On “Jeopardy!”
Jost Brought In For Jeopardy! Spinoff
Meanwhile, Jost has hosted the “Weekend Update” segment on Saturday Night Live! since 2014. He was also recently praised for his hilarious Olympics coverage. The insider said that having Jost host the Pop Culture spinoff of Jeopardy! is bad news for Jennings.
“It really looks like a massive no-confidence vote in Ken by tapping Colin Jost, but there’s other factors going into this move,” the source stated. “For one thing, the top Sony Pictures TV execs right now are actually veterans of working at NBC and go back to the 2000’s with Colin and his team.”
Only time will tell if Jennings is able to keep his coveted Jeopardy! hosting gig. It will certainly be interesting to see how this all turns out!
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