When longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, 80, passed away after a long battle with cancer on November 8, 2020, fans of the game show were devastated. The biggest question for viewers and contestants, of course, was who would fill Trebek’s shoes as the new host.
Following months of guest hosts including Reading Rainbow host Lavar Burton, Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik, and former champions like Ken Jennings and Buzzy Cohen, Bialik landed the job following controversy involving former Jeopardy! producer Mike Richardson.
Then, Bialik became involved in her own controversy involving the use of the term “Single Jeopardy” to describe the first round of the show — “Double Jeopardy” has long been the name of the second round — with fans online very upset about her verbiage.
Now, Bialik has spoken out about the fact that she’s actually been asked to “tone it down” when it comes to her level of excitement on air.
In a recent interview promoting her directorial debut — a film called As They Made Us starring Dustin Hoffman and Candice Bergen — Bialik shared:
“I think as a woman there’s a special consideration, because when women sound definitive or stern it’s a different message than when men sound definitive or stern. And a lot of times when people will say, “Oh, you sound like you think you know it all,” I’ll think, gosh, that’s just because I’m using an affirmative voice. One of the neat things about having a woman in this role is it’s bringing up a lot of questions about the labels we put on those things. One of my biggest challenges is I’m so impressed that people know the answers that they’ve asked me to tone down how excited I am when people get them right, which I think is a great note to get.”
In recent Jeopardy news, famed champion Amy Schneider recently visited the White House Press Room, where she confirmed that the 2022 Tournament of Champions “will be airing, I’m told, in November.”
You can watch the video below and see Amy’s ToC comments at the 1:25 mark:
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Credit: ABC
