JEOPARDY CANS MAYIM BIALIK!
Jennings snatches Alex Trebek’s crown
CONNIVING Ken Jennings has won his battle to be the sole lord of Jeopardy! after rival cohost Mayim Bialik was officially shown the door months after refusing to cross Hollywood strikers’ picket lines to film the show.
A rep for Sony, which syndicates the game show, claims the decision was motivated by the need “to maintain continuity for our viewers and Ken Jennings will be the sole host” because switching quizmasters confuses the audience.
As GLOBE reported, Jennings and the 48-year-old former Big Bang Theory brainiac were made co-hosts after longtime frontman Alex Trebek died from pancreatic cancer in November 2020.
Since then, spies say Jennings, 49, a former Jeopardy! champ, has been sucking up to audiences and corporate brass behind the scenes while Mayim honored the actors’ and writers’ strikes, which shut down production on most Hollywood projects for 146 days last year.
“Ken focused on the fans at the live tapings,” spills an insider. “He understood the fan support was what was going to cement this job for him long term.”
GLOBE also revealed insiders dished Jennings hired a joke doctor to teach him how to ad-lib funny quips following one of his cringeworthy cracks.
After a contestant remarked that when she won, her grandma stood up and cheered at her assisted living home, Jennings quipped: “That’s great! Standing up: not easy … for all those people, I would assume.”
The crack led to a flood of posts accusing him of being tasteless, but in the end he was a perfect fit for the bosses.