Weeks after the firing of Mike Richards, who had been named as the new host of “Jeopardy!” before past “offensive” comments of his resurfaced, the iconic game show has revealed who will be taking over hosting duties for the rest of this year.
Backstory: Mike Richards Fired As ‘Jeopardy’ Producer Days After Stepping Down As Host
‘Jeopardy!’ Reveals Who Will Host
Not sure if you’ve heard but @missmayim and @kenjennings are hosting me until the end of the year. Everyone on the staff is supralunar. pic.twitter.com/mpYVpusQ7V
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) September 16, 2021
Sony Pictures Entertainment announced on Thursday that former “Jeopardy!” champion Ken Jennings and former “Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik will be hosting the show through the rest of the calendar year.
CBS News reported that Bialik will be hosting “Jeopardy!” from September 20 to November 5, and she will split hosting duties with Jennings from there.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to join the Jeopardy! family,” Bialik said last month when she was first announced as a host alongside Richards. “What started out with my 15-year-old repeating a rumor from Instagram that I should guest host the show has turned into one of the most exciting and surreal opportunities of my life!”
Jennings, who first auditioned for “Jeopardy!” in 2004, became a household name for his 74-game winning streak on the show, during which he won $2.52 million.
Related: New ‘Jeopardy!’ Host Mike Richards Quits Before First Episode After 2013 Podcast Surfaces
Backlash From ‘Jeopardy!’ Fans
Unfortunately for Bialik and Jennings, many fans were not happy about the two of them becoming the hosts:
Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik are named as permanent hosts of ‘Jeopardy!’…until the end of the year. They need to get their act together over there. pic.twitter.com/oD1OWHJkIM
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) September 16, 2021
If @jeopardy is going with #HotPersonInAWheelchair @KenJennings they might as well have just kept #MikeRichards.
Same dude essentially. Same issues.
And the lack of racial diversity in this decision is shall we say: glaring.
No shade to @missmayim.
I ❤️ her.But: *sigh*
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) September 16, 2021
https://twitter.com/silentobsvr/status/1438571182752735243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1438571182752735243%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.esquire.com%2Fentertainment%2Ftv%2Fa37624863%2Fken-jennings-mayim-bialik-jeopardy-hosts-fan-reactions%2F
As a reminder, you can make derogatory "jokes" about disabled people and still have good things happen for you, like @KenJennings. pic.twitter.com/tR4gpq59Fq
— Steven Spohn (Spawn) (@stevenspohn) September 16, 2021
The last time white people tried to avoid acknowledging Black people this hard they wrote a Constitution. https://t.co/nuRxXSWkwC
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) September 16, 2021
Richards’ Downfall
Richards had initially been named as host alongside Bialik last month. But, he stepped down as host and was later fired as producer after past comments he’d made about women, Jews, and Asians resurfaced.
He desperately tried to apologize for the comments, but it was not enough to save him from the cancel culture mob.
“It is humbling to confront a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment, thoughtlessness, and insensitivity from nearly a decade ago,” Richards said, according to CNN. “Looking back now, there is no excuse, of course, for the comments I made on this podcast and I am deeply sorry.”
Sony initially tried to stand by Richards and keep him on as executive producer, but they finally cut all ties with him earlier this month.
“I’m writing to let you know that Mike will no longer be serving as EP of ‘Wheel’ and ‘Jeopardy!’ effective immediately,” Suzanne Prete, EVP, business and strategy said in a letter to staffers, according to Fox News. “We had hoped that when Mike stepped down from the host position at ‘Jeopardy!’ it would have minimized the disruption and internal difficulties we have all experienced these last few weeks. That clearly has not happened.”
Jennings has some past tweets of his own that have been deemed as being offensive, so it will be interesting to see if he is able to withstand the cancel culture mob and actually host the show.
Given what happened to Richards, Jennings might not want to get too comfortable in his hosting duties.