‘Jeopardy!’: Mayim Bialik Talks About Being Compared to Ken Jennings
Mayim Bialik has opened up about being compared to her fellow Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings, including “deeply insulting” comments she receives from the show’s viewers..
The Call Me Kat star touched on the topic during a recent episode of her podcast Bialik Breakdown, where she chatted with actor Justin Long about the feedback she gets from Jeopardy! fans. Long asked the Big Bang Theory alum if viewers ever say they prefer her to Jennings to become the next permanent host. “Sometimes,” Bialik replied. “Sometimes I get ‘We don’t prefer you to Ken.’”
“Isn’t that wild?” Long responded. “Well, it’s the only profession that I can think of — where people will tell you deeply insulting things but with a big smile?”
Bialik agreed, explaining that “[People will tell you] exactly how they feel. Like ‘I saw you in a magazine. I was very confused. You looked pretty.’ I get that a lot.”
“Oh, jeez,” Long replied. “This sounds like I’m bragging but…” he continued before Bialik interjected with, “You’re better looking in person?”
“Yes, that’s a tough one because then you think, ‘Well, what do I care what you look like?’ That means to millions of other people I’m worse looking,” Long added.
Last week, Bialik announced that she’d tested positive for COVID-19 and was at home recovering. “I’m feeling a whole bunch of regret that I ever took my mask off ever in the world, like even outside,” she said in an Instagram video. “I’ve still been pretty careful… I’m just putting this out there. I’m feeling a lot of fear. Why did I ever go out? Why did I think that anything was fine ever?”
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Ken is a better host than she is and should get the job. People shouldn't go up to her and state their preference for him to her face.
Both things can be true.
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Eliciting desperate pleas for sympathy is not an effective last-minute effort to get the job. She has hosted just about as much as Ken, and he has been better for the show's ratings by leaps and bounds (not to mention the positive fan reaction via polling and focus group data). It would be in her best interest to gracefully bow out before public opinion goes even further south.
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I agree. Those who prefer Mayim Bialik have a right to their opinion, but they are in a tiny minority. This is hardly the time for Bialik to—yet again—make it about her and not about preserving a beloved American institution. No one will thank her for that.
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Ken's ratings share in May just before he left: 5.8 (roughly 9 million)
Mayim's ratings just weeks later with no preemptions: 4.8 (roughly 7.4 million)
That amounts to an 18% loss in a matter of two weeks. (Sources: TVNewsCheck, NextTV, Broadcasting & Cable)
Fact: The audience wasn't lying when it said it preferred Ken Jennings.
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She must be coming off her spool realizing how many people can't stand her. Good.
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How is it “deeply insulting” to be unfavorably compared to Ken? Has she never read a brutal restaurant/theater/movie/book review? That’s the price you pay for putting your work out there. She really needs to get over herself and grow up. I am a graphic designer and get criticized and compared EVERY SINGLE DAY! She is doing a truly terrible job and seems to be incapable of (or uninterested in) improving. Meanwhile, she is destroying an iconic show that has been beloved for generations. I can’t even watch when she hosts. Her thin skin and delicate feelings are not our concern.
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I'd say it's likely she didn't actually share some of the truly "deeply insulting" things viewers have said or posted about her, which are usually personal insults, not comments on her ability to do the job. It's ridiculously sexist how often viewers make disparaging comments about a woman host's looks, while rarely doing the same to men. Her acknowledging the insults does not necessarily mean she has "thin skin and delicate feelings." And she's not even the one who brought it up in the podcast; Long asked her the question. Everything, however, is subjective and I find her just as good a host as Ken. In no way whatsoever do I think she's "destroying an iconic show," but then personal taste is exactly that . . . personal. At this point, I'd be happy with either of them taking over the job.
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Amen!
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I find it “deeply insulting” to many Jeopardy fans that the producers continue to allow her to tear this beloved show down and then she whines because people say they prefer Ken. Mayim Bialik referenced her outrage at people saying they prefer Ken and that is what I referenced in my reply. Creative people (both men and women equally) constantly have their work criticized (sometimes brutally) and compared to others. It comes with the territory. She needs to grow up.
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I would not be so insulting to anyone in person. I am sure MB has her own people she does not care for. We can't like everyone. I used to like MB on the Big Bang and Kat Cafe, after watching her host Jeopardy I no longer watch either of those shows. She is not a good host for Jeopardy. She is awkward and does not relate well to the guests. I can not believe she is going to be Celebrity Jeopardy host, Really?! I will leave it at that, she has been insulted enough.
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If people came up to me and told me I shouldn't be People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive, I would have no problem with it because I wouldn't be qualified. The same logic applies here. There's somebody better at it than she is, and it has nothing to do with her immutable characteristics. Her comments come off as spoiled and entitled and make me like her even less.
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You said this perfectly! Thank you.
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Sounds to me like people are being incredibly polite with their words by saying they have a preference for Ken. That is hardly "insulting." What they really mean to say is that Mayim is not good at this job.
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I find that Ms. Bialik lacks a certain gravitas consistent with the ethos of the program. She actually might do a wonderful job hosting other game shows. But Jeopardy! maintains a professional, no-BS atmosphere that does not suit her style. Ken is more in line with that environment (and conversely probably wouldn't do as good of a job hosting other shows).
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“Bialik Breakfown” indeed!
15 1
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It’s actually kind of hilarious, my recently retired parents asked me to look up when Ken would return so that they could schedule their summer vacation around his hosting stints. They dislike Mayam that much! So since Ken’s returning on July 18, they are heading to Cabo next Friday.
