Ken Jennings Under Fire With 'Jeopardy!' Staffers After Taking Over Mayim Bialik Duties During Writers' Strike, 'Crossing the Line Showed His True Colors'
May 26 2023, Published 5:30 a.m. ET
Ken Jennings' choice to take over hosting duties for Mayim Bialik is rubbing some Jeopardy! staffers and viewers the wrong way, RadarOnline.com has exclusively discovered after the Big Bang Theory actress stepped away from the game show podium.
Bialik ditched her role in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America with just one week of taping left in Season 39. The final episodes were filmed days ago between May 16 and May 19 at the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City.
Production continued with Jennings stepping in to fill the role before the hit game show's summer hiatus, a choice that left some with a bad taste in their mouth.
As we previously learned, the strike had already pushed pause on other high-rating shows including Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Soap operas will soon run out of completed episodes to air, according to reports.
Sources claim Jenning's wants Bialik's paycheck since he's doing additional work as the show's sole host.
A TV source has since blasted Jennings as an "opportunist" for crossing the picket line. They said the former Jeopardy! champ, who earned a staggering $4.5 million in prize money, "showed his true colors" and allegedly takes home tens of thousands more per episode as host. "It's one thing for a crew member who can't afford to quit to keep coming to work — but he's getting a fat paycheck," spilled the insider.
Bialik took home $4 million as the co-host of the popular quiz show.
A lot of people are "rooting" for Bialik to get the full-time gig "especially after she made the brave decision to support the show's writers, even at the expense of her career," the insider claimed.
The tipster added that crossing the picket line "was seen as a grandstand play, even for him."
Sources claim Jennings thought Bialik wasn't 'worthy' of sharing the spotlight with him.
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Jennings has cohosted with Bialik following longtime host Alex Trebek's death in 2021. Trebek died aged 80 after a battle with cancer following a long run on the show, which he cherished.
"I love spending time with bright people ... and Jeopardy! puts me in touch with bright folks all the time," he gushed to NPR in 2016.
RadarOnline.com has reached out to Jeopardy! for comment.
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