‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Drew Basile Reacts to Being Polarizing: ‘I’ll Lean Into It’

Meaghan Darwish July 3, 2024, 5:46 pm

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.

Who's Qualified for the Next 'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions?

“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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