‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Drew Basile Reacts to Being Polarizing: ‘I’ll Lean Into It’
Jeopardy!‘s latest buzzy champion, Drew Basile, is opening up about his experience of playing the much-loved game in a new installment of the Rob Has a Podcast podcast.
During a candid conversation with fellow Survivor vets, Rob Cesternino and Stephen Fishbach, Basile addressed his polarizing run on Jeopardy! as well as qualifying for the Tournament of Champions. As fans will recall, Basile came to the end of a seven-game winning streak on Friday, June 28 after accumulating $129,601 in prize money.
It was Basile’s passionate responses to his wins that elicited strong fan reactions, both negative and positive. In his Rob Has a Podcast appearance, Basile said of the polarizing reactions and commentary, “It was kind of a little bit muted compared to some of the hate you get from Survivor.” In other words, he wasn’t that bothered.
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Basile proceeded to call the negative comments “incoherent,” noting that “the negative people… they’re retired, they’re a little bit older, you know? They’re still grappling with technology, they haven’t figured out about spellcheck, for example… It’s hard to be that outraged when it’s a completely incoherent message.”
Still, he admitted, “I was kind of a polarizing figure on Jeopardy!” and Basile attributed that to the fact that most competitors dedicate themselves to education and learning. “They have so much poise, and they’re all dressed up to encourage those best qualities of politeness and rectitude, and people don’t really showboat… I had no issue with either of those things, I love showboating,” Basile stated plainly.
“I think [because I have] a little bit more personality maybe than your average winning contestant, [it] could have been a little unnerving for [some] viewers,” Basile theorized. When it came to the viewers who weren’t big fans of his run, Basile added, “Everyone loves to root against. You love to root against the winner… you don’t want the winner to be some kind person who you would invite into your home, that’s boring. I’ll gladly take being the heel… I’ll lean into it.”
As for his run on Jeopardy! and looking ahead to the Tournament of Champions, Basile revealed that once he hit the five-game streak, he started playing more recklessly. “You’re really playing with house money after that… which probably hurt me,” he admitted. Still, he’ll appear for a chance to win more when the Tournament of Champions kicks off. Until then, let us know what you thought of Basile’s run, below, and stay tuned for any updates on his Jeopardy! future.
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I think Drew is an arrogant piece of work.. Doesn't matter how old or young you are, humility is the pinnacle of good character. I hope he lives long enough to acquire some.
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“I think [because I have] a little bit more personality maybe than your average winning contestant, [it] could have been a little unnerving for [some] viewers,”He really said that? Ugh. Well, as usually happens on Jeopardy, his status and personality quickly became a moot point. Humility would have served him better.
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Man, I'm one of the ones who didn't like him to begin with, but this - it's so tacky and obtuse it's hard to believe. Every quote in this article is either insulting to his fellow Jeopardy contestants or the viewers. That crap about "they’re retired, they’re a little bit older" - "haven't figured out about spellcheck" - he's placed himself squarely in the crowd of Gen Z who like to snipe at older people for not knowing their own lifestyle stuff when they can't even answer who was president before Obama. But if he's going to "lean into it", I'm afraid he's threatening to give us more of the same. I so wish he wasn't going to be in the ToC (although I don't expect him to get far).
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He is smart but also an idiot for what he said about retired people. I will definitely be rooting for him to lose his first game. He is not very likable in my opinion
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One of the reasons I don't watch professional sports is all the face making and fist pumping.it doesn't seem to be enough that you win but it seems to be they're shoving it in. The completions face.hey I'm better than you.i call it poor sportsmanship.whatever happened to humility.thats the reason a lot of people don't like this guy.the all in guy does it but it's tongue in cheek and it makes him likeable not obnoxious like this guy is.
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Arrogant much?
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There was absolutely nothing wrong with Drew celebrating his wins. There are so many Jeopardy! fans that really need to lighten up . . .
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I don't watch Jeopardy that much these days. But having Drew on there made me enjoy the show so much!I would get anxious for him! Loved him on there!
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