Fans have called out Jeopardy! over their distasteful clue that mentioned Gabby Petito’s murderer Brian Laundrie…
Viewers of the hit TV show were understandably disgusted by the move.
“I’m pretty sure they could have used better judgment and gotten that answer another way. Bad taste @Jeopardy,” one wrote.
The news comes just months after Jeopardy! returned for its thirty-ninth season…
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Now, despite the recent news, the quiz show has become the most-watched non-sports show on TV.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Nielsen data reported that for the week of December 27, 2021, Jeopardy! was the highest-rated non-sport program on broadcast and cable TV.
The quiz show’s ratings of almost 9.7 million viewers per episode soared above Yellowstone reaching 9.34 million, the outlet reported.
Jeopardy! also beat the rating of every network’s New Year’s Eve special.
Not only that, but The Wrap reported that during that same week, Jeopardy! surpassed 60 Minutes placing it as the most-watched non-sports program on TV.
It is the first time in 3 decades that Jeopardy! has surpassed 60 Minutes.
The viewings increase is thought to partly be due to the Jeopardy! champion, Amy Schneider.
Who people have loved to watch.
As some may already know, Schneider became a millionaire after her winnings surpassed $1 million on an episode of the show.
She became the 4th player on the show, as well as the first female champion, to win over $1 million during regular-season play.
According to Nielsen data reported by The Blast, since Schneider started her run on the show, viewership went up by around 3% per show.
Last year, Schneider won her 33rd game placing her in the third position on the all-time consecutive wins list.
Winning streaks like Schneider’s often cause an increase in viewership, EW reported.
Back in 2019, James Holzhauer had a record-breaking run that is said to have increased ratings to a fourteen-year high.
But, despite the recent high ratings, the quiz shows viewership is reportedly down from last season.
And it seems to have something to do with Mayim Bialik becoming co-host with Ken Jennings.
In August, the show announced that Mayim and Ken would stay on as hosts.
Jeopardy! producer Michael Davies also said that they “will not flip flop the hosts constantly,” as they are aware fans “value consistency.”
However, many fans of the show took to Twitter to unload their frustration at the announcement…
“Will not be watching @Jeopardy until @KenJennings becomes the primary and only host. This switching stuff sucks! #boycottjeopardy because they have idiots running it. What a mess,” one commenter wrote.
“Great! I’ll watch through December when Ken hosts. I will not watch any Jeopardy Mayim hosts,” another commented.
“And I am permanently not watching,” a third said.
“No one is thrilled to see Mayim co-hosting at all, if you’d listen to the people most of us preferred Ken as the full-time host over Mayim Bialik. Watch when viewership goes down when Mayim hosts & then goes up with Ken you guys will regret to co-host crap,” a fourth wrote.
“That woman drives me away from the show-and most others I know agree that she’s a mess as host,” another declared.
However, not everyone agrees that Mayim is the problem.
“Mayim is way better as a host,” one user tweeted.
“Ken is not a public speaker let alone a TV host. Trivia nerds and Twitter nerds r the only Jeopardy viewers that prefer Ken, which is a small segment of Jeopardy’s viewership.”
“If Ken was as good as social media says he is, he would have been Sony’s pick by himself,” another stated.
“Mayim needs practice. I agree. But she has a far superior Jeopardy voice for reading clues like Alex did. That’s why they picked Mayim.”
Others think the pair complement each other perfectly…
“This is a winning hosting team that Alex [Trebek] would be so proud of. Jeopardy is more popular than ever and will have the brightest future including prime time,” one fan said.
“I write today with the exciting news that we have closed and signed deals with Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings to be the hosts of ‘Jeopardy!’ moving forward,” Davies confirmed Wednesday, July 27.
“The fact is, we have so much ‘Jeopardy!’ to make, and so many plans for the future, that we always knew we would need multiple hosts for the franchise and we are just so grateful that Mayim and Ken stepped in and stepped up to put the show in a position to succeed,” he continued. “And succeeded it has.”
He added: “Mayim and Ken are both extraordinarily talented and simply lovely humans. They support the staff and each other. They love and respect this institution of a television program. In return, the staff and I are honored to work alongside them.
“To conclude, I want to congratulate both Mayim and Ken,” he added. “They have both been a joy to work with. They have my commitment, my producer oath, that I will focus on nothing but improving the show around them so that they can do their best work and approach every day in the studio with excitement and energy.”
But Mayim hosting isn’t the only thing that’s got people talking recently…
It’s a clue that was used on the show, which featured Brian Laundrie, who admitted to killing his girlfriend Gabby Petito.
As most will know, Brian and Gabby were traveling in their van when Petito was declared missing.
After months of searching for her, her body was finally discovered in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, with the cause of death listed as strangulation.
After which Brian went on the run…
His remains were later found by police in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, with his cause of death confirmed by the FBI to have been a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
And his confession to killing Gabby was written in a notebook found beside his body.
Brian wrote: “I ended her life. I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made.
“I panicked. I was in shock. But from the moment I decided I took away her pain, I knew I couldn’t go on without her.”
The news shocked the nation.
And this Sunday, Jeopardy! used the tragedy as a clue in the show…
Leaving many viewers disgusted.
One person tweeted: “I’m kinda shocked that Jeopardy used Brian Laundrie, the murderer from FL, in a clue about alligators. I’m pretty sure they could have used better judgment and gotten that answer another way. Bad taste @Jeopardy.”
Another person wrote: “Wow @Jeopardy that Brian Laundrie clue was in bad taste. You could have gotten to ‘alligator’ any other way. Why bring him up? Gross.”
Host Mayim Bialik gave the clue to contestants that said: “In 2021 fugitive Brian Laundrie ended his days in Fla.’s Myakkahatchee Creek area, home to these long & toothy critters.”
The answer being alligators.
What do you think?