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Ken gets criticized for things as well but doesn't galvanize that negative energy through pathetic pleas for sympathy. Mayim is not only unfit for the job based on her poor performance, but her immaturity.
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"What is desperation?"
14 1
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More like "what is entitlement?"
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"What are delusions of adequacy?"
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Mayim is terrible at the job but also devious enough to know she can play the sexism and anti-Semitic angle as she's been hoping to do. Actually quite clever on her and/or her agent's part.
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You may be right that this is their strategy, but you’re dead wrong in thinking it’s clever. People are not that gullible and will see through this childish scheme. They will be outraged at being used this way and will quickly go from finding her annoying to despising her. I am a woman and I am deeply offended that a sexism card would be played to deflect from her utter incompetence.
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I already despise her due to the things she's said and done in her personal life. Google it.
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Yeah, I know. She has some truly hateful opinions. I usually try to separate the art and the artist, but she is a phony, a terrible actress, and what she is doing to Jeopardy is a crime. I just want her off my radar screen.
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I think Gil is referring to the "art piece" . You'll have to Google it because they'll delete my post if I explain.
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I know about Bialik’s take on things, so I don’t need an explanation. My reference about the art and the artist wasn’t a reference to anything she said about art. I was just saying that I don’t necessarily cancel someone because I disagree with them or disapprove of them. Sometimes, of course, they are just too awful for me to appreciate anything they create, but I don’t go there first. In Bialik’s case I wanted her fired from Jeopardy because she is destroying a much-loved show. I don’t think she’s a very good actress, so I wasn’t much interested in her other work. Her opinions did not factor in. But I am disgusted by her cry-baby attempts to gain sympathy for her lack of talent, so who she is will become just as important as her lack of talent.
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Her art piece isn't about performance, it's about her son's circumcision.
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Sigh. I’ll try one more time and maybe people will stop “explaining” things to me. I don’t care what Mayim Bialik hangs on her wall. That is the point I was trying to make—that usually i can separate the art from the artist and don’t automatically cancel someone because I don’t like them. There are exceptions (Bill Cosby comes to mind). When I was referring to art I was referring to Bialik’s performances as an actress and host. She is terrible, but that is the only reason I won’t watch her. At least so far. If she continues her entitled, narcissistic rantings as a way to distract from her lack of talent, I will avoid her both on principle **and** her lack of talent.
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She can't play the anti-Semitic card, we love Buzzy.
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If you really want a comparison, watching Mayim host Jeopardy is like seeing your favorite football team bench their star quarterback in favor of the coach's nephew who throws four interceptions a game
9 1
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If it was raining soup, she'd have a fork and would doubtless drop that too.
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This is the level of discourse you get and should expect of a diversity hire. The fans are not oblivious to this but they don’t make the decisions either.
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Mayim's little-girlish shoulder twitches and smug expressions are driving me nuts. Loved her in BBT, but she's terrible at this. She seems to search for opportunities to inject her little comments in too many answers. Also, after decades of Alex's fashion plate, immaculate look, her mismatched outfits and the sameness of their style grow tiresome.
Ken is more genuine, more personal and more natural in the hosting roll.
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It goes deeper for me. I despised her on BBT, but having read about her off screen actions [nursing her 3+ year old son on the subway], and other unsavory things, she just out and out disgusts me.
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He is boring she is not boring I won't even watch Jeopardy anymore I'm not talking down on him but he's very boring she wasn't but oh well I won't watch Jeopardy anymore my family doesn't
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It's pretty obvious that good intentions aside, Mayim has too much on her plate (sitcom, movie production, podcast, etc.) and is spreading herself too thin to put more effort into nailing this role. Ken doesn't have the same number of commitments, in fact he is cutting down on many of his other roles, so he can focus on Jeopardy full time. The show doesn't necessarily have a demanding production, but it is obvious that it is far too much for Mayim to juggle between the other things she does, otherwise she probably could have landed the job to herself this season. For this reason I'd say give it to Ken.
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Doesn't Ken ever blink!
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Ken Jennings is a fine "Jeopardy!" host and if he gets it permanently, I'd love it! But if Mayim does, while continuing on "Call Me Kat", I'd love that, too! Glad she's recovering from Covid.
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Yeah, brilliant creature that she is, she blogged that she's heating up lemon juice to treat Covid. Everyone knows heat destroys vitamin C. It is impossible to underestimate her.
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She’s fantastic! Her voice is always crisp and clear, and her delivery is always upbeat, like she’s really enjoying what she’s doing with this show!!
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Too bad that so few who are watching her are enjoying themselves. It’s pure torture. She’s awkward and doesn’t seem to realize where she is and what she’s supposed to be doing. A host is supposed to be facilitating, not distracting. Definitely not wasting time and giggling as much as she does. I can’t even watch when she hosts. I didn’t realize that none of that matters as long as Mayim is having fun and getting the attention she so desperately needs.
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She's enjoying the spotlight, not the show. By her own admission she never watched it until the host spot opened up.
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Bailik is terrific. I would love to see her as the permanent host. She would be a very good follow-up to Alex.
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Mayim is terrible at this job. She's egotistical and constantly tries to insert herself into the proceedings with unnecessary comments or allusions to her academic credentials. Beyond that, she is often slow to accept responses, uninterested in the contestants during the interviews, robotic and impersonal in her (obviously scripted) delievery, and lacks the trivia background to provide necessary context to the game material. She may be a good actress, but others are clearly better cut for this than she is.
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She reminds me of the quasi celebs the Vegas casinos hire as glad handers. Smiling, cheerful and patently false.
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There will never be another Alex and now is the time to move on and not be forever in the past. I would love either one and the different styles of Ken and Mayim sharing to job would be great.
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