Ken Jennings Under Fire For Jeopardy! Hosting Decision, Fans Want Him To Stop Immediately
Jeopardy fans want Ken Jennings to stop his opening monologues taking jabs at the leading contestants.
As those backing massive television shows like The Last of Us or film franchises like Scream will know – the fandom can make or break you. This idea has poured over into the world of live game shows as members of the production team for Jeopardy! have been constantly feeling the heat from the fans since the death of beloved and original host Alex Trebek back in 2020. While Ken Jennings has been considered to be a fan-favorite from the very first time he started asking the questions, the Jeopardy! host is now under fire for his lengthy opening monologues that have been taking jabs at leading players.
According to The Sun, audiences have been negatively reacting to the way that Ken Jennings kicks off every Jeopardy! episode during which he takes digs at the reigning winner, giving his or her opponents insights into where their weaknesses lie. Most recently the player-turned-host had his sights set on the current champion Stephen Webb, who he said struggled with landing any of the available Daily Doubles. Acknowledging that Webb was a truly bright competitor and one to not underestimate, the host went on to tell the other players that their hopes of pulling a victory could come from landing any of those sought-after Daily Doubles.
Whether it was Ken Jennings’ opening comments or something else entirely, Webb would cash out on Jeopardy! on Friday, March 17 when he lost to Kelly Barry. Commenting that he “hit a wall,” it seemed that Webb’s luck had just run out following his eight-day winning streak. But, he sure didn’t go home empty-handed as not only does Webb have bragging rights to over a week of Jeopardy! wins, but he also brought home a fat check of $184,000 for his troubles.
Seeing Ken Jennings’ name in the headlines for the Jeopardy! drama will be a shock for anyone who has been staying on top of the post-Trebek shake-ups. After some major scandals unfolded during the early days of host-hunting, it seemed as though things were taking a turn in the right direction when Ken Jennings and The Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik were set to alternate co-hosting duties. Unfortunately, Bialik has oftentimes found herself on the wrong side of the fandom, receiving a lot of pushback for her position on the show.
In recent weeks alone there’s been an upset from audiences who are unhappy with major snafus including reused questions that have in turn shaken the show’s dedicated base. Feeling more heat than ever, it appears as though producers asked Ken Jennings to come back to Jeopardy! ahead of his scheduled return in September. The host was taking a brief hiatus from his duties but has been appearing over the last few weeks as the show scrambles to recover from lower ratings than usual.
But, with Ken Jennings’ hotly debated opening monologues, could this be the downfall of the fan-favorite Jeopardy! host? While we’re certain that his speeches aren’t off-the-cuff and that they’re penned by production, it’s clear that fans aren’t taking too kindly to the more cutthroat attitude of the trivia game show.
