Ken Jennings Blasted Over Replacing Mayim Bialik on 'Jeopardy!'

Ken Jennings has been criticized for crossing picket lines to host this season's remaining episodes of Jeopardy! after fellow presenter Mayim Bialik walked off the set in solidarity with striking writers.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced on May 1 that it was due to go on strike after six weeks of talks with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner Brothers, NBC Universal, Sony and Paramount—all under the umbrella of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP)—broke down. Picket lines assembled the following day as writers protested over contracts and pay.

As a result of the strike, TV shows that rely on writers to create content on the day of airing, such as late-night talk shows, were forced off the air. Prerecorded and scripted shows shot before the strike have continued as normal.

However, in the days since the writers walked out, studios have already pushed pause on development of highly anticipated content, including Netflix's Stranger Things, Disney and Marvel's Blade, AppleTV+'s Severance and Paramount's Evil.

According to Deadline, The Big Bang Theory star Bialik—who recently took over from Jennings to host the remainder of Season 39 of Jeopardy!—has backed the strike by bowing out of the final week of episodes.

It was also reported that Jennings has agreed to step in and record the remainder of the season, due to tape on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City, California, between Tuesday and Friday.

While Jeopardy! features contributions penned by WGA writers, the clues were written well in advance of the strike. Despite this, a number of Twitter users shared posts on the platform in which they criticized Jennings for returning to the syndicated quiz show's set.

TV writer Sarah Watson tweeted in reaction to the reports: "Last week I had the pleasure of picketing with a group of Jeopardy writers at Sony. I'm disappointed that @KenJennings has chosen to cross the picket line and disrespect the hard working people who wrote the questions that made him famous."

Writer and executive producer Joy Blake commented: "#WGA solidarity with the Jeopardy! writers who are on strike. And thank you to Mayim for honoring that strike. Big thumbs down to Ken Jennings who has decided to continue filming the finale without writers next week at Sony in Culver City on the 16th and 19th."

Despite strike etiquette not technically being broken by Jennings, a host of other detractors called all-time Jeopardy! champ Jennings a "scab"—a derogatory term applied to those who cross picket lines to work.

Freelance writer and activist Chip Goines lashed out at Jennings on Twitter, while he lauded Blossom star Bialik for her decision.

"@KenJennings is a scab," he wrote on the social media platform. "Props to Blossom for not crossing the #WGA picket line! #solidarity."

Another Twitter user said: "Jeopardy! is a WGA show and one of its writers, Michele Loud, correctly told Variety, 'There is no Jeopardy! without writers. Without us it's just an empty blue screen.' The final week of clues was written beforehand but to see Ken Jennings scab? What is a disappointment?"

"Love Jeopardy! but Ken Jennings is f****** up by not supporting WGA strike—he looks like a corporate puppet," said another.

While a wave of criticism targeted Jennings, a number of fans stepped in to defend him, arguing that he hadn't betrayed the writers and their supporters because the clues were written before the strike.

Said one fan: "I don't think Ken Jennings is crossing any picket line by continuing to host Jeopardy! Correct me if I'm wrong but if every question for the season is written already and he's not in the WGA (the other host who stepped down is) then he kinda has to host, […] right?"

"Ken Jennings is not a writer and not even union," another chimed in. "His work has absolutely nothing to do with the strike. Bialik voluntarily chose not to host, NOT AS A STRIKE ACTION, replacing her is not scabbing in any sense."

Meanwhile another said that those criticizing Jennings have "no idea what scabs are."

They went on to state that Jennings "isn't a clue writer. He took up the hosting position after Mayim walked out in solidarity w/ WGA…Ken wasn't hired during or after the strike began…He's been part of the show's history for nearly two decades. Please stop making the movement look stupid."

Newsweek has reached out to representatives of Jeopardy! via email for comment.

Jennings has hosted the hugely popular quiz show since its 38th season, while Bialik has presented its tournaments. The pair have, on occasion, switched places on the main show and specials.

They were officially announced as the show's permanent hosts before the start of the current season 39 last year, following the death of popular long-time presenter Alex Trebek in November 2020.

Jennings' most recent block of pre-recorded shows came to an end in April, with Bialik stepping up to the lectern from this month onward. Jennings' stint as host of special tournament the Jeopardy! Masters started airing on May 8.

During an appearance on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast in August, Bialik and Jennings spoke with fellow host Sarah Whitcomb Foss about how they deal with online backlash from fans of the quiz show.

"We're still people, so I can't say that when you hear things that are constructive criticism that you don't start thinking a little bit too much about it," Bialik said. "But, I don't know, I kind of take everybody's opinion both with a grain of salt and also believe everybody has a right to their opinion."

For Jennings, the negative reaction came early, when he saw some people were "sick of him" in the earlier stages of his run as a Jeopardy! contestant in 2004. Jennings holds the record of the show's longest win streak at 74.

"It was the early days of the internet, but people were still very much like, 'Oh, I'm sick of this guy already,'" Jennings said. "And I'm like, 'Oh, there's like three more months [of me]… This guy's gonna have a bad summer!' I just kind of had to dissociate.

"You know what? Jeopardy! has got such a big, diverse audience. You're not going to be able to please everybody every night. But I think that's the virtue of having a couple of hosts. You know, it's a big, diverse audience and maybe that helps broaden the tent. It's a matter of taste hosting style."